Sweet Potato Cake with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting

Granny (Grace Guthrie - and Yvette) made this cake and we had some when we visited on Sunday afternoon.    She got the recipe from the Central Electric Power Association newletter one month.  I was telling Jenny Lynn Wilkerson that I had a recipe she needed to make - because she is always hunting something new and good to make - so we got the recipe and she made this cake for our Thanksgiving Fellowship Meal at church.

2 1/2 cups self-rising flour
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
3/4 cup raisins
1 cup toasted and chopped walnuts
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 cup plus 2 Tbsp. vegetable oil, divided
2 cups baked and mashed sweet potatoes
1/3 cup sweetened shredded coconut

Preheat oven to 325 degrees Combine flour, cinnamon, and nutmeg with a wire whisk and set aside. Mix raisins and nuts with 2 tablelspoons oil and 1/4 cup of flour mixture; toss well and set aside. Combine sugar and remaining 1 cup oil with a wooden spoon. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add remaining flour mixture and stir just until combined. Thoroughly mix in mashed sweet potatoes and coconut. Gently mix in floured raisins and nuts. Pour batter into two 9-inch greased and floured pans and bake for 25 minutes. Cake will begin to pull away from sides of pan. Cool in pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Turn cakes out and place them topside up on the wire rack to cool.

Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting

4 cups confectioner's sugar
2 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese, softened
Pinch of salt
3 Tbsp. lemon juice
1 Tbsp. lemon zest
3 Tbsp. evaporated milk
6 Tbsp. toasted and chopped walnuts
For garnish: 3 Tbsp. toasted and chopped walnuts

Combine sugar, cream cheese, salt, lemon juice and zest with mixer. Mix until smooth and creamy. Add milk to make the frosting easier to spread. Place first layer topside down with a dollop of icing to hold the layer in place on a cake plate. Spread about half of frosting on top and sides of first layer. Place second layer on top of iced first layer. Frost the sides and top. Sprinkle top and sides of cake with toasted walnuts. Yieldd: 16 servings.