Pumpkin Almond Cake

This time of year reminds me of a joke that my older brother used to play on me when I was little. He says, want to play 52 card pickup? I say, yes, that sounds fun. Cue the entire deck of cards dropped on the ground. I get over it and think, that was mean but he really is nice and would never do something like that again. He waits ten minutes and then says, want to play 104 card pickup? I say, yes, that sounds fun and different. Cue two decks of cards dropped on the ground.

What is the point of this story? The point is that the world can be mean--older brother mean--this time of year. By the time you come to terms with the fact that the sun sets in the afternoon, it snows. A lot.

I am supposed to say something along the lines of: but, hey, look on the bright side this cold and snowy weather means that it is time to start baking for the holidays! While I am not entirely convinced of this, I am convinced that the following recipe should be added to your Thanksgiving menu immediately.

This cake begins and ends with a frosting so delicious that words cannot describe it. If it were socially acceptable to serve this frosting in little ice cream dishes at a dinner party, I would do just that. And for those of you whose friends are seemingly too sophisticated to eat frosting with a spoon, I have two suggestions:

1. Get new friends.

2. Bake the pumpkin almond cake which serves as a more appropriate conduit for getting the frosting to your mouth.

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Pumpkin Almond Cake
from Baked

Make the cake: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter one 9" round cake pan, line with parchment paper, and butter the parchment. Dust the parchment with flour and knock out the excess flour. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flours, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves.

In the bowl of a standing mixer, beat the butter and sugars on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add the pumpkin puree and beat until incorporated. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl and mix for 30 seconds.

Add the flour mixture in three parts, alternating with the buttermilk, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl and beat for a few more seconds.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 40 to 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Set the pan on a wire rack to cool for at least 20 minutes. Loosen the sides of the cake from the pan, then turn the cake out onto the rack. Remove the parchment, flip the cake right side up, and let the cake cool completely.

Make the frosting: Place the almond butter, butter, 2 tbsp of almond milk, powdered sugar, and salt in a food processor. Pulse until the frosting comes together and is shiny and smooth. If you prefer a slightly looser frosting, add more almond milk; if you prefer a thicker frosting, add 1/2 cup of powdered sugar.

Cake
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cups almond flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cloves
4 ounces (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
1 cup pumpkin puree
2 large eggs
3/4 cup buttermilk, well shaken

Almond Butter Frosting
1/2 cup almond butter
2 ounces (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, softened
2 tbsp almond milk
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla bean paste

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Pumpkin Birthday Cake

The fortunate thing about not being at work over the holidays is that I don't have to (unsuccessfully) restrain myself from eating from the endless baskets of candy, the trays of baked goods, and the gift boxes filled with chocolate covered things, cheese, and the single pear (which I have never quite understood).

I believe there is a parable that goes something along the lines of: A wise person who avoids sugar over the holidays should limit herself from baking those sweets at home.  I probably made that up but this seemingly wise person still loves a good excuse to bake.

And what better excuse than my father's birthday.  This year I decided to bake a pumpkin cake which I made last year for Thanksgiving.  It is not only delicious it is also extremely easy to make...and I truly mean that: it takes about ten minutes to put together and you can do it all without a mixer.  I decorated the cake with a meringue frosting and toasted it with my kitchen torch.  While I love any excuse to use that tool, you can also toast the meringue under the broiler.

The recipe can be found here:  Pumpkin Layer Cake

Pumpkin Layer Cake

I intended to get this post up before Thanksgiving...and then before Christmas but I failed at both attempts. So, being that I missed two of the biggest food-related winter holidays, I am hoping that you have an event in the future that calls for a dessert because I highly recommend this pumpkin layer cake.

It took me a long time to find just a few cake recipes that work on a consistent basis and this is one of them. It is incredibly easy to prepare (no mixer needed) and always rises perfectly. It is just the right amount of pumpkin and spice which means that not only will pumpkin pie lovers like it, pumpkin pie haters should like it, too.  While I filled it with a homemade pumpkin butter (that I made on a whim, i.e. recipe is rough), it could be filled with a store bought version or simply the meringue frosting.

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Pumpkin Cake

Make the cake: Preheat oven to 350°F.  Prepare two 8" or 9" round cake pans with a coating a non-stick spray and a piece of parchment (this makes removing the cake so much easier).

In a large bowl, sift together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg. Using a whisk, mix the ingredients together to ensure that everything is incorporated.  In a second large bowl, use a spatula to combine the brown sugar and one third of the pumpkin puree making sure to get rid of  any lumps. Once the two ingredients are fully combined, add the remainder of the pumpkin and oil. Whisk the pumpkin mixture and oil and then add the eggs, one at a time, stirring to incorporate after each addition. 

Add the dry ingredients one third at a time, blending after each addition.  Divide the batter between the two pans and place onto a baking sheet and into the oven. If using 8" pans, weigh 1lb 7oz of batter into each pan and bake for 35 minutes or until the cake has risen and springs back when you touch it.  Once cake has cooled for 30 minutes, remove from cake pans and let cool completely.

Make the frosting: Place sugar, corn syrup, salt, water, and egg whites in a glass bowl or the top of a double boiler. Beat with an electric hand mixer for one minute. Place bowl or pan over boiling water, ensuring that boiling water does not touch the bottom of the bowl. Beat on high speed with electric mixer until fluffy, about 7 minutes. Beat in vanilla.

Make the pumpkin butter: Place all ingredients in a pot on the stove and cook, stirring frequently, on medium until mixture thickens. 

Assembly: Place one layer of cake on a cake board or directly on serving dish. Level cake with a bread knife making sure to not cut your hand or fingers (be careful!).  Remove layer one and repeat step with layer two.  Spread a thick layer of the pumpkin butter on top of one layer. Place the second layer of cake on top pressing down slightly. Clean up any pumpkin butter that drips down the side.  Frost the cake with as much as the meringue frosting as you like. Eat.

Cake
3 cups all purpose flour
1 cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt 
1 tbsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp ground ginger
2 tsp freshly ground nutmeg (it is worth it, I promise)
1 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
2 cups canned pumpkin puree
5 large eggs, at room temperature
1 1/4 cup vegetable oil

Meringue Frosting
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 tbsp corn syrup
1/8 tsp salt
1/3 cup water
2 egg whites
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Pumpkin Butter
I forgot to note exactly how much I used of each ingredient so spice to taste:
Remainder of pumpkin puree from cake 
~1/4 cup brown sugar
~1 tsp cinnamon
~1/4 tsp ginger
~1/4 tsp nutmeg

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