Doug's Pumpkin Spice Cake

This recipe comes from a friend of mine at work, who decided to bake a pumpkin spice cake after I told him of my easy recipe. Doug's recipe is much more challenging, but sounds incredible. I have not spoken with him yet to see how it turned out, but the maple syrup in the icing sounds wonderful.

Pumpkin Spice Cake:



1/2 cup (113 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/4 cups (270 grams) light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 cup fresh or canned pure pumpkin (about 1/2 of a 15 ounce can)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 cups (200 grams) sifted cake flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon (5 grams) baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 cup (120 ml) buttermilk, room temperature)


Cream Cheese Frosting:

8 ounces (228 grams) cream cheese, room temperature
1/4 cup (56 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 tablespoons pure maple syrup (preferably Grade A dark amber)
2 cups (230 grams) confectioners' (powdered or icing) sugar, sifted

For Garnish:

1/2 cup (50 grams) toasted and chopped walnuts or pecans


Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C) and place rack in center of oven. Butter and flour (or spray with Baker's Joy) two - 8 inch (20 cm) cake pans. Cake: In the bowl of your electric mixer(or with a hand mixer), cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy (about 2-3 minutes). Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add the pumpkin puree and vanilla and beat until incorporated.In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and spices. Add the flour mixture and buttermilk alternately to the pumpkin batter, in three additions, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Divide the batter in half and then pour the batter into the prepared pans. Bake for approximately 25 - 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes and then invert and remove the cakes from their pans. Cool completely before frosting.



Frosting: Place the cream cheese and butter in the bowl of your food processor (or use a hand mixer) and pulse until smooth. Add the maple syrup and confectioners' sugar and process to combine. Adjust syrup or sugar until you have the right consistency.Assemble:Place one of the cake layers, top side down, on a serving plate. Frost with a layer of icing. Place the second cake, top side down, onto the first layer and frost the top and sides of the cake. Garnish with chopped nuts, if desired. Refrigerate but bring to room temperature before serving.



This recipe is adapted from Cindy Mushet's excellent baking newsletter "Baking with the American Harvest". (Unfortunately, it is no longer in publication.)

White Chocolate Marshmallow Frosting

This is the frosting recipe for the Pumpkin Spice Cake . It's so simple and so sinfully sweet and good. The sweetness works well with the spice in the cake and would also work well on a carrot cake. How can you go wrong with 3 simple ingredients like cream cheese, marshmallow cream and white chocolate chips?


White Chocolate Marshmallow Frosting

1 8oz. package cream cheese, softened
1 container of marshmallow cream
1 bag white chocolate chips, melted

Using a hand mixer, mix ingredients until well blended. Frost.

Sour Cream Icing

Here is the recipe for the sourdough cookies. This works well on all types of sugar cookies and gingersnaps.

Sour Cream Icing

1 box powdered sugar
1 stick butter, soft
3 oz. cream cheese, soft
1 tsp. vanilla

Cream together butter and cream cheese. Add vanilla and slowly beat in sugar. Mix until smooth and creamy. Add milk if too thick. Add food coloring if desired.

Cream Cheese Pecan Icing

This icing can be made without the pecans if you like, but they do a dd a nice flavor.

Cream Cheese Pecan Icing

1 1/2 sticks butter
1 box, plus one cup powdered sugar
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 cup finely chopped pecans
1 tsp. vanilla

Cream cheese, sugar, and butter. Add pecan and vanilla, mix well. Spread onto cooled cake.

Lemon Cake w/Citrus Glaze

Lemon cake has always been my favorite of all the cakes. Well, maybe not my all time favorite, that would be an Italian cream cake. But lemon cake is the cake I always asked for on my birthday as a child. This recipe is simple and the glaze that goes on top is excellent! One of these days, I will get around to posting my recipe for an Italian Cream Cake.

Lemon Cake w/Citrus Glaze

1 box lemon cake mix
2 (10 oz) boxes lemon instant pudding
3/4 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
1 cup water

Mix all the ingredients and beat for 3 minutes. Pour into greased and floured bundt pan and bake at 350 degrees for 40 to 45 minutes.

Citrus Glaze

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
3 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
3 tbsp. fresh orange juice

Mix together and pour over hot cake.

Sourdough Cookies

A couple of years ago I was at my cousin's house in Florida and she served these cookies. They are so freaking good, the kind that you can't eat just one of. Big and soft and such a sweet icing, just the perfect comforting cookie you need every once in a while. I saw the recipe in my file at home and thought that it would be a good one to share.

Sourdough Cookies

1 cup butter, softened
2 cups sugar
1 cup sour cream
1 tsp. vanilla
3 eggs
1 tsp. baking soda
4 cups flour

Mix ingredients, drop by teaspoonfuls on ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 375 for 10 to 12 minutes.

Cookie Icing

1 box powdered sugar
1 stick butter, softened
3 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
1 tsp. vanilla

Mix together and add milk if too thick. Ice cookies. Add food coloring if desired.

Tangy Pineapple Icing

This is the icing for the Triple Coconut Cake. You only need to drizzle a small amount onto the cake, a little goes a long way in flavor.

Tangy Pineapple Icing

2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 Tbsp. light corn syrup
1 Tbsp. fresh lime juice
2 tsp. lime zest , minced
1 cup pineapple juice
1/4 cup sugar
pinch of salt

Combine first 4 ingredients in a bowl. Boil pineapple juice, sugar and salt in a saucepan over high heat until reduced to 1/2 cup. Pour syrup mixture over powdered sugar mixture and stir. ( can be made 1 day ahead of time. Keep at room temperature; thin with lime juice if necessary).