Well that's an oxymoron. And before anyone asks, no, this was not intentional. I had the grand idea to use some beautiful purple sweet potato (PSP) in a wonderful morning mug cake. I also felt like adding a bit extra baking soda to make it really rise and be fluffy. Now, if you know anything about baking, you know that baking soda is an alkaline substance and can make your baked goods green or blue when mixed with say something like a PSP. It can happen when you don't mix well enough or because you used too much. So I thought I would have a pretty purple mug cake, but instead, it was green!
I was a little bummed out because it tasted great, just wasn't the color I had hoped for. I didn't want to play around with the measurements again and worry about getting good morning light for some pictures for the blog. Thus, I thought long and hard what I should do with this little experiment. Then it hit me! It is Halloween time! All is not lost my friends!
I am also not one of those bloggers to post cutesy themed holiday recipes. Like oranges turned into jack-o-lanterns. But when the perfect opportunity arises to salvage a recipe and make it relevant, well, I just have to take it. A ghoulish green PSP mug cake it is! The perfect Halloween breakfast experiment 😉 Tell the kids they can have a healthy green cake with vanilla frosting on Halloween morning and see what they say 😉
Ghoulish Green Purple Sweet Potato Mug Cake
Ingredients: (serves 1)
+ 2 TB Buckwheat Flour
+ 2 TB Oat Flour
+ 2 TB Mashed Purple Sweet Potato
+ ½ Tsp Baking Soda
+ ¼ Tsp Baking Powder
+ ¼ Tsp Pure Bourbon Vanilla Extract
+ 7 Drop Vanilla Stevia
+ ¼ Cup Water
Vanilla Frosting:
+ 1 TB Vanilla Protein Powder
+ 2 TB Water
Directions:
+ In a ramekin or mug, combine flours, baking soda, baking power, and stir. Then add the mashed PSP, vanilla, stevia, and water. Mix extremely well until you don't have any lumps. (O actually used my hands to really break up the potato!)
+ Microwave on high for 1 minutes.
+ Mix the protein powder and water together in a tiny bowl, remove the ramekin from the microwave, top with the thick frosting, put it back in the microwave, and cook for an additional 20 seconds.
+ Remove and enjoy this lovely Halloween treat!
I didn't realize it, but Halloween is on a Friday! That never happens! I mean, it's not really a big deal anymore since I'm not trick-or-treating, but Fridays are the best days! Even though I said I'm not dressing up for Halloween, I may need to rethink that. Maybe I should be a PSP? Sounds like a good idea to me 😉
So tell me:
+ Have you ever had the magic color change in your baked goods?
+ What is your favorite Halloween candy?! I always jumped for joy when I got those cute little boxes of Junior Mints! (Frozen Junior Mints are the bomb.com! Try it!)
*Recipe linking up for the week! WIAW, Allergy Free Wednesdays, #RecipeFridays, #RecipeOfTheWeek, #StrangeButGood, Gluten-Free Wednesdays, Real Food Friday, Gluten-Free Fridays, Tasty Tuesdays, Savoring Saturdays, Healthy Vegan Fridays, #WeekendBites, Real Food Recipe Roundup, Gluten-Free Tuesdays, Tasty Tuesdays, Meatless Mondays, Lena’s Tasty Tuesdays!*
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The Vegan 8
I think you know how much I love sweet potatoes since I use them in everything! Looks good! Love how healthy it is!
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine
Haha, I basically eat potatoes every day 😛 I need to make this mug cake again now that PSPs are back in season!
lindsay
i thought this looked familiar! i remember these, i must try it this year! SO FUN!
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine
Spooky "experiments" 😉 I'll be making one soon!
Stacey Guilliatt (Nobody Said It Was Easy)
I've never had a colour change but I've never heard of purple sweet potato either! #tastytuesdays
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine
Purple Sweet Potatoes will literally change your life!
Stephanie
Looks delicious! Thank you so much for linking up at Tasty Tuesday! Your recipe has been pinned to the Tasty Tuesday Pinterest board! Please join us again this week!
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine
Thanks!
Cindy (Vegetarian Mamma)
I am going to have to make this for the kids! I just made a sunbutter mug cake, literally 10 minutes ago 🙂 YUM Thanks for linking up at our Gluten Free Fridays party! I have tweeted and pinned your entry to our Gluten Free Fridays board on Pinterest! 🙂 I can't wait to see what you share this week! Its LIVE!
Cindy from vegetarianmamma.com
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine
Hahaha! Aren't mug cakes the best!? 😉
Heidy @TheMccallumsShamrockPatch
I would like to invite you to attend our weekly #PureBlogLove Recipe and DIY craft party this week. Runs 8pm Thursdays-Sunday at midnight EST on http://www.themcallumsshamrockpatch.com. I hope to see you there! I adore your blog!
Heidy
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine
Sure!
Christine @ Love, Life, Surf
I love mug cakes!
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine
Haha, o me too 😉
kimmythevegan
This looks great! Can't be too disappointed if it tasted good 😉
Thanks for sharing this on Healthy Vegan Fridays (and for all of your awesome contributions!). I am pinning this recipe to our Pinterest Board.
Thanks Rebecca =)
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine
Haha, thanks Kimmy 😉
Chaitali
I'm hopping over from the Tasty Tuesday link up. I had no idea that baking soda could result in a green color like this! It's a good tidbit to know. I'm glad to hear the cake still tasted good and you could salvage it with a Halloween spin 🙂
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine
I'm happy it happened! The green was so much more fun 😉 Hahaha!
Danielle
I've had those days when something I've baked hasn't come out quite right. Way to take it in stride and turn it into something fun! Thanks so much for linking up with Merry Monday! Have a great day!
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine
I think it's better this way anyway!
Dina@KitchenDreaming
Thanks for coming and linking up at #The Weekend Social! I hope to see you there! Pinned
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine
Thanks for checking out the post!
Laura @ Sprint 2 the Table
Halloween is the perfect excuse to make questionably colored food. Especially when it sounds this good! 🙂
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine
Hahaha, you got that right 😉
Jennie
I bet my boys would love this they are big sweet potato fans!!
Thanks for linking up with me!
Jennie @ The Diary of a Real Housewife
http://thediaryofarealhousewife.blogspot.com
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine
Yes! It is such a fun treat!
Athletic Avocado
love this idea! perfect for halloween!
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine
Yup! Thanks friend! 🙂
Kierston
I have yet to see a purple sweet potato!
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine
I must send you one!
Honest mum
Oh wow this looks incredible, going to make this! Love a pud in a mug! Thanks for linking up to #tastytuesdays
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine
Thank you!!
Cat
Haha that's so funny I can't believe it turned green! I'm so envious of you stateside folk and your PSP's - they don't sell them anywhere in the UK! just regular orange ones for us... I wonder would they go green too? Only one way to find out... 😀
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine
Baking soda turns anything green if you use a lot!
laura @ scribbles and sass
baby boxes of junior mints? must be the joys of living south of the border. mine is a very canadian treat, coffee crisp!
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine
Anything with coffee!
Marla
I love purple sweet potato but I didn't realize that adding baking soda for turn them green. That is good to know. This sounds delicious and something that I am going to tryl Thanks for sharing Real Food Fridays blog hop. Pinned & twitted.
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine
I hope you do! It's so fun!
Sandi Gaertner (@sandigtweets)
I had to chuckle at your post. I am not the cutesy Halloween baker either. I have been experimenting with purple sweet potatoes as well because of their "cool factor" with my kids. Thanks for sharing on Gluten Free and DIY Tuesdays 🙂
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine
The best way to eat a PSP is baked and topped with coconut butter!
Liz - Meal Makeover Mom
Well, it sure looks tasty! I remember when I was an undergrad studying nutrition (back in "the day") we'd put baking soda in water and then cook broccoli, and it would bring out the green color. Or maybe it dulled it. Yikes. I'd better go and do some googling. Other than that, I haven't done too much crazy food science lately 🙂
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine
I bet it made it brighter!
Michelle @ Vitamin Sunshine
I didn't know baking soda turned sweet potato green, too! I know it does this to sunflower butter, but you can counteract it by adding less soda, and a bit of lemon juice. Fun idea for Halloween though!
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine
It can turn anything green. Plus this was a PSP! I didn't want less 😛
Renee @ Bendiful Blog
Vanilla Bourbon? Yes please sign me up! I keep seeing purple sweet potatoes this would be a great reason to buy them. So haoloween-y is that a thing?
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine
Lol, it's just real extract, not imitation.
tianna
love this idea - will have to try! thanks for sharing 🙂
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine
Thanks!
Kimchi Cakes
This is very very interesting. I need to try this out of curiousity. lol.
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine
It is awesome!
Sandra Laflamme
I am intrigued by your recipe! I love sweet potatoes but have never thought to use them in a cake. Oh, and my favorite candy is sour patch kids 🙂
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine
Potatoes/squashes are always the best in cakes!
Sour Patch is totally not a bad choice 😉
Dr. Jennifer Weinberg, MD, MPH, MBE
Yum! I love a new way to incorporate sweet potato!
Thanks for the great recipe.
Warmly,
Jennifer
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine
Thanks Jennifer!
Deborah @ Confessions of a Mother Runner
Wow that's like nothing I've ever seen-super creative! Thanks for linking up with us today. Hope you will check out our recipes as well 🙂
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine
Haha thanks!
genevieve @ gratitude & greens
I loved how you turned a disappointing situation into a fun one! Halloween is one of my favourite holidays, I'm super excited that it's coming soon!
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine
Not disappointing so much as surprising, haha!
Chelsea F
That's just awesome! Such a different color. And it sounds great! Thanks for sharing the recipe 🙂
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine
Thanks Chelsea!
Fran@BCDC
Sounds delicious!!
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine
Thanks!
Oakley @ Frieda's
Hahaha! We just LOVE your "experiments"! And even happier that you are enjoying the Stokes Purple® Sweet Potatoes we sent to you.
Keep bugging your local stores about them!
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine
My whole foods has no idea how Arlington has them. They even checked with that manager....so....problem!
Ali the Skinny GF Chef
yum! I was just looking for breakfast 🙂 I think I'll try this with some of my roasted squash!
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine
Give it a shot! But you won't get the great color! 😉
Natalie
Baking fail saved by Halloween!! I love halloween themed posts, cutesy or not it makes me excited! Once you're past the trick or treating age, you've gotta do something to make halloween special 🙂
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine
And that's why a green mug cake fits the bill 😉
Alison
Loving the ghoulish cake idea, perfect for little monsters
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine
Perfect for big monsters too 😉
Brittany @ Delights and Delectables
yay for vanilla bourbon extract!!
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine
The one and only!
CARLA
ANNNND the eight year old (and the 8 yo in me ) WILL LOVE.
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine
Haha, you know its going to be a good Halloween 😉