You Want A Piece…Of Pumpkin Cake with Brown Butter Frosting

Yesterday I caught myself rinsing an unopened can of black beans in the sink (I could be the new Amelia Bedelia from the children’s book) and this morning, I broke my large french press-I need a break. This also brings me to the fact that this is my last post until Monday the 30th. I hope your Thanksgiving is wonderful and relaxing-don’t forget to do that and share your stories with me when I return.

I will leave you with one of my new favorite cakes using my pumpkin puree recipe (you can use canned puree too). Martha Stewart did it again for me with this pumpkin cake with brown butter frosting, very moist and the first bite merited a smile and the words “this tastes like my grandma’s recipe” then more goofy smiling. Wish me luck on my first brining of the turkey!

Pumpkin Cake
Serves 8-10

Ingredients:
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for pan
1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pan
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 large eggs
1 cup pumpkin puree, homemade or canned
1/2 cup warm (110 degrees) milk

Preheat the oven to 350 and butter a 9-by-2-inch round cake pan. Line pan with parchment, and butter the parchment. Coat pan with flour, and tap out any extra. In a large bowl, sift together flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, salt, baking powder, and baking soda; set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat sugar and butter together until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add eggs, and beat until combined. Beat pumpkin puree and milk until combined. Add the flour mixture; beat on low speed until just combined.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean, about 55 minutes. Transfer the cake to a wire rack to cool. Let cake rest 20 minutes. Pull the cake out of the pan using the parchment paper on the side and spread the frosting over the top of the cake.

Optional Pumpkin Puree from Martha Stewart
Ingredients:
1 sugar pumpkin (3 1/2-4 lbs)

Preheat the oven to 400. Cut the top (stem) and bottom of the pumpkin off and cut the pumpkin in half lengthwise. Place the cut side down on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake about an hour. Cool then add to food processor, blender or mash by hand to puree. If freezing, place in airtight container and remove from the freezer the day before, placing it in the refrigerator. The pumpkin puree will keep for up to 6 months in the freezer.

Brown Butter Icing
Frosts one 9 inch cake
Ingredients:
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 cup sifted confectioner’s sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 to 2 tablespoons milk

In a small saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat until nut-brown in color, about 5 minutes. Remove pan from heat, and pour butter into a bowl, leaving any burned bits behind. Add the sugar, vanilla, and 1 tablespoon milk; stir until smooth. If the icing is too thick, add the remaining tablespoon milk, a little at a time, until consistency is spreadable. Let cool for 5 minutes. I wanted mine to be slightly runny to drizzle so I added a tiny bit more of milk but Martha didn’t want that.