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Pumpkin Cake



Pumpkin Cake 
Source: Maida Heatter's Book of Great Desserts (Andrews & McMeel Publishing, 1999 ed.), pg. 94.

Another pumpkin recipe but hey, it is that time of year. This is an easy-to-make and assemble cake that is moist and delicious. Definitely not for the diet conscious! I thought the 2 cups of sugar sounded excessive and I might substitute some apple sauce to counter that. I may try that in the future. However, this is a great cake just the way it is listed.

I found that I did not have allspice in my pantry. Fret not - you can use equal amounts of cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg.

3 cups sifted all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. baking powder
1 TBS. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. powdered ginger
1/2 tsp. powdered cloves
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. allspice
1 tsp. salt
5 oz. (1 cup) raisins, dark, light or mixed
3 1/2 oz. (1 cup) walnuts, broken into medium sized pieces
2 cups pumpkin
2 cups sugar
1 1/4 cups safflower oil, corn oil, or other salad oil
4 eggs
Optional: Confectioners sugar

Preheat oven to 350. Butter or spray a tube or Bundt pan. Generously dust with bread crumbs. 

Sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, nutmeg, allspice and salt.

 
Add a tablespoon of the sifted mixture to the raisins in a small bowl. Use your fingers to toss the raisins to coat them. Stir in the nuts and set aside.

 
In a mixer bowl, mix together the pumpkin, sugar and oil.

Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well.
Lower the speed and add the sifted dry ingredients, beating until smooth.

Stir in the nuts and raisins. Turn into the prepared pan. Bake for 1 hour or until cake tester comes out clean.
Cool in the pan on a wire rack for about 10 minutes before removing. When cool, the top of the cake can be sprinkled with confectioners sugar.

Comments

Anonymous said…
I have been making this cake for years and it never fails. I usually make it plain and in a 10” tube pan or in a Bundt pan. I use 1 15 oz can. Would love to lower the sugar content by 1/4 to 1/2 cup and the oil to 3/4 cup to 1 cup. Have you tried the apple sauce replacement? I have used 2 cups ap flour and 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour for great results too! To me no other recipe comes close to the original, whether it be cake or bread.
October 26, 2020 at 2:13 PM
Phillip Oliver said…
I haven't tried the applesauce replacement in this recipe. However, I have done that in the past for many recipes and it usually works fine. This would be a good experiment!
February 19, 2021 at 8:50 AM
Emily V said…
I just made this recipe for my mother's 73rd birthday, on her request. Used a mix of regular and golden raisins mixed with craisins to up the seasonal flavor! Taking a radical turn, I baked 12 cupcakes (in papers) and two 8" rounds... that's how much batter this cake makes (leading me to wonder about halving the recipe and how that might work). I boldly/foolishly took the chance to butter and flour the cake pans, being daunted by the butter/paper/butter method in the recipe. I gave them plenty of time to cool and they came out of the pans beautifully!!! Made a 2 layer cake with apple butter in the middle. Baked it Saturday, eating it this Wednesday, let's see how it stands the test of time.
October 16, 2023 at 5:14 AM
Phillip Oliver said…
That is great Emily - let us know how it holds up. And happy birthday to your mother!
October 16, 2023 at 8:28 AM
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