Makes a nicely spicy, moist loaf cake.
A couple of tips:
- That's right, olive oil. Believe me. It's perfect for this.
- If you are in the States and can use Libby's canned pumpkin puree, great!
- If you are in a non-Libby's zone and thus using fresh pumpkin, get yourself a Hokkaido. These are ideal for baking, because they're firm (not watery) when cooked, and also the skin is edible. Cut it up, remove the seeds and stem, peel away any weird spots with a knife or potato peeler. Boil the Hokkaido chunks for 15 minutes until soft, then drain the water and puree it with a hand mixer. Or a potato masher. Or a fork. Or whatever works.
- Boiling/steaming is better than roasting, because you want a soft, even puree, not crispy roasted edges.
To the cake!
Dry ingredients
- 2 cups flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon cloves
- ½ teaspoon allspice
- ¼ teaspoon cardamom (optional)
Wet ingredients
- ¾ cup olive oil
- ¾ cup brown sugar
- ¾ cup white sugar
- 2 eggs (or egg substitute, if making vegan)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 2 cups pureed pumpkin
Preheat the oven to 175 C (350 F).
Whisk together the dry ingredients in one bowl. Then whisk the wet ingredients in another bowl. Pour the dry into the wet and stir until just combined (you don't want to overmix, otherwise you'll overdevelop the gluten and make it tough/dense rather than fluffy).
Pour into a loaf pan or muffin tins. Bake until it passes the toothpick test (loaf = 45-55 minutes, muffins = around 25 minutes but check them at 20).
Want to glaze it?
Glaze ingredients
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- Just a splash of milk (cow, soy, almond, oat, whatever)
- A dash of cinnamon
In a small bowl, pour the maple syrup over the sugar and whisk really hard until it forms a paste. Add the milk, drop by drop, until you get a thick, spreadable consistency. Whisk in some cinnamon. Use a spoon to spread it over the (entirely completely totally cooled!) cake, dribbling some down the edges. You can let this dry and then add another layer, if desired. It should harden up in 30 minutes or so.
