Finally we were able to reschedule the missed dinner with our Healdsburg friends. The yogurt cake was long gone, but I found a recipe in a King Arthur Baking email that was perfect for dessert.
The cake is a pumpkin spice cake. Now, don't groan about the way the pumpkin spice has taken over the season. This cake was more a spice cake with a tiny bit of pumpkin flavor. The original recipe was for a fairly thin cake with a cream cheese frosting and it was sized to serve a crowd...like four dozen folks!
I decided that we didn't need that much cake for four people, so I halved the recipe (and replaced the oil with melted butter because I like that better) and baked it in a 9-inch by 13-inch pan. That still made a fairly thin layer, so I decided to divide it by three. I stacked two of the three layers, with my own version of cream cheese frosting in the middle and on top. The remaining third and the rest of the frosting will be used later for a dessert for another friend or friends.
My frosting recipe is their recipe with the addition of two tablespoons sour cream. It gives the frosting a nice tang that helps offset the super sweetness of the confectioners sugar.
Do try this cake. It's moist and mildly spicy, with the cake not very sweet and the frosting sweet but tangy. It's an indulgence, but you can have small pieces as I did and still have a satisfying dessert.
Pumpkin Spice Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
Makes 1 - 9-inch by 6-inch layer cake, plus a single 9-inch by 6-inch cake layer
Ingredients
·
Pumpkin cake:
· ½ cup melted butter, cooled
· ½ cup brown sugar
·
½
cup granulated sugar
·
2
large eggs
· ½ cup pumpkin purée
· ½ teaspoon baking soda
· ½ teaspoon baking powder
·
1/4 teaspoon salt
· ½ tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
·
1
cups unbleached all-purpose flour
·
½
cup chopped toasted walnuts
· ½ cup golden raisins
·
For the frosting:
·
8
ounces cream cheese
·
4
tablespoons softened butter
2 2 tablespoons sour cream
· 2 tablespoons maple syrup
·
2 ½
cups confectioners’ sugar
·
⅛
teaspoon salt
·
·
Procedure
· This cake is moist and
delicious, similar to carrot cake but with a fall flavor. The rich cream cheese
frosting will also remind you of carrot cake—which isn’t a bad thing! Do toast
the walnuts before using them; toasting brings out their nutty essence.
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease and flour a 9-inch by 13-inch cake pan; or line the pan with greased parchment.
Beat the cooled melted butter and the sugars together until well blended.
Beat in the eggs, then the pumpkin purée.
· Stir the baking soda, baking powder, salt, and spice into the wet ingredients, then stir in the flour, beating gently to combine.
Stir in the nuts and raisins.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan, and bake
for approximately 15 to 20 minutes, or until a cake tester or toothpick
inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean.
Cool the cake in the pan for 10 minutes, then
turn it onto a rack to finish cooling; or leave it right in the pan, if you’ve
lined the pan with parchment.
When ready to assemble, remove the cake from the pan if not already done, turn cake right side up, and use a sharp knife to divide the cake into three 6-inch x 9-inch pieces. Reserve one of the pieces for another use.
Place one of the pieces of cake on a serving plate or platter. Spread frosting over the whole layer and smooth. Place the second layer over the first. Spread more frosting over the top, swirling a bit once spread. If desired decorate with fall colored decorations or with toasted, chopped walnuts. Serve in 2-inch by 2-inch pieces (approximately).
To make the frosting: Beat the cream cheese, butter and sour cream together.
Beat in the maple syrup, then mix in the
confectioners’ sugar and salt. Adjust the consistency of the frosting with
additional maple syrup or confectioners’ sugar, if necessary; it should be
nicely spreadable.
Frost the cake.
Once the frosting has set somewhat, cut into squares and serve.
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