Recipe: Pumpkin Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
Yesterday I woke up with the undeniable desire for something sweet and pumpkiny for breakfast. Before I was fully conscious, I knew exactly what I wanted to pair with my Saturday morning coffee.
Saturday mornings are this easy.
I'd wisely stocked up on pumpkin puree during the Dreaded Canned Pumpkin Shortage of 2009 so I had an ample supply in my pantry. And because this recipe is so simple, I already had all the ingredients I needed at hand.
I'm a big fan of canned pumpkin. Although it's simple enough to make your own puree, I don't really feel the need to go that far. First of all, canned pumpkin is very healthy--pumpkin has achieved "superfood" status and the canned stuff is packed with vitamins. Second, you have to find the right kind of pumpkins (culinary pumpkins) to puree. Your typical carving pumpkin tends to taste kind of bland, so don't use it. I know this through personal experience: when I was a kid, every Halloween my mom would take all the pumpkin innards we scraped from our jack o' lanterns, puree it and freeze pounds of it in plastic bags, then we'd have surprise pumpkin bread in June. Mom's pumpkin bread was always a huge treat, but when I started making my own using the right pumpkins, I really noticed the difference. So use the right type of pumpkin or better yet, just spring for an 89 cent can of puree.
Recipe:
Pumpkin cake
1 2/3 cups granulated sugar
4 eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil*
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce*
15 ounce can of pumpkin puree
2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon each ground clove
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1 teaspoon salt
*Whenever a recipe calls for a large amount of vegetable oil, I always substitute unsweetened applesauce for at least half of it. The applesauce keeps it nice and moist while cutting out a lot of fat and calories.
Cream cheese frosting
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
8 oz cream cheese, softened
2 cups sifted confectioners sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and prepare a 13 x 9" baking pan.
Combine eggs, sugar, oil and pumpkin in a mixing bowl and beat on medium speed until light and fluffy.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, spices and salt. Gently stir the dry ingredients into the pumpkin mixture until just combines, being careful not to overmix. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for approximately 30 minutes or until a wooden skewer comes out clean. Transfer to a wire rack and allow to cool completely.
Mix cream cheese and butter on low speed until combined, then increase speed to medium and beat until smooth. Add the sugar a little at a time, mixing at low speed until fully incorporated. Stir in vanilla and mix again. Spread frosting onto cooled pumpkin cake and decorate if desired.
Saturday mornings are this easy.
I'd wisely stocked up on pumpkin puree during the Dreaded Canned Pumpkin Shortage of 2009 so I had an ample supply in my pantry. And because this recipe is so simple, I already had all the ingredients I needed at hand.
I'm a big fan of canned pumpkin. Although it's simple enough to make your own puree, I don't really feel the need to go that far. First of all, canned pumpkin is very healthy--pumpkin has achieved "superfood" status and the canned stuff is packed with vitamins. Second, you have to find the right kind of pumpkins (culinary pumpkins) to puree. Your typical carving pumpkin tends to taste kind of bland, so don't use it. I know this through personal experience: when I was a kid, every Halloween my mom would take all the pumpkin innards we scraped from our jack o' lanterns, puree it and freeze pounds of it in plastic bags, then we'd have surprise pumpkin bread in June. Mom's pumpkin bread was always a huge treat, but when I started making my own using the right pumpkins, I really noticed the difference. So use the right type of pumpkin or better yet, just spring for an 89 cent can of puree.
Recipe:
Pumpkin cake
1 2/3 cups granulated sugar
4 eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil*
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce*
15 ounce can of pumpkin puree
2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon each ground clove
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1 teaspoon salt
*Whenever a recipe calls for a large amount of vegetable oil, I always substitute unsweetened applesauce for at least half of it. The applesauce keeps it nice and moist while cutting out a lot of fat and calories.
Cream cheese frosting
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
8 oz cream cheese, softened
2 cups sifted confectioners sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and prepare a 13 x 9" baking pan.
Combine eggs, sugar, oil and pumpkin in a mixing bowl and beat on medium speed until light and fluffy.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, spices and salt. Gently stir the dry ingredients into the pumpkin mixture until just combines, being careful not to overmix. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for approximately 30 minutes or until a wooden skewer comes out clean. Transfer to a wire rack and allow to cool completely.
Mix cream cheese and butter on low speed until combined, then increase speed to medium and beat until smooth. Add the sugar a little at a time, mixing at low speed until fully incorporated. Stir in vanilla and mix again. Spread frosting onto cooled pumpkin cake and decorate if desired.