Pumpkin Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

I find it very easy to not get sucked in to the pumpkin flavored everything frenzy which occurs every autumn. While I like pumpkin pie with loads of fresh whipped cream and the occasional piece of pumpkin cake slathered in cream cheese frosting, I've never had a pumpkin spice latte or a pumpkin spice Oreo. I just don't see (or maybe it should be "taste") the appeal. Perhaps it's because I prefer smaller quantities of the warm spices such as cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves; I think they can quickly become overpowering in a recipe and many people don't understand that in some cases, less of something is actually better. It's also entirely possible that I'm too stubborn to give into the pumpkin spice trend.

Despite my adamant food beliefs, I have many people in my life who adore pumpkin desserts and drinks. I love these people so I make them what they desire. I'm willing to admit that this cake is one of the exceptions to my rule. It's moist, not cloyingly sweet despite the amount of sugar nor is it too heavily spiced. And it's covered in cream cheese frosting. I love a good cream cheese frosting.

I slightly adapted the following recipe from a "Taste of Home" recipe for a family dinner last year. It's a quick cake to make, no fancy ingredients, and no special techniques.

Ingredients for the CAKE:

4 eggs
1-2/3 cups sugar
1 cup melted butter
1 can (15 ounces) solid-pack pumpkin puree
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
Dash of nutmeg
Dash of allspice
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt

Ingredients for the FROSTING:

1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
2 cups confectioners' sugar
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 to 2 tablespoons milk

MAKE THE CAKE:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9" by 13" baking dish.

In a large bowl, beat the eggs, sugar, butter, and pumpkin until well-blended.

In a separate bowl, combine the dry ingredients, and add slowly to the wet ingredients, mixing well.

Pour batter into the prepared baking dish.

Bake for 45 to 50 minutes.

Let cool completely before frosting.

MAKE THE FROSTING:

In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese and butter thoroughly, then add the powdered sugar and beat until fluffy.  Add the vanilla extract and 1 to 2 tablespoons of milk, adding more milk for a thinner consistency as desired or adding more powdered sugar for a thicker frosting.

Cook's Notes:

1. You can certainly add up to a cup of "extras" (raisins, craisins, walnuts, pecans, chocolate chips) to the batter if you'd like.  I recommend toasting the nuts before adding them to either the batter or scattering over the top of the frosting.

2. Have we ever talked about having your ingredients at room temperature before baking? Butter and eggs both benefit from sitting on the counter for about 15 minutes and warming up before you incorporate them in the batter. Softened butter creams with sugar better and more quickly; you want the end result to be super fluffy and very pale. At room temp, eggs are more easily mixed into your cake batter. Eggs are hardier than we give them credit for. Technically, as long as they're stored in a cool location and used promptly, they don't even need to be refrigerated. Modern fridges are kept much colder than they really need to be. So, before you preheat the oven and start assembling the rest of your ingredients, pull the eggs and butter from the fridge and let them come up to room temp.

3. You can add spices to the frosting if you want to; a sprinkle of cinnamon and nutmeg. Just remember you can always add more spice but you can't remove it, so start with a very small amount and taste as you go.

The cake tastes even better the day after and if you miraculously have leftovers, it remains moist up to a week later.