Butternut Cake — The One That Made It Into Eleanor’s Eyebrows

Eleanor Dorothy turned one year old on October eleventh and ate her smash cake with the methodical focus of a scientist. She looked at it for exactly as long as I predicted she would. She placed one careful finger into the cream cheese frosting. She tasted it. She made a face that cycled through approximately six distinct expressions — surprise, evaluation, acceptance, interest, enthusiasm, determination — and then she put her whole hand in. By the end she had frosting in her eyebrows and an enormous grin and the kind of sugar-sustained alertness that I have learned always precedes an early and spectacular crash.

The honey lavender cake was exactly what I hoped. Olivia had two slices and Mason had three. Gary said it might be the best birthday cake I've ever made, which is either true or he's being kind because he knows I'm writing it down, but either way I'll take it. Eleanor, for her part, appeared to find the smash cake adequate while showing considerable interest in whatever was on Olivia's plate, which I think tells us everything we need to know about her food personality going forward.

I'm struck, every birthday, by how completely different each grandchild is. Clara arrived fully formed — fierce, decisive, already herself. Henry has always been a river: moving at his own speed, finding his own level, untroubled by the banks. And Eleanor is this watching thing, this careful attention in a small person, dark eyes tracking everything, reserving judgment. You can see her thinking. It is remarkable to watch a person become who they are going to be.

After cake and before the drive home, I sat with Eleanor on my lap in the big chair in the living room while the others cleaned up. She was fighting sleep with the last of her sugar energy, leaning back against me, making small sounds. The October light was through the window. She smelled like cake frosting and baby shampoo. I didn't move. I did not take out my phone. I just sat there and held her and was grateful in the fullest possible sense of that word.

One year old. The first of many Octobers, Eleanor. Every one will have something to eat in it.

The honey lavender flavor I mentioned is my own flourish, but the foundation of Eleanor’s birthday cake — and the smash cake she wore so spectacularly — is this butternut cake, which has been in my rotation long enough that I think of it as a late-October cake in the same way I think of certain sweaters as late-October sweaters. The squash keeps it impossibly moist, the spices are warm without being heavy, and the cream cheese frosting is exactly the kind that makes a one-year-old pause, evaluate, and then commit her entire hand to the project. If you are baking for someone’s first birthday, or their fortieth, or just a Tuesday in autumn that deserves something, this is the recipe I’d hand you.

Butternut Cake

Prep Time: 25 minutes | Cook Time: 35 minutes | Total Time: 1 hour | Servings: 12

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp ground cloves
• 1/2 tsp fine salt
• 3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 3 large eggs, room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups cooked butternut squash, mashed and cooled
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• Cream Cheese Frosting:
• 8 oz full-fat cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 3 cups powdered sugar, sifted
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• Pinch of salt

Instructions

1. Prepare. Preheat your oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two 9-inch round cake pans, or line with parchment rounds.
2. Mix dry ingredients. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and salt in a medium bowl. Set aside.
3. Cream butter and sugar. In a large bowl, beat the softened butter and granulated sugar together with a hand or stand mixer on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3–4 minutes.
4. Add eggs and squash. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then mix in the mashed butternut squash, sour cream, and vanilla extract until just combined. The mixture may look slightly curdled — this is normal.
5. Combine wet and dry. With the mixer on low, add the flour mixture in three additions, stirring just until no dry streaks remain. Do not overmix.
6. Bake. Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans and bake for 32–36 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean and the tops spring back lightly when pressed.
7. Cool. Let cakes cool in the pans for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely before frosting.
8. Make the frosting. Beat cream cheese and butter together on medium-high until smooth and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the powdered sugar one cup at a time, then beat in vanilla and a pinch of salt. Increase speed and beat for 1 minute until light.
9. Frost and serve. Place one cake layer on your serving plate and spread a generous layer of frosting over the top. Set the second layer on top and frost the top and sides. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before slicing for the cleanest cuts.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 520 | Protein: 5g | Fat: 26g | Carbs: 68g | Fiber: 1g | Sodium: 260mg