I can’t resist pumpkin and spice this time of year!
Pumpkin bread, pumpkin muffins, pumpkin blondies…the list goes on!
I’ve found over the years that many recipes for pumpkin cake are similar to pumpkin bread. They produce a cake that tends to be on the heavier, super rich end of the spectrum. No complaints about that, but I feel that those textures are best left for pumpkin bread.
In creating this recipe I wanted a pumpkin cake with a nice pumpkin color and a pleasing level of spice. I was looking for a cake with a nice crumb that would melt in your mouth but still hold up to the fork test. I use this term to describe a cake that is light, but has enough structure to not crumble when it is pierced with a fork.
I started off by reworking my go-to buttermilk cake recipe. By the second round of testing I’d replaced some of the cake flour with all purpose flour. The additional protein gave the cake a bit more structure despite the addition of pumpkin puree to the recipe. A few tweaks with the spice and an extra egg later I had found (my version of) the perfect pumpkin cake. Enjoy!
- 6 oz unsalted butter, softened
- 425 grams sugar- 2 cups plus 2 tablespoons
- 275 grams Cake flour- 2⅓ cups
- 65 grams Ap flour- ½ cup
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2¼ teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2½ teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 8 ounces solid pumpkin pack
- 6 ounces buttermilk, at room temperature
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 4 large eggs, at room temperature
- 3 ounces vegetable oil
- Preheat your oven to 350* F
- Grease 3 8" round pans and line with parchment if desired
- Combine all dry ingredients in mixer bowl and whisk to combine
- Combine all wet ingredients in a measuring cup and whisk smooth, set aside
- With your mixer on low, drop chunks of butter into the dry ingredients and allow to mix until the mixture is crumbly and no visible butter remains
- Add ¼ liquid to dry ingredients, blend on low and then beat on medium-high speed for 2 minutes
- Add ½ remaining wet ingredients, combine on low then add remaining wet ingredients. Mix until smooth. Give the bowl and beater one final scrape
- Finally, mix on stir speed for 2 minutes
- Divide the batter between the 3 prepared pans and bake for 30-35 minutes, until the cakes spring back when pressed and a toothpick inserted into the center of the cakes comes out with a few moist crumbs
- Cool completely before frosting
Leave a Reply