Imagine all the cozy, comforting flavor of your favorite Thanksgiving sweet potato casserole—the warm spices, the tender sweet potato, the gooey, perfectly toasted marshmallow topping—all wrapped up in a perfect, adorable, two-bite cupcake. These incredible, from-scratch Sweet Potato-Marshmallow Mini Cupcakes are that delicious holiday dream come true!
This isn’t just a recipe; it’s a guide to creating the most fun, festive, and crowd-pleasing dessert for your holiday table. We’ll show you how to create an impossibly moist and tender, warmly spiced sweet potato cupcake from scratch. Then comes the best part: we top each one with a marshmallow that gets toasted under the broiler to a beautiful, gooey, golden-brown perfection right before serving. It’s a whimsical and completely irresistible treat.
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Recipe Overview: Your Favorite Casserole, Reimagined!
What makes these Sweet Potato-Marshmallow Mini Cupcakes so special is the brilliant way they deconstruct a beloved holiday side dish and turn it into a fun, portable dessert. The recipe uses freshly roasted sweet potato purée for the most intense, authentic flavor. The cupcake crumb is unbelievably moist and tender, and the simple, toasted marshmallow topping is a genius “frosting” that is both easy and incredibly delicious. They are a fantastic make-ahead-friendly project that will be the star of your Thanksgiving dessert spread.
| Metric | Time / Level |
| Total Time | 2 hours 30 minutes (includes cooling) |
| Active Prep Time | 30 minutes |
| Difficulty Level | Easy |
| Servings | 24 mini cupcakes |
The Essential Ingredients for These Festive Treats
This recipe is made from simple, classic, from-scratch components.
- The Fresh Sweet Potato Purée: The heart and soul of our cupcakes. Using a freshly roasted sweet potato is the key to the most intense, naturally sweet, and flavorful filling. Roasting the potato concentrates its flavor and sweetness in a way that canned purée cannot.
- The Spiced Cupcake Batter: This is a classic, rich, and tender butter cake.
- Room Temperature Ingredients: It is crucial that your unsalted butter and large eggs are at room temperature. This is the secret to the “creaming method,” which creates a smooth, emulsified batter and a wonderfully light and fluffy cupcake crumb.
- Warm Spices: A classic, cozy, and aromatic blend of ground cinnamon and ground ginger, with a surprising and delicious tiny pinch of cayenne pepper, provides the perfect warm spice notes to complement the sweet potato.
- The Toasted Marshmallow Topping: The perfect, gooey, and nostalgic “frosting.” We use standard large marshmallows, which we cut in half to perfectly fit the top of each mini cupcake. A final, quick trip under the broiler is what creates that beautiful, toasty, campfire-like finish.
Step-by-Step to the Perfect Mini Cupcakes
This is a fun and rewarding baking project. Let’s break it down into simple, manageable parts.
Part 1: Make the Fresh Sweet Potato Purée
Step 1: First, preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Scrub your sweet potatoes well, prick them in several places with a fork, and place them on a baking sheet.
Step 2: Roast for about 1 hour, or until the potatoes are very tender and easily pierced with a knife. Let them cool until you can handle them.
Step 3: Carefully peel the skin away and scrape the sweet potato flesh into the bowl of a food processor. Purée the flesh until it is completely smooth.
Step 4: Measure out exactly 1 cup of the smooth sweet potato purée for your cupcakes and reserve any remaining purée for another use (it’s delicious on its own!).
Part 2: Create and Bake the Spiced Sweet Potato Cupcakes
Step 1: Position an oven rack in the center of your oven and preheat to 350°F (175°C). Line two 12-cup mini-muffin tins with paper liners.
Step 2: In a large bowl, whisk together the 1 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour, the 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon, the 1/2 teaspoon of ground ginger, the 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder, the 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda, the 1/4 teaspoon of fine salt, and the pinch of cayenne pepper.
Step 3: In another large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat the 1 stick of room temperature butter, the 1/2 cup of packed light brown sugar, and the 1/2 cup of granulated sugar until the mixture is light and creamy.
Step 4: Add the 1 cup of reserved sweet potato purée and beat until it is just incorporated. It’s okay if the batter looks a little curdled at this stage. Beat in the 2 large eggs, one at a time. Then, beat in the 1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract.
Step 5: With the mixer on a low speed, beat in the flour mixture in three additions, scraping down the side of the bowl as needed, until the batter is smooth and just incorporated. Do not overmix.
Step 6: Divide the batter evenly among the 24 cups of your prepared mini-muffin tins. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, rotating the tins halfway through, until the tops spring back when you press them gently.
Part 3: The Toasted Marshmallow Topping (The Fun Finale!)
Step 1: Let the baked cupcakes cool in the tins for a few minutes.
Step 2: While the cupcakes are still warm, top each one with a marshmallow half, with the cut-side facing down. The residual heat from the warm cupcake will make the bottom of the marshmallow slightly melty, which is the perfect “glue” to help it adhere to the cupcake.
Step 3: Transfer the cupcakes to a wire rack and let them cool completely.
Step 4: Just before you are ready to serve, preheat your oven’s broiler. Transfer half of the cooled cupcakes to an unlined baking sheet.
Step 5: Broil the cupcakes, rotating the sheet as needed, until the marshmallows are beautifully toasted and a light golden brown. This will happen very quickly, in about 1 to 2 minutes. Keep the oven door slightly ajar and watch them like a hawk to make sure they don’t burn! Repeat this process with the remaining cupcakes.
The Best Adorable Sweet Potato-Marshmallow Mini Cupcakes
A mini cupcake recipe inspired by the classic Thanksgiving sweet potato casserole. The base is a moist sweet potato spice cake, made with a homemade puree from roasted sweet potatoes and flavored with cinnamon and ginger. While the cupcakes are still warm, they are topped with a halved marshmallow. Just before serving, the cupcakes are placed under a broiler to toast the marshmallow topping until it’s golden and gooey.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
- Total Time: 3 hours 10 minutes (includes cooling times)
- Yield: 24–36 mini cupcakes 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking, Broiling
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 2 medium sweet potatoes (about 12 ounces)
- Cooking spray
- 18 marshmallows
- 1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon fine salt
- Pinch of cayenne pepper
- 1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- Make the Sweet Potato Puree: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Prick the sweet potatoes with a fork, place them on a baking sheet, and roast for about 1 hour until very tender. Let them cool, then peel and puree the flesh in a food processor until smooth. You will need 1 cup of the puree.
- Make the Cupcakes: Line mini muffin tins with paper liners and coat them with cooking spray.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, ginger, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cayenne.
- In another large bowl, beat the butter and both sugars with an electric mixer until light and creamy. Beat in the 1 cup of sweet potato puree. Beat in the eggs one at a time, followed by the vanilla.
- On low speed, beat in the flour mixture in three additions until just incorporated.
- Divide the batter evenly among the prepared mini muffin cups.
- Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, until the tops spring back when pressed. Let the cupcakes cool in the tins for a few minutes.
- Top the Cupcakes: While the cupcakes are still warm, top each one with a marshmallow half, cut-side down. Let the cupcakes cool completely.
- When ready to serve, preheat the broiler. Place the cupcakes on an unlined baking sheet and broil, watching closely, until the marshmallows are toasted and golden.
Notes
- The recipe starts by making a fresh sweet potato puree from roasted sweet potatoes, which provides a deep, sweet flavor.
- The marshmallow topping is added after the cupcakes are baked and is toasted under the broiler just before serving for a gooey, s’mores-like effect.
- The finished, untoasted cupcakes can be stored a day ahead in an airtight container at room temperature.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 mini cupcake
- Calories: 100-130
- Sugar: 12-16 g
- Sodium: 80-110 mg
- Fat: 4-6 g
- Saturated Fat: 2-4 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 15-20 g
- Fiber: <1 g
- Protein: 1-2 g
- Cholesterol: 20-30 mg
Storage and Make-Ahead Tips
These Sweet Potato-Marshmallow Mini Cupcakes are a fantastic make-ahead treat for the busy holiday season.
- Make-Ahead: You can bake the cupcakes and place the un-toasted marshmallows on top up to a day in advance. Let them cool completely and store them in a single layer in an airtight container at room temperature. Then, just before serving, you can do the final, quick toasting step under the broiler.
- Storage: These cupcakes are at their absolute best on the day they are made, after the marshmallows have been freshly toasted. Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days, but the marshmallow topping will become softer and a bit sticky over time.
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Creative Recipe Variations
This fun and festive cupcake is a wonderful base for your own delicious and creative twists.
- Add a Classic Pecan Crumble: For a version that is more like a sweet potato casserole with a pecan topping, you can skip the marshmallow. Instead, before you bake the cupcakes, sprinkle the top of the raw batter with a simple crumble made from 1/4 cup of brown sugar, 1/4 cup of flour, 2 tablespoons of cold butter, and 1/2 cup of chopped pecans.
- Make a Tangy Cream Cheese Frosting: If you’re not a fan of the toasted marshmallow topping, these delicious sweet potato cupcakes are also absolutely fantastic when topped with a classic, tangy cream cheese frosting.
- Make them Regular-Sized Cupcakes: If you don’t have a mini-muffin tin, you can bake this batter in a standard 12-cup muffin tin. You will need to increase the baking time to about 22-25 minutes. You can then top each of the standard-sized cupcakes with one whole, large marshmallow.
Enjoy Your New Favorite Thanksgiving Treat!
You’ve just created a wonderfully fun, creative, and delicious cupcake that is sure to be the star of your Thanksgiving dessert table. These Sweet Potato-Marshmallow Mini Cupcakes are a perfect harmony of a classic, tender spice cake and a fun, gooey, and toasted topping. It’s a sweet and simple way to celebrate the cozy flavors of the season in a perfect, two-bite package.
We hope you and your family love making—and eating—this adorable new tradition!
If you enjoyed making this recipe, please leave a comment below or share it with a friend who is looking for a fun holiday baking project!
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Q1: What is the best way to cook a sweet potato to get a smooth purée for baking?
The absolute best method, as directed in this recipe, is to roast the sweet potato whole in its skin until it is very tender. This concentrates its natural sweetness and flavor and results in a less watery purée than boiling it. Once it is roasted, the flesh will be very soft and easy to mash or process into a perfectly smooth consistency.
Q2: Can I use canned sweet potato purée to save time?
Yes, in a pinch, you can substitute the freshly made purée with 1 cup of canned, 100% pure sweet potato purée. Be sure not to buy the pre-sweetened “sweet potato pie mix.” The flavor of the cupcakes will be slightly less intense than when using a freshly roasted sweet potato.
Q3: What is the best way to toast the marshmallows without a broiler?
If you don’t have a broiler or are not comfortable using it, a small, handheld kitchen torch is the perfect tool! It gives you a huge amount of control and allows you to toast each marshmallow to a perfect, beautiful golden brown.
Q4: How do I store these cupcakes after the marshmallows have been toasted?
The toasted marshmallow topping will be at its best texture on the day it is made. Leftovers can be stored in a single layer in an airtight container at room temperature. The marshmallow will soften and become a bit stickier as it sits, but it will still be delicious.
Q5: Can I make the batter ahead of time?
It is best to bake the cupcake batter shortly after it has been mixed. The baking powder and baking soda will begin to react as soon as they are mixed with the wet ingredients, and if you let the batter sit for too long, your cupcakes may not rise as well and could be dense.