Help From Other Scratchers-Pumpkin Cake

Baking By AnnieCahill Updated 26 Sep 2011 , 8:23pm by KathieB

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AnnieCahill Posted 23 Sep 2011 , 1:21am
post #1 of 35

I love this recipe. Seriously. BUT, like most things, it could use a little help. I find that it bakes kind of flat and heavy. I'm not that good yet with the chemistry of baking to know what I can and can't adjust in the way of leavening. I have tried scaling back the oil a bit but it doesn't work that great. Maybe I'm not scaling back enough?

Or, if you have another scratch Pumpkin Cake recipe that you love, I'm always open to new things! My girlfriend is getting married next month and she wants this cake for one of her tiers.

Thanks!

For two 9x2 inch cake layers

3 cups unsifted cake flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons chopped crystallized ginger
2 1/2 ounces walnuts, chopped
2/3 cup dried cranberries
2 cups solid pack pumpkin
1 cup sugar
1 cup light brown sugar
1 cup canola oil
4 large eggs

Preheat oven to 350. Prepare pans with spray and parchment paper.

Sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder, spices, and salt. toss ginger, walnuts, and dried cranberries with the dry ingredients. This will prevent them from sinking to the bottom of the pan.

Place the pumpkin, sugars, and oil in the bowl of your mixer. With the flat paddle, combine them on medium speed and add the eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition. The mixture should be smooth and homogenous.

Add the dry mixture in 4 batches, scraping the batter down after each addition. Beat just enough to combine the wet and dry ingredients; do not overmix.

Divide the batter between the two pans and bake 40 to 50 minutes.

34 replies
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shari3boys Posted 23 Sep 2011 , 1:26am
post #2 of 35

http://www.canyoustayfordinner.com/2010/10/10/pumpkin-spice-cake-with-cream-cheese-frosting/

I LOVE LOVE LOVE this pumpkin cake recipe! was a huge hit last thanksgiving

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AnnieCahill Posted 23 Sep 2011 , 1:38am
post #3 of 35

Thanks Shari for the recipe! I really appreciate it!

Annie

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scp1127 Posted 23 Sep 2011 , 4:46am
post #4 of 35

Annie, it has a lot of pumpkin. I put pumpkin in my carrot cake and it makes it much heavier, but incredible. I don't think I have that much in it. Can you cut the pumpkin down a little? My pumpkin cake is the pumpkin carrot, so I can't offer sugestions on a new recipe.

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scp1127 Posted 23 Sep 2011 , 4:51am
post #5 of 35

i just read Shari's recipe and hers has 2 c pumpkin, so maybe my suggestion isn't a good one. But hers looks heavy and dense too. But I like pumpkin cakes that way.

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AnnieCahill Posted 23 Sep 2011 , 11:12am
post #6 of 35

See I don't mind the heaviness. I actually love dense cakes. I'm not into the fluffy spongy stuff unless it's angel food cake. icon_smile.gif

I noticed that her recipe is very similar to the one I posted. I would just like it to rise a bit higher, but I think with all that heaviness it really can't.

Thanks for the suggestions!

Annie

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scp1127 Posted 23 Sep 2011 , 12:22pm
post #7 of 35

I think you are right. If you get height, you lose that moisture.

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MimiFix Posted 23 Sep 2011 , 12:57pm
post #8 of 35

My pumpkin recipe has a nice, soft cake texture. I use it mostly for sweet loaves but also for cakes with cream cheese icing and makes a nice wedding cake tier. It's from my Start & Run a Home-Based Food Business. The batter is thin, so if you want to add raisins, cranberries, etc, the batter should be thicker to suspend the additions. I suggest you add an extra 1/2 cup flour.

3 ½ cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 ½ teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
½ teaspoon allspice
3 cups sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
4 large eggs
1 (15-16 oz) can pumpkin
2/3 cup water, cider, juice, or wine


Measure flour and stir in other dry ingredients. Set aside. In a large bowl mix remaining ingredients together. Add flour mixture to liquid ingredients and combine well. Pour into greased pans. Bake at 350 degrees until done.

This is a simple, delicious recipe with a lot of tolerance for mistakes.

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scp1127 Posted 23 Sep 2011 , 1:00pm
post #9 of 35

Mimi, do you suggest the cider?

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MimiFix Posted 23 Sep 2011 , 1:06pm
post #10 of 35
Quote:
Originally Posted by scp1127

Mimi, do you suggest the cider?




I prefer using apple cider or wine for a more flavorful cake. But water is cheap (tap water is cheap!) and works well, too.

I made this one time with a spiced holiday wine and it was exceptional! But it was a four tier cake and really added to the cost.

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scp1127 Posted 23 Sep 2011 , 1:09pm
post #11 of 35

I am the worst about wine knowledge. Do you know the brand? You know I love what alcohol brings to baking.

I learned about the great aspects of cider vinegar in baking when I had to develop a vegan recipe.

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AnnieCahill Posted 23 Sep 2011 , 1:15pm
post #12 of 35

Thanks Mimi for sharing your recipe!

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tdovewings Posted 23 Sep 2011 , 1:21pm
post #13 of 35

fall is barely here and this makes me want to try a pumpkin cake, cookie, muffin or something! Thanks guys for getting me in the mood

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MimiFix Posted 23 Sep 2011 , 1:37pm
post #14 of 35
Quote:
Originally Posted by scp1127

Do you know the brand? You know I love what alcohol brings to baking.




Me too! I love baking with wines and liqueurs. They add a subtle richness to the flavor of baked goods. The wine is from Brotherhood Winery, their Holiday Wine http://www.brotherhood-winery.com/winesSpecialty.html We visited the winery and bought a case one year to give as gifts. And we ended up keeping almost every bottle.

You're very welcome Annie. Whichever recipe you use, let us know how your cake turns out!

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scp1127 Posted 23 Sep 2011 , 1:43pm
post #15 of 35

Mimi, it's sold out. Any description could help me with a substitution at the wine store. Thanks, Susan

I'll keep this thread with my recipes to check back with them later.

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Narie Posted 23 Sep 2011 , 2:39pm
post #16 of 35

Here is another recipe. This one is for Pumpkin bars; however, I would image that it could be baked in a cake pan.

This recipe needs no tweeking, it has worked perfectly every time I have made it. Make sure your spices are fresh- it makes a difference.

Pumpkin Bars
This cake is good and moist; it is also very easy to whip together.
Bars:
2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup currants or raisins ( I use golden raisins.)
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cloves
1 cup oil
16 oz. can pumpkin
4 eggs

Frosting:
2 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup margarine or butter, softened
3 oz pkg cream cheese, softened
1 Tablespoon. milk
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. grated orange peel

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 15x10" jelly roll pan. Lightly spoon flour into measuring cup; level off. In large bowl, blend all bar ingredients at low speed until moistened. Beat 2 minutes at medium speed. Pour into prepared pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool completely.
In small bowl, combine all frosting ingredients; beat until smooth. Spread over cooled bars. Refrigerate leftovers. 48 bars.

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AnnieCahill Posted 23 Sep 2011 , 4:13pm
post #17 of 35

You guys are killing me with all this pumpkin talk! I LOVE anything pumpkin. Dunkin Donuts has a pumpkin muffin and a pumpkin doughnut which are to die for.

Thanks again for the recipes.

Annie

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SammieB Posted 23 Sep 2011 , 5:37pm
post #18 of 35

Do you think one of these recipes could be halved? I made the heavenly spice cake on here the other day (the doctored mix) and though it was great, I really wanted a good solid scratch recipe to try and just couldn't find one that sounded right to me. I still have some pumpkin, but only 8 oz. and I want to use it today if possible. I can just make 1 8" round.

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AnnieCahill Posted 23 Sep 2011 , 5:46pm
post #19 of 35

Yes Sammie. The pumpkin cake I originally posted lists a 6" recipe in the book. I will double check when I get home, but I'm positive the ingredients are just halved.

Believe me when you try that recipe you will not see a need for a doctored recipe again!

Annie

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SammieB Posted 23 Sep 2011 , 5:58pm
post #20 of 35

Thank you! Yeah, as easy as doctored are, I've really been trying to find some good consistent scratch recipes. I'm just a hobbyist, but if I ever did decide to do something with after my girls are in school I wouldn't want that to be the time to try and learn new methods and recipes! Trust me, this will be going in the oven today! I just love, love pumpkin!

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scp1127 Posted 23 Sep 2011 , 6:11pm
post #21 of 35

So Annie, it sounds like you talked yourself into your own cake!

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Narie Posted 23 Sep 2011 , 6:33pm
post #22 of 35

Just cut the recipe amounts in half for the pumpkin bars and bake in 8 inch pan. It will more than likely be 1 1/2" high rather than the little over 1' so it might take a bit longer to bake- or maybe not. This would be a good choice for novice scratch baker. It is just measure, dump and mix. Nothing tricky about it.

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AnnieCahill Posted 23 Sep 2011 , 7:45pm
post #23 of 35

Susan, I really like that recipe but the only drawback is that I don't get full 2" layers so a full tier looks a little awkward. I may do some research in the Cake Bible and see what Rose says about messing with the leavening.

It really is a good cake, although I don't use the cranberries or ginger.

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scp1127 Posted 23 Sep 2011 , 8:06pm
post #24 of 35

Annie, if I really like a recipe, I've been known to bake four layers, but only for family.

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cakestyles Posted 23 Sep 2011 , 8:18pm
post #25 of 35

Annie, you could try separating the eggs, mix everything else but the whites per the original directions, but whip the egg whites separately til semi stiff peaks, fold in one third of the whites at a time until all of the whites are incorporated.

That would help give you a little more rise on your layers.


Pumpkin and carrot type cakes will not rise quite as much as say our chocolate or white cakes, but I've found the above method helps quite a bit.

Good luck!

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AnnieCahill Posted 23 Sep 2011 , 8:41pm
post #26 of 35

Thanks for the tip cakestyles! I really appreciate it!

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SammieB Posted 23 Sep 2011 , 8:51pm
post #27 of 35

Well, I have something to contribute now that the cake is out of the oven. I unfortunately didn't quite have all the ingredients for every recipe, but they were all fairly similar, so I got a little creative. I don't know a tremendous amount about scratch baking, but I felt like being adventurous. icon_smile.gif

Here's the recipe I used:

1-1/2 c flour
1-1/2 c sugar (though I wish I had doing half regular and half light brown sugar- I forgot to)
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp pumpkin pie spice (ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg premixed)
2 eggs
1/2 c canola oil
8 oz pumpkin
1 tsp vanilla
1/3 c Woodchuck's Hard Apple Cider, Limited Edition Fall Flavor

I sifted all the dry ingredients together, beat the liquid together, then added the dry about 1 cup at a time until incorporated, then beat the whole thing for right at 2 minutes. Baked at 325 for about 35 minutes.

Like Annie, it didn't rise a whole lot. It was right at the top of my 2" pan all the way around, but the center sunk just a little. It has a great flavor, not overly sweet at all, and definitely not overwhelmingly pumpkin. It is good by itself, has a good texture, but kind of a large crumb. It's very, very moist and kind of dense.

I'm not really sure the cider made a huge difference. I love this apple cider, it is by far one of my favorite drinks to just sip on, but the Granny Smith version is very tart. The fall edition is an amber cider with a hint of cinnamon and nutmeg. I would imagine it gave it just a little more punch than using water.

The recipe above made just 1 8x2 cake, enough for me to test. I may throw some cream cheese icing on it later just to test it out, but I prefer to just eat straight cake these days! I may have to experiment a little more, but i'm happy!

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augurey Posted 24 Sep 2011 , 5:06pm
post #28 of 35
Quote:
Originally Posted by MimiFix

My pumpkin recipe has a nice, soft cake texture. I use it mostly for sweet loaves but also for cakes with cream cheese icing and makes a nice wedding cake tier. It's from my Start & Run a Home-Based Food Business. The batter is thin, so if you want to add raisins, cranberries, etc, the batter should be thicker to suspend the additions. I suggest you add an extra 1/2 cup flour.

3 ½ cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 ½ teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
½ teaspoon allspice
3 cups sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
4 large eggs
1 (15-16 oz) can pumpkin
2/3 cup water, cider, juice, or wine




I made these (cupcakes) this morning. The only change I made was using 2 tsp of pumpkin spice (which is basically the same as the cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice). I might increase it slightly next time, maybe not. I also added 1/2 tsp ground cloves.

I used water for the liquid, but I would definitely like to try it with the other options. Water was the only thing I had on hand without running back out to the store.

Very tasty. I tried one without the icing to make sure I didn't totally bomb the recipe, and it's delicious by itself. My boyfriend's cousin and her boyfriend tried one (after having been iced) and they liked it.

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LindaF144a Posted 25 Sep 2011 , 8:12pm
post #29 of 35
Quote:
Originally Posted by AnnieCahill

I love this recipe. Seriously. BUT, like most things, it could use a little help. I find that it bakes kind of flat and heavy. I'm not that good yet with the chemistry of baking to know what I can and can't adjust in the way of leavening. I have tried scaling back the oil a bit but it doesn't work that great. Maybe I'm not scaling back enough?

Or, if you have another scratch Pumpkin Cake recipe that you love, I'm always open to new things! My girlfriend is getting married next month and she wants this cake for one of her tiers.

Thanks!

For two 9x2 inch cake layers

3 cups unsifted cake flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons chopped crystallized ginger
2 1/2 ounces walnuts, chopped
2/3 cup dried cranberries
2 cups solid pack pumpkin
1 cup sugar
1 cup light brown sugar
1 cup canola oil
4 large eggs

Preheat oven to 350. Prepare pans with spray and parchment paper.

Sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder, spices, and salt. toss ginger, walnuts, and dried cranberries with the dry ingredients. This will prevent them from sinking to the bottom of the pan.

Place the pumpkin, sugars, and oil in the bowl of your mixer. With the flat paddle, combine them on medium speed and add the eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition. The mixture should be smooth and homogenous.

Add the dry mixture in 4 batches, scraping the batter down after each addition. Beat just enough to combine the wet and dry ingredients; do not overmix.

Divide the batter between the two pans and bake 40 to 50 minutes.




I have not read all the responses to it, but here is my take on this recipe.

The oil and the pumpkin are too much liquid fat. Try converting it to using butter. And try using the creaming method instead. I don't like this method at all for a cake. That is more of a quick bread, muffin method. Also it is way overleavened. I would suggesting cutting it down to about 1.5 tsps of each, given the amount of flour. The amount in this recipe is enough for 8 cups of flour. Sometimes there is that much baking soda to neutralize some kind of acidity. But 2 tsps is more than enough for the brown sugar and cake flour. Maybe pumpkin has some acidity to it that I am not aware of. I don't know. But I do know that much pumpkin and oil is way to dense and moist to hold up other than being flat.

Where did you get the recipe? Sometimes recipes are posted by someone who had good luck once, or did not know any better about what kind of cake to expect.

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AnnieCahill Posted 26 Sep 2011 , 11:10am
post #30 of 35
Quote:
Quote:

Annie, if I really like a recipe, I've been known to bake four layers, but only for family.




Thanks Susan. I have thought about making four layers before. I actually ended up making three when I did my bridal shower cake a year ago but it ended up being about 5 inches tall (totally my fault because I was in a hurry and didn't level them down).

Linda, thanks for your tip about the leavening and the fat reduction. I was also thinking this was like a quickbread, and it kind of reminded me of that unfortunately. I would like to retain all of the pumpkin if possible because this really is a great recipe.

Thanks so much to all of those who have helped me.

Annie

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