Pumpkin Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Good morning. I’m pouring myself my third cup of strong tea because the internet tells me that Grunting Baby Syndrome is a thing. Doesn’t it sound all cute and adorable? Aw, babies grunting. It’s apparently quite common and is the catch-all explanation for why my tiny human makes a symphony of guttural sounds at a volume that defeats my highest-decibel-blocking earplugs and sound machine combined between the hours of 1:30 am and 7 am every night.

If you come visit (please don’t), you’ll see me bumping around my apartment like a busted Roomba vacuum cleaner, with sweatpants on backwards. And I swear I had a dream the other day while I was awake.

I made this easy pumpkin cake before Adarsh’s parents arrived a few days ago.  It’s actually a quick-bread (so no laborious creaming and beating that most cakes require). I baked it in a round pan to make it look more celebratory, but you could definitely make it a loaf pan instead.

It’s full of warm spices, soft dates, and crowned with thick, tangy swirls of cream cheese frosting.  Fall comfort food.

And now, as I type this, there’s a sweet, chubby-cheeked babe snoring softly in my arms, with his downy-soft head nestled in the crook of my elbow, and I’ve already (almost) forgotten about our night last night. Motherhood humbles and teaches me every day.

Pumpkin Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Servings 8
Dessert
Canadian

Ingredients
  

  • 2 cups all purpose flour
  • ¾ cup granulated sugar
  • 1 tbsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • ½ tsp kosher salt
  • 1 tbsp ground cinnamon
  • 1 tsp ground ginger
  • ¼ tsp ground cloves
  • 1-14 oz 398 mL can pumpkin puree
  • ¾ cup vegetable oil
  • ½ cup packed brown sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • ¾ cup chopped pitted dates (optional)

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 350ºF.  Grease a 9x2" round cake pan.
  • In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices.
  • In a separate bowl, whisk together the pumpkin, brown sugar, oil and eggs.
  • Make a well in the dry ingredients, then add pumpkin mixture and gently fold together with a flexible spatula until just combined.  Fold in dates, if using.  Bake for 35-45 minutes, or until top springs back when gently pressed and tester inserted in the centre comes out nearly clean (a few moist crumbs are ok).
  • Cool for 10 minutes in pan before inverting on a wire rack to finish cooling completely prior to frosting.
  • Cream Cheese Icing recipe HERE.

Last Updated on October 20, 2015 by Jennifer Pallian BSc, RD

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