Pumpkin Cake

This is the first of our Thanksgiving posts, cataloging all the desserts we made for this Thanksgiving. 

I tried this cake for the first time at a friend's house, asked for the recipe - which came from finecooking.com - and since then, I have been making it every fall. The topping - a generous heap of pecans and crystallized ginger - is what totally makes this cake. The smooth and rich cream cheese frosting complements the crunchy topping, and the layers are just the perfect pumpkin and spice base for the whole thing. There are several steps and the directions look long, but it's really worth it. 

One time, Oksana and I made two of these in one day - one with canned pumpkin puree and another with an actual baked pumpkin that we pureed ourselves. I was surprised that I actually liked the cake made with canned puree better - it turned out more moist. Maybe too much moisture escaped from our pumpkin when we baked it, or maybe it needed a dash of oil. 

Ingredients:

For the cake

• 6 oz. (3/4 cup) unsalted butter
• 9 oz. (2 cups) unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1-1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1-1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp. ground ginger
• 1/4 tsp. ground cloves
• 3/4 tsp. table salt
• 1-1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 2/3 cup firmly packed light or dark brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1/3 cup buttermilk
• 1 (15 oz.) can of pumpkin puree
• 
  

For the topping

• 1-1/2 Tbs. unsalted butter
• 2 cups pecans
• 2 Tbs. firmly packed light brown sugar
• 1/4 tsp. table salt
• 1-1/2 Tbs. chopped crystallized ginger
• 
  

For the frosting

• 6 oz. (3/4 cup) unsalted butter
• 12 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
• 1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar

Directions:

Make the cake

• Preheat the oven to 350. 
• Butter and flour two 9- inch round springform pans. 
• Melt butter on stove-top. Cook butter for no more than five minutes stirring occasionally. It's supposed to turn a golden brown color with a slight nutty taste. Set aside to cool for about fifteen minutes as you complete the other steps. The butter should not solidify however. 
• Combine all the dry ingredients in a medium bowl, besides the brown sugar and granulated sugar and mix. 
• In  large bowl or stand mixer, whisk the eggs with the granulated sugar and brown sugar. Then add the pumpkin puree and buttermilk and blend well. 
• Using a paddle attachment or rubber spatula, slowly add the flour mixture to the wet mixture until just blended. 
• Add the brown butter until incorporated. 
• Divide batter evenly between the two pans. It should come out more on the thick side. 
• Bake for 28-30 minutes, or until the toothpick comes out clean. 
• Let cool in pans for about 15 minutes, and then carefully transfer unto a wire rack to cool completely before frosting. 

Make the topping

• Combine all the ingredients in a skillet and cook on medium heat for about five minutes, or until the sugar melts and the pecans are slightly toasted. 

Make the frosting

• Melt butter. The original recipe asks you to clarify the butter with a series of complicated steps, but honestly I do not worry too much about it. I just melt the butter, put it through a tight sieve to catch any solids, and skim off the foam. Most of the the time it comes out looking pretty clear. Then I usually set the hot butter in the freezer for a few minutes to cool, so it's ready quickly for the frosting. It must be cool but still liquid-y when used in the frosting. 
• Beat the cream cheese, butter, light brown sugar and powdered sugar until fully combined. The original recipe asked for a little less light brown sugar and a lot more powdered sugar - about 1 1/4 cups. Since I am not a huge fan of powdered sugar, I added much less and found that it's not really necessary. The frosting is already sweet enough and the thickness is just right. But more powdered sugar can be added if preferred. 

Assemble the cake

Put one cake layer on cake plate or server. Spread a little less than half of the frosting and sprinkle the top with about 1/3 of the topping. Place the other cake layer on top and use the remaining frosting to frost the rest of the cake. Top with remaining pecans. 

-Yana