Everyone loves cake. For birthdays, weddings, graduations, and any special occasion, there is cake to make the event special. Cake is synonymous with celebration. But sometimes the cakes I really enjoy on any given day are the simple ones that don’t have a lot of adornment, yet are big on flavor. These sometimes come in the shape of loaves or as bundt cakes, can be made with a variety of ingredients, and are easy enough to whip up after a long work day. Because they aren’t as delicate as “special occasion cakes” they also make for great gifts that are hold up well in transport and can be enjoyed over the span of a few days (if you don’t eat it all right away).
I first made this pumpkin cake for Thanksgiving dinner, and forgot to take pictures in the rush of everything. I followed the recipe exactly (which was for a bundt cake) and it came out really nice–perfectly moist and light. Pumpkin breads can often turn out dense and heavy, but this cake had a springier texture much unlike the standard pumpkin bread consistency. I also thought I could make some adjustments to make it healthier, and ever since then I’ve been meaning to try making this again with a few modifications.
Thanks to Costco, I had 6 cans of organic pumpkin puree from the holiday season, and I finally got around to trying this recipe again this week (I guess I’m still in an “autumn” state of mind). This time I wanted to be able to make loaves to give to some friends. I made some substitutions using almond meal and coconut sugar for a lower carb content and to use less processed ingredients. I also made a maple icing (instead of a chocolate ganache). The cake was not as spongy–probably due to the almond meal–but still softer than the average pumpkin bread, and it was plenty moist. This is the kind of cake you can have for breakfast, and that’s something to celebrate. (The recipe I’m providing is for the “healthier” version).
{Pumpkin Cake a la Miette}
Ingredients
-
- Pumpkin Cake
- 1 cup unbleached all purpose flour
- 3/4 cup almond meal
- 1-1/2 t. ground cinnamon
- 1 t. ground nutmeg
- 1/2 t. ground cloves
- 3/4 t. sea salt
- 4 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 cup coconut sugar
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 1 15 oz. can of pumpkin puree
- 1 cup chocolate chips or toasted walnut pieces (or other nut) (optional)
Maple Icing
- 2 t. maple syrup
- 1 T. water
- 1 cup powdered sugar
Preparation
-
- Pumpkin Cake
- Butter and a 10″ bundt pan and dust with flour, or use four 5″ paper loaf molds.
- Preheat oven to 350F degrees.
- Sift together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and salt in a bowl.
- In a separate bowl, with a hand or stand mixer, whisk the eggs and sugar together on medium for about 2 minutes.
- Lower mixing speed to low, and continue to whisk, slowly adding the oil; then whisk on high speed for about 1 minute.
- Switch to the paddle attachment (if using a stand mixer), and mix in the pumpkin puree using medium speed until just combined.
- Mix in the dry ingredients in 3 additions, mixing until just combined each time.
- Scrape down the sides of the bowl and fold in any nuts or chocolate chips by hand.
- Pour batter into the bundt cake pan or paper molds. If using paper molds, place them on a baking sheet. Bake on the middle rack–about 45-50 minutes for the bundt cake, or 40-45 minutes for the paper molds. The cake(s) are done when they are springy to the touch, and a cake tester comes out clean.
- Allow the bundt cake to cool for approximately 10 minutes on a wire rack, then invert it onto a cake dish. For paper molds, allow cakes to cool completely on the wire rack.
Maple Icing
- Whisk together maple syrup, water and powdered sugar. You can add water or powdered sugar to obtain the desired consistency.
- When the cakes are completely cooled, drizzle icing over the top.
