The recipe for this cake came from the book, Southern Sugar [paid link], by Belinda Smith-Sullivan. I was given permission to share it from the publisher, Gibbs Smith.

When I bake recipes from cookbooks, I always want to change them. I wanted to reduce the sugar a little, add more pecans, and add spices other than the cardamom the recipe called for, but I’m so glad I left it exactly as it is written. It is a masterpiece. I can’t wait to try all of the other recipes in the book!

Sweet potato is one of those amazing foods that is both healthy and delicious. While pumpkin desserts like my pumpkin cupcakes are all the rage in the fall, I’m a sucker for sweet potato!

I make a variation of these sweet potato cupcakes every single year. The marshmallow-topped version is always the most popular with both kids and adults.

This Tzimmes recipe (Tsimis recipe) is the Jewish answer to green bean casserole.

We skip the greens and the creamy soup and instead spend our holidays eating a sweet stew made with root vegetables, apples and pineapple (if you’re my mom), raisins, and other dried fruits.