Pumpkin Cake — The Out-of-Season Cake for the Pinterest Mom

Cody is on day five hundred and eight. Junior year finals week. I have AP Biology Wednesday, AP English finals Thursday, algebra II Friday. The studying is the studying. The kitchen has continued running underneath.

And the recipe Saturday was a pumpkin cake for a kid’s sixth birthday party. The mom is a friend of Mrs. Henderson’s daughter-in-law and had heard about my catering work through that network. She had wanted a harvest-themed birthday for her son in May, which is the kind of thing Pinterest moms do. She asked for a two-tier pumpkin cake with cream cheese frosting.

The math: two boxes of cake mix doctored with the Kathy improvement, a can of pumpkin puree, the warm spices, two bricks of cream cheese, a stick of butter, powdered sugar, vanilla, gel food coloring (orange). Total: about $13. Reimbursement and tip $90.

The technique is the two-tier stack with the pumpkin batter and the cream cheese frosting tinted orange. Bake the layers, level, stack with frosting between, frost the outside, decorate with fall-themed sprinkles. Eight hours of work over Saturday.

The party Sunday went well. The mom posted three pictures on Facebook. Two more inquiries by Tuesday. The summer schedule is full.

The recipe is below. The trick is the canned pumpkin in a box-mix-improved batter — the pumpkin makes the cake tender and seasonal-flavored.

Pumpkin Cake

Prep Time: 20 min | Cook Time: 35 min | Total Time: 55 min | Servings: 12

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 (15 oz) can pure pumpkin puree
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 3/4 cup vegetable oil
• 3 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• Powdered sugar for dusting, or cream cheese frosting (optional)

Instructions

1. Preheat and prep. Preheat your oven to 350°F. Grease a 9x13-inch baking pan and lightly dust with flour, tapping out any excess.
2. Mix the dry ingredients. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves. Set aside.
3. Mix the wet ingredients. In a large bowl, whisk together the pumpkin puree, granulated sugar, brown sugar, oil, eggs, and vanilla until smooth and fully combined.
4. Combine. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir gently with a spatula until just combined — do not overmix. A few streaks of flour are fine; they’ll incorporate as you fold.
5. Bake. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and spread it evenly. Bake for 30–35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean and the edges are just pulling away from the pan.
6. Cool and serve. Let the cake cool in the pan for at least 15 minutes before slicing. Dust with powdered sugar or top with cream cheese frosting if you like, though it’s plenty good on its own.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 310 | Protein: 4g | Fat: 14g | Carbs: 44g | Fiber: 2g | Sodium: 210mg