On Saturday, I pulled more pumpkin out of the freezer and baked a pumpkin cake in my Nordic Ware Baby Pumpkin Cake pan. My starting point was the recipe that came with the pan, but I made some changes. I replaced 2/3 of the AP flour with whole wheat pastry flour. I reduced the sugar from 1 1/3 cups to 1 cup plus 2 Tbs. I reduced the salt from ¾ to ½ tsp. I replaced 1/3 cup butter with ¼ cup canola oil plus enough buttermilk to make 1/3 cup. I added 2 Tbs. BRM milk powder and 1 Tbs. flax meal. Since I was using homemade pumpkin puree, I deleted 1/3 cup water. I also omitted the pecans. I also changed the mixing directions, since if an oil cake is beaten as much as a butter cake would be, it tends to be tougher and drier. I baked it on the third rack up (above center) in my oven.
Instead of 28 minutes, my cake took 45 minutes. That is likely due to the pumpkin puree being more watery, so leaving out the additional water was a good call. The two halves domed a bit more than I would like. I might consider reducing the baking soda from 1 tsp. to ¾ tsp. next time. I cut off the domes and we each had one for dessert tonight. There is plenty of sweetness, so I might further cut the sugar to 1 cup next time. The only spice is cinnamon, so there is just a hint of it, and the pumpkin stars. I will make a glaze and “glue” the top and bottom of the pumpkin together with it for a festive cake for tomorrow’s dessert.
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