Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Pumpkin Cake with cream cheese frosting


Cost: $2.99

Libby's website
I don't have a lot of time to blog today, but that's ok, because this is a simple thing you can bring along for holiday get togethers that doesn't take a lot of time but has much flavor, over and above what you can buy premade from a grocery store bakery.

Bottom Line: Libby's canned pumpkin is a very good choice for the recipe below because it is sweet and smooth but doesn't contain any salt, sugar or spices of any kind.

Ingredients: It's 100% pure pumkin. Other products your going to find already have a lot of the spices already added and thats not a good thing because what gets people raving about this dish and asking for the recipe is fresh ingredients.



Pumpkin Cake
--Dry ingredients--
2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
--Wet ingredients--
4 large eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
1 2/3 cups granulated sugar
1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin puree

Cream Cheese Icing

6 tablespoons unsalted butter
softened 1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese
cut into 8 pieces and softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Cake instructions:
1.With the rack in the middle position preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2.Grease and flour a baking pan 13"x9".
3.Whisk dry ingredients together in a bowl.
4.With an electric mixer on medium high speed, beat eggs, oil, and granulated sugar until thick and fluffy...about 5 minutes.
5.Reduce speed to low, add pumpkin, and mix until fully incorporated.
6.Slowly add flour mixture and mix until only a few small lumps of flour remain, about 1 minute. 7.Scrape batter into floured pan and bake until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 30 to 35 minutes.
8.Transfer pan to wire rack and cool completely.

Frosting instructions:
1.With electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat butter and confectioners sugar until fluffy, about 2 minutes.
2.Add cream cheese 1 piece at a time, beating thoroughly after each addition.
3.Add vanilla and mix until smooth.

Once the cake is completely cooled just frost and serve.