Less Sugar More Spice Pumpkin Cake
by Maggie Noble
YIELD & BAKE TIME:
One bundt cake (60 - 65 minutes)
One 5” x 10” loaf (60 - 65 minutes)
12 muffins (30 minutes)
INGREDIENTS:
butter 2 sticks (8 ounces, 226 g) softened
sugar 1 Cup
brown sugar 1/2 Cup
eggs 2
vanilla 1 teaspoon
all purpose flour 3 cups
baking powder 1/2 teaspoon
baking soda 2 teaspoon
cinnamon 2 teaspoons
nutmeg 2 teaspoons (ground is fine but fresh grated packs a bigger punch)
ground clove 1/2 teaspoon
ground ginger 1 teaspoon ( if using fresh ginger, peel and mash a 1.5” piece into paste)
salt 1 teaspoon
pumpkin puree 15 ounce can OR one sugar pie pumpkin, seeded, roasted and pureed (the amount will be about the same and it’s ok if it is off by an ounce or two if you decide to roast your own pumpkin)
yogurt 1 cup (Full fat is best. You can substitute with sour cream or half greek yogurt and half milk).
ADDITIONAL INGREDIENTS:
butter for coating bundt or loaf pan. No need to use flour to line a bundt pan but you should use butter and flour to coat loaf pans.
flour for dusting loaf pan and muffin tins if you’re not using a liner.
cooking oil spray for the muffin liners if you choose to make cupcakes.
powdered sugar for dusting if you choose to dress it up
TOOLS:
pan
mixer with paddle attachment
whisk
spatula
wire rack for cooling
METHOD:
Preheat oven to 425F. Getting the oven good and hot in the preheat will give your baked goods oven spring, or a lift. When you open your oven door, you loose a lot of heat so this hot preheat compensates for that. Just remember to turn it down when you put the cake in!!!
Mise en place Sounds like meeze on ploss, French for get all your ingredients out and measured before cooking or baking.
Mix dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, powdered ginger & salt) using a whisk. No need to sift.
Prepare pan preferably with butter but cooking spray works, too. Bundt (just coat with butter), loaf (coat with butter & dust with flour) or muffin (line with papers and spray).
Cream butter This means to mix the butter with the paddle attachment until it is soft. If your butter is still a bit cold and is chunking, you can help it soften by holding your hands on the mixing bowl as the paddle moves on medium speed. Your warmth is enough to help prompt softening. The butter should resemble mayonnaise before you move to the next step.
Sand sugar This means to pour the sugar in slowly as the paddle is moving through the butter. Scrape the bowl down making sure to stir up the bottom with your spatula before moving on.
Add first egg and mix on medium for about 15 second.
Add second egg and mix on medium for about 15 seconds.
Add vanilla ( and fresh ginger, if using instead of powdered)
Scrape the bowl
Add pumpkin puree and mix on medium for about 30 seconds. Stop mixer and scrape the bowl again to ensure everything is incorporated.
Add 1/2 the dry ingredients and mix on medium for about 15 seconds
Add yogurt and mix for about 15 seconds. Scrape the bowl.
Add the other 1/2 of the dry ingredients and mix until incorporated, about 30 seconds.
Scrape the bowl thoroughly by taking it off the mixer and making sure you get to the bottom. Give a couple more turns with the spatula to ensure mixing.
Pour into prepared pan and level with spatula if making bundt cake or a loaf.
Drop oven temp from 425F to 350F.
Bake at 350F for the amount of time that corresponds to the pan you are using (listed above). For the bundt, do not use a sheet pan underneath, bundt pans are typically thick and a sheet pan will make the bottom of the pan bake more slowly than the top. For muffins and loaf pans, sheet pans underneath are recommended for easy in and out of the oven.
Cool on a rack in the pan for 10 minutes. Turn out the loaf or bundt cake onto a wire rack when the pan is cool enough to touch. Remove muffins from pan to a wire rack to cool completely.
Dust with powdered sugar (using a sieve) if you so choose but wait until the cake is nearly room temperature so as not to melt the sugar. If the powdered sugar melts, you won’t be able to see it.
NOTES:
As with all of our recipes, we recommend using organic ingredients. Sure, we think they taste better, but more importantly, buying organic is healthier for your body and it is healthier for planet earth. According the the EWG, Glyphosate, a Monsanto weed killer, has been found in boxes of pasta and cereals in your local grocery store. Buying organic, sends a message to stores and manufacturers that you value honest clean food and it keeps your system clean, as well.
We also recognize the mounting war on sugar and are on the side of the Against but we sympathize with the Pros. It is hard to avoid sugar in baked goods. It not only makes food taste good, it also acts as a preservative and assists creating tender textures. That being said, we’ve found that the standard cake, muffin, cookie and quick bread recipes simply call for way too much sugar. We test or recipes over and over until we reach what we call threshold. How little sugar can this pumpkin cake have and still taste good and keep a nice texture? It is a concession, yes but it seems like a good place to start.