Oct 5, 2011

Spiced Pumpkin Cake

A welcome addition to the holiday table, this simple frosted layer cake, from Unity Hall board member Becky, can also be made with homemade puréed pumpkin: just peel and seed your favorite variety of cooking pumpkin, cut it into large chunks, steam or boil it until soft, and mash it until smooth.

Credit: Todd Coleman

1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter,
softened, plus more for pan
2 cups cake flour, plus more for pan
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. ground ginger
3/4 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
1/2 tsp. ground mace
1 1/2 cups packed light brown sugar
2 eggs
3/4 cup canned pumpkin purée,
preferably Libby's
1/4 cup milk
2 tsp. vanilla extract
4 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted

1. Heat oven to 375°. Grease and flour two 8" round cake pans lined with parchment paper cut to fit; set aside. In a bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, ginger, salt, cinnamon, cloves, and mace; set aside. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle, beat 1/2 cup butter and brown sugar on medium-high speed until smooth, 1–2 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition until smooth. Add half the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Add pumpkin and milk, and then add remaining dry ingredients; mix until smooth. Divide batter evenly between prepared pans and smooth tops with a rubber spatula; bake until a toothpick inserted in center of cakes comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Transfer to a rack and let cool for 30 minutes; unmold cakes and let cool.

2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat remaining butter and vanilla on medium speed until smooth. Add confectioners' sugar, 1 cup at a time, beating after each addition until smooth. Increase speed to high and beat until frosting is light and fluffy.

3. Place 1 cake on a cake stand and frost the top with 1/3 of the frosting; stack second cake on top and frost top and sides with remaining frosting. Refrigerate cake; let cake sit for 1 hour at room temperature before serving.

SERVES 12

This article was first published in Saveur in Issue #133

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Ratings & Reviews (5)

by LIZLOW on 2010-11-12

Not sure what I did wrong here, but the batter was so thick I could barely distribute between the 2 pans. The recipe called for 8" pans but I have never been able to find them anywhere in that size. I used 2 9" pans. Maybe on-line . The batter never rose but it tasted great. Are the liquid measurements accurate??

by grillgramma on 2010-11-16

Underspiced; too timid. Also, could cut down on amount of butter.

by JIMC11 on 2010-11-24

As written I'd say this is a 2 star recipe. With the following changes, this becomes 5 star cake worth trying.
Increase spices...
1 tsp cinnamon slightly rounded (not 1/2 tsp)
1 tsp ground mace (not 1/2 tsp)
1/2 tsp allspice (not in original recipe).
Use 1/2 cup milk instead of 1/4 (otherwise it's way too thick). With these changes the cake was delicious and rose perfectly.

I actually think this recipe was never tested before it went to print.

by MARSTARR on 2011-10-05

As poster JIMC11 said, as written this is 2-stars. But I followed the changes that JIMC11 mentioned, (increasing the spices and milk) and it was pretty good. I also have a few points:
- I used my 9" pans and baked for 25 minutes-- even then it could have used a few minutes less, maybe 20-22 minutes. The (baked) cake was pretty thin, too. 8" pans are a must for this recipe.
- For the icing, I used 2 cups of sugar and thought it was plenty sweet. Also I had icing left over, so I think 4 cups of sugar is way too much.
-I might also increase the pumpkin to 1 cup. I didn't think it was very pumpkin-y, just pumpkin-colored.