Pumpkin Spice Cake Square

Pumpkin Spice Cake Square

My goal was to make a pumpkin bar with an end result looking like a lemon bar in my mind. I should mention that I have never had a piece of pumpkin bar before. After searching and comparing online recipes, I came up with this recipe which turn out to be a cake that I called "Pumpkin Spice Cake Square". Give it a try... and if you happen to have the recipe that I was originally looking for, send it to me. Thanks.

This recipe makes 24 servings.


Ingredients:

• Cake

Out of the Oven

- 4 large eggs
- 1 2/3 cups white sugar
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 t baking powder
- 1 t salt
- 1 t baking soda
- 2 t cinnamon
- 1 t pumpkin spice

• Butter Cream Frosting

- 6 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
- 6 T butter, room temperature
- 3 cups confectioners' sugar

A nice layer of Butter Cream Frosting!

Directions:

1. Preheat oven at 350°F.
2. Spray a 9 by 13 in. glass pan.
3. In a large bowl, beat together the eggs, sugar, oil and pumpkin.
4. In another large bowl, sift the flour, baking powder, salt, baking soda, salt and cinnamon.
5. Add to wet ingredients to the dry ones and mix very well.
6. Pour the batter in your baking pan and bake for 35 minutes.
7. Remove from oven and let the bake cool down completely.
8. Once the cake is cool, It is time for the frosting. In a large bowl, beat together the cream cheese, butter and confectioner's sugar until you get a nice creamy paste.
9. Immediately evenly spread the frosting on the top of the cake.
10. Cover your cake with clear wrapping paper and put it in the fridge to let the frosting set for 20 to 30 minutes.
11. Cut into squares and serve.

Inspired and adapted from a member of food dot com


What do I think about this recipe?

The cake and frosting are quick and easy to prepare. It would be a perfect dessert to bring without spending all day in the kitchen. Just bake the cake either the night before or early in the morning and it will be perfectly cool to lay the frosting. Note that the cake will rise around 1/2 inch higher than the edges, in the middle.

The cake is definitively moist and light. But do not let this small square fulls you. You will feel satisfied after it. The spices are not overpowering the taste of the cake. It just the right amount. The frosting has a creamy and soft texture. It gives some extra sweet tenderness at each bit.
For a more sophisticated look for a party, I would try to bake the cake in a mini muffin or small square pans, use a piping design of your choice to spray the frosting and add a tiny pinch of cinnamon or pumpkin spice on top of it.

ENJOY!

 Laetitia

Three Pumpkin Pies - Which one do you like best?

Pumpkin pie is my husband's Thanksgiving dessert and there is no negotiation around it. For this special day, we make THE pumpkin pie following his family recipe. Several years ago, he found out that the special recipe for the pumpkin pie, made by his grand-mother, was in fact the recipe in the back of the can of Libby's pumpkin can. What is your family dessert recipe(s) for Thanksgiving?

You will find below three pumpkin pie recipes: Libby's Famous Pumpkin Pie of course, Perfect Pumpkin Pie and Pumpkin-Maple Pie.

Pumpkin Pie - Libby's Recipe

• Libby's Famous Pumpkin Pie by Libby's

Ingredients:

- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1/2 t salt
- 1 ground cinnamon
- 1/2 t ground ginger
- 1/4 t ground cloves
- 2 large eggs
- 1 can (15 oz.) Libby's 100% pumpkin pie
- 1 can (12 fl. oz.) Carnation evaporated milk
- One unbaked 9-inch (4 cup volume) deep-dish pie crust

Direction:

Mix sugar, salt, cinnamon, ginger, cloves in small bowl. beat eggs in large bowl. Stir in pumpkin and sugar-spice mixture. Gradually stir in evaporated milk.
Pour into pie crust.
Bake in preheated 425 degree Fahrenheit oven for 15 minutes. reduce temperature to 350 degree Fahrenheit  bake 40-50 minutes or until knife inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool on wire rack for 2 hours. Serve immediately or refrigerate.

• Perfect Pumpkin Pie by EAGLE BRAND

Ingredients:
- 1 (15 oz.) can Pumpkin
- 1 (14 oz.) can Eagle Brand Sweetened Condensed milk
- 2 large eggs
- 1 t ground cinnamon
-1/2 t ground ginger
- 1/2 t ground nutmeg
- 1/2 salt
- One (9-inch) unbaked pie crust

Directions:
Heat the oven to 425 degree Fahrenheit  Whisk pumpkin, sweetened condensed milk, eggs, spices and salt in medium bowl until smooth.
Bake 15 minutes. reduce oven to 350 degree Fahrenheit  bake an additional 35 to 40 minutes or until knife inserted 1 inch from crust comes out clean. Cool. Garnish as desired.

• Pumpkin-Maple Pie

Pumpkin-Maple Pie

Ingredients:
- One 16-ounce can of puree pumpkin
- 1 cup of whipping cream
- 3/4 cup maple syrup
- 3 large eggs
- 1 T all-purpose flour
- 1/2 t maple flavoring
- 1 t pumpkin pie spice
- Pinch of salt
- One unbaked 9-inch pie crust

Direction:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Whisk all the ingredients in a bowl. Pour the filling into the unbaked crust. Bake 55 minutes, or until the filling is set.

What do I think about this recipe?
I ended up have too much filling for the pie. So, I baked the left over in 2 ramekins.
The filling has a nice rich brown color. The texture of the pie is fluffier than a regular pumpkin pie. It feels really light. However the top of the pie has this very thin layer of sugar which make you think about marshmallow consistency. It is slightly sticky on the top. The hole on the picture was made with the knife. Some of the filling stick to it when I checked if the pie was cooked.

With the maple flavoring and almost a cup of maple syrup, you would think that the maple flavor would be overpowering and it is not. The flavor is just right.


If you have the pie with some whipped cream it gives a creamier texture and enhances the maple flavor.
This recipe was a success to the extend that my husband would like it again but not on Thanksgiving day! ;-)

Recipe from Pumpkins by Jacqueline Farmer (non-fiction, children's book)

ENJOY :-)

Laetitia