Pumpkin Cake
Woohoo! A cake that looks and tastes like pumpkin! Potato Pat always makes this delicious treat just around Halloween (‘cause that’s when fresh pumpkins abound). It’s fun to serve at a Halloween party, a harvest fest, or to celebrate anyone lucky enough to have their birthday in late fall. Of course, the cashew-and-date icing is a must, as it is, after all, the icing on the cake. Plus, it comes together in a snap and can easily be made orange using natural food colouring. Or the orange colour comes from using natural food colouring.
Ingredients
- Cashew-Date Icing
- natural orange food colouring (optional)
- ½ cup olive oil
- ½ tsp olive oil for greasing the pan
- 3 tbsp ground flax seeds
- ½ cup water
- 2½ cups whole-wheat pastry flour
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp ground ginger
- ½ tsp ground nutmeg
- ½ tsp ground allspice
- ¼ tsp ground cloves
- 1 cup brown sugar packed
- ½ cup unsweetened applesauce
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 cups roasted pumpkin purée
- 1 cup chopped walnuts or raisins
- 1½ cups unsweetened pears canned, drained, and chopped
- fresh sprigs of mint for garnish
Instructions
- Prepare Cashew-Date Icing and add natural food colouring as needed. Process until the colour is right. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before applying to a cool cake. This lets the icing harden up and makes it easier to spread.Cashew-Date Icing, natural orange food colouring
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray a 6-inch-diameter deep, ridged Bundt pan with olive oil or, using a pastry brush, spread a thin layer of oil on pan (½ tsp oil). Try to use a pan that closely simulates the shape of a pumpkin.½ tsp olive oil
- In a large bowl, mix 3 tbsp ground flax seeds with ½ cup water and let thicken for at least 5 minutes.3 tbsp ground flax seeds, ½ cup water
- In a large bowl, sift 2½ cups whole-wheat pastry flour, 2 tsp each baking soda and ground cinnamon, 1 tsp salt, ½ tsp each ground ginger, nutmeg, and allspice, and ¼ tsp ground cloves. Stir until well combined.2½ cups whole-wheat pastry flour, 2 tsp baking soda, 2 tsp ground cinnamon, 1 tsp salt, ½ tsp ground ginger, ½ tsp ground nutmeg, ½ tsp ground allspice, ¼ tsp ground cloves
- To the thickened flax mixture, add 1 packed cup brown sugar, ½ cup each olive oil and applesauce, and 1 tsp vanilla extract. Beat with an electric hand mixer for 3–5 minutes or until bubbles appear. This is a crucial step to ensure the cake rises during cooking.½ cup olive oil, 1 cup brown sugar, ½ cup unsweetened applesauce, 1 tsp vanilla extract
- Make a well in the centre of dry ingredients, then slowly pour in wet ingredients and mix with a large fork until everything is just combined. Do not overmix.
- Fold in 2 cups roasted pumpkin purée, 1 cup chopped walnuts, and 1½ cups drained and chopped canned pears.2 cups roasted pumpkin purée, 1 cup chopped walnuts or raisins, 1½ cups unsweetened pears
- Spoon mixture into the prepared Bundt pan and bake for 50–60 minutes or until top springs back when pressed, a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into centre of cake, and cooked batter has pulled away from the top edge of the pan.
- Once cake is cooked, remove from oven, place on a wire rack, and let cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan.
- Slowly and carefully slip a knife around the edges to loosen, turn pan over onto a wire rack, and slip cake onto wire rack to continue cooling. Let cool completely before shaping and icing.
- Once cake is cool, carefully shave the bottom edge of the cake with a knife, rounding it out. Put the excess cake that is removed into the hole in the middle of the cake. Extend some of the excess above the pumpkin in the shape of the stem. Decorate cake with Cashew-Date Icing and fresh sprigs of mint.fresh sprigs of mint for garnish
Breakout Trick
Instead of a single cake in the Bundt pan, you can use a 12-hole muffin tin, reducing the cooking time to 35–45 minutes.
Be sure to use fresh-roasted sweet cooking pumpkins (or butternut squash) to make this cake. We recommend cooking the pumpkin in advance.
If you use liquid food colouring, subtract that amount from the cashew milk. You want to use no more than ½ cup liquid in this recipe.
Nutrition
Serving: 1sliceCalories: 351kcalCarbohydrates: 47gProtein: 6gFat: 18gSaturated Fat: 2gPolyunsaturated Fat: 7gMonounsaturated Fat: 8gSodium: 394mgPotassium: 306mgFiber: 6gSugar: 23gVitamin A: 6370IUVitamin C: 3mgCalcium: 57mgIron: 2mg
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
