Pumpkin Cake Recipe

I love eating the crisp edges of a cake. I love eating warm cakes fresh from the oven. And I always, always try my best to eat as much cake while avoiding the cake frosting. Cupcakes, with their chilled interior, their over-the-top frostings and their little paper cups pulling away at all the crisp edges of the cake, were an annoyance to me. I couldn't understand why cupcakes are so popular for the longest time. It's only recently that I understood what I have been missing out on. A cupcake celebrates the frosting and the fluffiness of a cake. 

This epiphany was brought about by R's spectacular batch of this pumpkin cupcake and maple syrup buttercream. One bite, and I was hooked. Call me a cupcake convert, at least when it comes to this recipe. Its warm deep golden hue and strong pumpkin fragrance was a perfect dessert for autumn.  

So where, you may be wondering at this point, are the pictures of the much-talked about cupcakes? Well, there isn't any. Because for one, I'm horrible at piping, but also, look at how lovely the pictures of the cakes taken by R are. 

  

I may need frosting lessons. Pic by R. 

 Let's try again, and distract people from my frosting-related incompetency with some pepitas and cinnamon. Okay, I think we're in the clear. Pic by R

Pumpkin Cake Recipe 

In a tasting of pumpkin cake recipes done several years ago, we tried King Arthur, lifeloveandsugar and The Blonde Buckeye. This recipe from The Blonde Buckeye is the recipe that we liked the most. It was itself adapted from Smitten Kitchen.

Makes 24 cupcakes, or one cake of 9.5-inch diameter

 

INGREDIENTS

280g (2 cups) Cake Flour (Substitution: all-purpose flour + cornstarch in 7:1 ratio)

1½ teaspoons Pumpkin Pie Spice (Substitution from Betty Crocker: ground cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, allspice and cloves in 6:1:1:1:1 ratio. ie 60% cinnamon)

1 teaspoon Cinnamon

2 teaspoons Baking Powder

1 teaspoon Baking Soda

½ Teaspoon Salt
115g (½ cup or 1 stick) Unsalted Butter, room temperature
220g Brown Sugar
50g Granulated Sugar
2 Eggs
½ cup Buttermilk

1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
280g (1¼ cups) Pumpkin Puree (see below)

STEPS
1) Preheat oven to 175C (350F). 

2) Sift cake flour, baking powder, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda, cinnamon and salt together and set aside. 

3) Add the vanilla to the buttermilk. Set aside. 

4) Cream the butter and both sugars together on medium-high until the mixture becomes light & fluffy, about 5 minutes with an electric mixer. Add the eggs one at a time, making sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl after every addition. 

5) At low speed, add in ⅓ of the dry ingredients, then half the milk, mixing well after each addition. Continue until everything is just combined (finishing with the dry). Mix in the pumpkin until just combined. 

6) Line each cupcake well with a paper liner and distribute the batter evenly amongst the cupcake wells. A tablespoon of batter in each well is sufficient, as you are aiming for a small cake that would not rise into a dome beyond the paper liner. You may use more batter if you're not planning to frost the cupcakes (AKA a muffin), but the batter should not exceed 3/4 of the well's capacity.  Add a tablespoon of water to any empty wells. 

7) Bake for about 20 minutes (or until inserted toothpick comes out clean). Allow cupcakes to cool in the pan for about 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack and cool to room temperature. 

NOTES

Instructions for baking a cake: Pour mixture into a 9.5-inch cake pan. Rap the pan on a coaster/kitchen towel a few times to release any bubbles. Bake for 40-50 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. The cake can be kept for 2-3 days at room temperature in an airtight container (or they can be frozen up to 2 months without frosting). 

Decorations: In addition to the maple syrup frosting, pepitas (recipe below) or candy corn or any Halloween-themed sweets or chocolate are good options. A sprinkle of cinnamon does wonders too. 

Maple Buttercream Recipe

Adapted from Aida Mollenkamp on Chowhound

Makes frosting for 24 cupcakes, or for a two-tiered cake 

INGREDIENTS
250g (2 sticks/8 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
60g powdered sugar
160g (1/2 cup) maple syrup
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

STEPS
1) Combine all ingredients and whisk on low speed until all the ingredients are combined, about one minute. 
2) Increase speed to high and continue beating until the mixture becomes light in color and fluffy, about 5 minutes. When scraping down the sides of the bowl, the frosting should be smooth and homogenous. If it appears broken, continue to whisk. Frost immediately when ready. 

Storage: Excess frosting can be refrigerated in an airtight container. To use, let it come to room temperature and whisk until light in color, fluffy, and fully incorporated.

Pumpkin Purée Recipe

There are two ways to make pumpkin puree: either steaming or roasting until the pumpkin flesh becomes soft and yielding. I prefer roasting as it requires less prep work (you will separate the pumpkin flesh from the skin only after the pumpkin flesh is softened from heat), and I feel that roasting concentrates the pumpkin flavour. In opposition, steaming makes the pumpkin puree a more watery product. 

Excess pumpkin purée can be frozen in ziplock bags and kept for upwards of a year. If you squeeze the air out of the ziplock bags before sealing and keep the bags flat as they freeze, the frozen pumpkin purée can be easily broken into shards to portion for another recipe, and can be defrosted in 10 minutes in tepid water. 

Ingredients
Pumpkin, cut into wedges, in as much quantity as you want. 
  
Steps
1) Cut pumpkin into wedges. Remove the seeds and the stringy bits of pulp. but leaving skin attached. (Pumpkin seeds, or pepitas, can be roasted and eaten, or used to decorate the cake. 
2) Bake at 170C for about an hour, until a fork is able to go through all the way. 
3) Using a spoon, scrape the pumpkin meat out into a blender/food processor. Blend to make a purée. 

Pepita Recipe

The Pioneer Woman did a really thorough picture-by-picture demonstration, and so I'll just link you to her recipe. 

STEPS
The gist is to wash the pumpkin seeds and let it air-dry in a baking tray for several hours (it's sticky, so don't use paper towels!).  

When ready, drizzle with a couple of tablespoon of olive oil, sprinkle generously with table salt and bake for about an hour to one and a half hours at 120C.