Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!! I hope you've had, are having, or are going to have (depending on where you are) a blessed day full of joy and FOOD with your loved ones. Speaking of food...
This cake. Oh, this cake. It's like autumn incarnated! I made it for a dinner party in my house and nobody could remain silent after taking the first bite. A chorus of heartfelt OMG's resounded in my kitchen. When I tasted it I reached the conclusion that I can't imagine a better pumpkin cake. It's so moist and fluffy and the frosting... You can just go ahead and eat it with a spoon. Don't get creative with this one and change the frosting! At least not the first time. Give it a try. I honestly think you won't regret it. :)
This cake. Oh, this cake. It's like autumn incarnated! I made it for a dinner party in my house and nobody could remain silent after taking the first bite. A chorus of heartfelt OMG's resounded in my kitchen. When I tasted it I reached the conclusion that I can't imagine a better pumpkin cake. It's so moist and fluffy and the frosting... You can just go ahead and eat it with a spoon. Don't get creative with this one and change the frosting! At least not the first time. Give it a try. I honestly think you won't regret it. :)
Sooooo, STEP UNO: Prepare the pans. I can't stress how important this is. I've had many cakes stick to my pans no matter how much butter and flour I use. So what I do now, which works beautifully, is to also use parchment paper. First, I trace the shape of the pans on parchment paper and cut them. Then I butter the pans very well and stick the parchment paper in the bottom of the pan. Next, I sprinkle them very well with flour. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees and set the pans aside.
And now the fun begins (at least in my opinion)!!! In a medium bowl, mix the flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside. Looks like a snowy mountain... Or a hat in a way. :)
In a large bowl (I used my stand mixer, but it's not necessary), and in high speed cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about two minutes. Make sure to cream it long enough because this adds air to it and makes the cake fluffier.
Add one egg at a time, beating after each addition. Mix in vanilla, oil, and pumpkin.
Then alternate between adding flour and milk, making sure to begin and end with flour. Beat until just incorporated. No need to over do it because it can make the cake dense, and nobody wants that!
Divide batter into the three pans and bake for 35-40 minutes, or until it gets an A in the toothpick test (you stick a toothpick in the middle and it comes out clean).
As soon as you take the pans out of the oven, put them in the freezer uncovered to stop the cooking process immediately and keep them very moist. Keep them in there for 45 minutes.
While that's happening' let's focus on the frosting. It's super easy. Just mix cream cheese with the butter until it's very smooth and add maple syrup, vanilla and cinnamon. Mix and add confectioner's sugar. Beat on low speed at first (so you don't create a cloud of sugar in your kitchen!) and, once it's incorporated, beat on high speed until smooth.
While that's happening' let's focus on the frosting. It's super easy. Just mix cream cheese with the butter until it's very smooth and add maple syrup, vanilla and cinnamon. Mix and add confectioner's sugar. Beat on low speed at first (so you don't create a cloud of sugar in your kitchen!) and, once it's incorporated, beat on high speed until smooth.
Put 3-4 sheets of parchment paper on the plate you intend to serve the cake in to keep the frosting from making it too messy. Then remove one cake from the pan and liberally frost the top. Do the same with the second layer. Once you add the third layer frost the whole cake lightly to create a crumb coat. Stick the whole cake in the freezer again for 10 minutes
Finish frosting the cake. Since I live in Mayaguez and it's incredibly humid the frosting started melting again so I stuck it in the freezer again and kept frosting until it was done. Worked like a charm ;)
Decorate cake with chopped walnuts and whole walnuts and hazelnuts if desired.
Decorate cake with chopped walnuts and whole walnuts and hazelnuts if desired.
Enjoy the awesomeness. ;)
Pumpkin Cake with Cinnamon Maple Cream Cheese Frosting
Adapted from: The Novice Chef
Ingredients:
Cake:
Frosting:
Decoration:
Preparation Instructions:
Behind the scenes:
Ingredients:
Cake:
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 4 medium eggs
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 1 (15 oz) can pumpkin
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 1 cup milk
Frosting:
- 12 oz (1 1/2 packages) cream cheese, softened
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 3 tbsp pure maple syrup
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 6 cups powdered sugar
Decoration:
- A few whole walnuts, whole hazelnuts and chopped walnuts
Preparation Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
- Trace each 8 inch round pan on parchment paper with a pen and cut out shape. Grease pans with butter and stick parchment paper circles on the bottom of each pan. Sprinkle with flour and shake pans to ensure that it is covered with flour. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, mix the flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about two minutes.
- Add eggs one at a time and beat after each addition.
- Add vanilla, pumpkin and vegetable oil and mix.
- Beat in the flour mixture and the milk, alternating between the two. Make sure you begin and end with flour. Flour-milk-flour-milk-flour. Mix until just combined. Do not over mix.
- Divide batter evenly into pans. Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until you stick a toothpick in the middle of each cake and it comes out clean.
- Remove pans from oven and quickly place in freezer (uncovered) to keep them from continuing to cook. This will make them very moist. Keep them there for 45 minutes.
- For the frosting: In a large bowl, mix butter and cream cheese until smooth. Add maple syrup, vanilla and cinnamon and mix. Add confectioners' sugar and incorporate on low speed, then on high until smooth.
- Place 3-4 strips of parchment or wax paper on the plate you plan to serve the cake in. This will keep the frosting from making a mess on the plate. Remove first layer from pan and place on top of the parchment strips. Spread a thick layer of frosting over it and repeat with the second layer.
- Frost the entire cake lightly to create a crumb coat and stick the cake in the freezer for 10-15 minutes to harden the frosting.
- Finish frosting the cake and decorate with walnuts and hazelnuts.
Behind the scenes:
The revealing!