KAREEM: Well, today we're making my signature dish, which is my sweet potato cake.

My Aunt Janet used to always make sweet potato pies around the holiday time, so I took all those sweet, those nuances of flavors, and I put it in this sweet potato cake.

I actually take this batter and transform it into different versions, and today I'm going to show you our cupcake, which is the prize winner here at the food hall.

SETH: Well, I know DC is a cupcake-crazy town.

KAREEM: Yes it is.

SETH: So I cannot wait to find out how you're going to put your own little spin on it.

And I see we got some sweet potatoes that have already been roasted up here.

KAREEM: Absolutely.

What I'm about to do is peel them, and when they're hot they come right on out.

SETH: Oh, nice.

KAREEM: Throw that bad boy up in there.

And you see all that caramelizing that's happening right there?

That's what's really going to help add that natural sweetness.

All right, Seth, if you don't mind putting that down there.

SETH: I do not.

KAREEM: And then we're going to move on into our canned sweet potatoes.

So the can's going to add that same luscious sweetness to it.

And the other thing I'm about to add is some of the juice, and that's what's going to help blend and emulsify and add another extra layer of moisture to the cake.

You know you don't want no dry cakes.

SETH: I do not.

KAREEM: Okay.

All right, so now I'm going to go ahead and start the mixer, and watch all that happiness come together.

All right, so now it's a nice consistency, and we can go ahead and start measuring that out.

Do you mind putting that at the bottom?

SETH: I do not.

Happy to be your assistant today, Chef.

KAREEM: Yes.

Okay.

You're the sous-chef today.

I didn't even know, got to get you an apron.

All right, so you already know about baking.

If you don't, baking is an exact science.

SETH: Can't do this by feel.

KAREEM: You cannot make your baked goods like you're seasoning your steaks.

Okay?

All right, and there you go.

All right, so now I'm going to put this away so we can start with a clean bowl, so we can get the batter mixed up.

And this time we're going to use a paddle attachment.

Now we're going to start what we call the creaming process.

So we're going to add our oil.

SETH: So no butter, just oil.

KAREEM: Yes.

I don't use butter in this particular recipe because I like to keep that moisture.

Every carrot cake or spice cake I've ever made had oil in it.

I'm not changing the game here.

Seth, do you mind?

Thank you, brother.

I'm not changing.

SETH: You don't even have to ask anymore, Chef.

KAREEM: All right.

Then we're going to go ahead and get that mix in.

So we did equal parts light brown sugar and white sugar.

And I like the brown sugar.

Brown sugar has molasses in it, which is another great thing that's going to really bring out that aroma and flavor.

Seth, do you mind passing me the leaveners?

So we have our salt, of course.

Baking powder.

SETH: I'm going to guess baking soda.

KAREEM: And baking soda.

You already know.

And what we are adding this to is all-purpose flour.

Seth, do you mind passing me our spice blend?

SETH: Spice blend.

KAREEM: Yes.

SETH: So tell me what's going in there.

KAREEM: Love, baby.

It's our magic blend.

I'll tell you one ingredient, which you probably should already smell or know.

SETH: I'm going to guess that's uh, cinnamon.

KAREEM: Absolutely.

Just think of all of your great fall-flavored classics.

All right, now that our sugar and oil's creamed, I'm going to cut the mixer back on and we're going to add the eggs a little at a time.

And the eggs have pure vanilla extract.

None of that cheap imitation stuff.

SETH: Got to get the real deal with that.

KAREEM: Come on now, I'm in here in DC.

Cupcake city, baby.

I can't play around with these folks.

Smell the aromas happening?

SETH: There is definitely an autumnal aroma in this kitchen right now.

KAREEM: Absolutely.

Doesn't it smell like heaven?

And then next is, I add my sweet potatoes.

We're going to need all of this in there, Seth.

You know what I say?

SETH: I don't want to see any sweet potato left over... KAREEM: No batter left.

SETH: In that pitcher.

KAREEM: No puree left behind.

Okay?

Get it all.

All right, Seth, do you mind doing the honors?

SETH: My last cleaning job?

KAREEM: Yes.

(laughing) Now we're going to add our dry ingredients.

Once we get it blended, we're going to line our cupcake tins up and then we're going to scoop our batter into our cupcakes.

We're going to put our cupcakes in the oven for about 12 to 15 minutes.

And while that's baking, we're going to go ahead and get started on our cream cheese frosting.

We're going to use room temperature butter.

Secret trick of mine is I use cold cream cheese, powdered sugar, and then pure vanilla extract.

We're going to take the cupcakes out of the oven, we're going to give them about 15 to 20 minutes to cool completely.

And then we're going to frost our cupcakes.

And to finish it off, we're going to add a drizzle of our homemade salted caramel.

SETH: Chef, I am excited to try this cupcake.

I feel like a judge on one of those baking competitions.

KAREEM: Let's go for it.

SETH: Cheers.

KAREEM: Yes, sir.

SETH: I love that.

The cake is so nice and moist.

It's got some of those little caramelized notes.

And the frosting, it's not too dense, it's not too light.

It's just got that nice little velvety texture to it.

KAREEM: I'm glad you're enjoying it.

The one thing I do like to make sure is to not make sure we put like, overpowering frosting.

You see them tower cupcakes with all that frosting.

I think they be trying to hide like, the cake.

And I really want you to have a really nice balanced dessert.

SETH: And these cupcakes are beautiful.

KAREEM: Thank you.

SETH: And some donuts?

KAREEM: Yes, you already...

I told you, we do them in donut form, so I wanted to give you a sample of that.

SETH: So this is a sweet potato donut.

KAREEM: This is it.

Tell me if it gives you the same experience.

SETH: That's hitting the spot.

KAREEM: You see what I'm talking?

It's that homemade caramel sauce too, that just really, I think, amplifies the product to another level as well.