Pumpkin Spice Cake with Honey Frosting

It’s Tuesday! After a rocky start to the week (Monday is just not my strong suit), the day picked up with a trip to the gym, a Giants win (!), and Shaun cooking up tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches for dinner. This morning got me going with some maple cinnamon oatmeal, pumpkin spice coffee and planning what to make for Saturday’s Halloween party at my sister Kimberly’s.

Meanwhile, I hope you’re not sick of pumpkin just yet because today I’m serving up a pumpkin spice cake that’s moist and festive. When our friend Kristen celebrated her birthday a couple weeks ago, I knew a pumpkin cake would be just the ticket for a Fall soiree. Not to mention that a little bird told me that she was a fan of pumpkin. It was a no brainer. So when I stumbled up this Martha Stewart recipe for Pumpkin Spice Cake with Honey Frosting, I knew it was meant to be.

So I got to work planning the cake, making just a few changes to fit my own specifications that 1) I didn't have the proper baking pan and 2) wanted the frosting to have just a hint more sweetness than the original recipe called for. The result? A moist, slightly sweet autumn cake that was quick and easy to boot. Looking for a great Halloween or Thanksgiving recipe that will WOW your guests? Look no further, my friends.

Pumpkin Spice Cake with Honey Frosting
*Adapted from Martha Stewart
for the cake:
1/2 C unsalted butter, melted
2 1/2 C all purpose flour
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp pumpkin pie spice
2 large eggs
1 1/2 C sugar
1 15oz can pumpkin
for the frosting:
1/2 C unsalted butter, at room temperature
8 oz cream cheese
1/4 C honey
3/4 tsp vanilla extract
1 C confectioners' sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9x9" baking dish. Ok, I don't have a 9x9" baking dish. And I couldn't find a foil one last minute at Whole Foods either. So I decided to take a chance on my 8.5" round cake pan. I figured, why not? (Spoiler alert: it worked! sort of). In a mixing bowl, whisk flour, baking soda, salt, and pumpkin pie spice. In a separate bowl, whisk together eggs, sugar, butter and pumpkin puree. Add the dry ingredients and mix until smooth. Pour into baking dish.

Bake until a toothpick comes out clean, about 45-50 minutes. Cool 10 minutes and transfer to a wire rack. So remember how I said the cake pan sorta worked? Well here's how it turned out:

It's like my cake spawned a little baby on top. I'm assuming that this was caused by not using the correct pan. To remedy the situation, I simply sliced off the excess on top. Using a long bread knife, I very carefully evened out the top. I may have even got down on my knees to be exactly eye level with the cake top.

The moral of the story? Use the proper pan...and if you don't have it or can't find it, improvise. No one knew any different. Fortunately, this excess cake meant some sampling for the chef. You know, just to make sure it tasted alright.

Meanwhile, make the frosting. In a stand mixer, or with a hand mixer, combine the softened butter and cream cheese until light and fluffy. Add the honey and mix until completely combined, scraping up the bottom of the bowl to make sure it's all combined. That honey can pack some weight and sink right to the bottom. Though I'd never used honey in frosting before, it gave an extra layer of flavor that was the perfect complement to the pumpkiny goodness of the cake.

Mix in the vanilla and sugar, adding sugar 1/2 C at a time. Now frost that bad boy. I got the rustic look on mine by dumping a lot of icing on the top of the cake and spreading it over the edges and down the sides...carefully! Cake decorating is certainly not my specialty (though I'm not ruling it out down the road :)), so I used a slow and steady hand to spread the icing with a butter knife so it was just right.

To top it off, I added a thick layer of Halloween non-pareils sprinkles that I snagged at Target that very morning. Aren't they festive? And doesn't this simple sprinkle design (if you could even call it that) just scream this cake is for grown-ups, but still celebrates the season!?

I toted mine on a cute cake caddy that was gifted to me by my awesome Mom, hence the blue plate. Slice it up and bask in the oooh's and aaaah's from the crowd!

 

So there it is, a chic yet rustic and absolutely delicious cake that's perfect for any autumn occasion, especially you're upcoming Halloween fete! So what do you think? Are you over the pumpkin craze? Are you planning any fun desserts for upcoming Halloween parties? And bonus question: How did you get through you Monday yesterday?

Psst...missed the first part of Halloween week? Catch up here!

Whole Wheat Pumpkin Muffins with Sweet Spice Glaze

Happy Tuesday! I don't know about you, but my office was closed yesterday, meaning that I had a nice, long three-day weekend. I spent it celebrating a friend's engagement, shopping like mad in SoHo with my mom and sisters, eating fast food and watching Jersey Shore with the hubs, visiting with family and baking a boatload of apple pies...more on that later. I'm still spent this morning though since Shaun and I were up watching the Jets beat up on the Vikings last night (ok, I may have fallen asleep way before the end of the game, but still...).

I'm not sure if it's the Fall season, more time at home or the impending holidays but lately I've had a major jonesing for getting my bake on. It seems that all I want to do is bake up delicious treats, much to the chagrin of my waistline, I might add. So after I cleaned out my local A+P of their entire stash of pumpkin, I knew that the day of whipping up some pumpkin baked goods had finally arrived.

For my first pumpkin treat of the season, I whipped up a batch of whole wheat pumpkin muffins. By substituting whole wheat flour for all purpose and drizzling with a pumpkin spice glaze, I amped up the flavor and texture on these delectable little treats. And ya gotta love that muffins as a whole could not be easier to make. No hand or stand mixers, no beating until your arm goes numb. Just putting some simple ingredients together and gently mixing is all it takes to get 'er done.

Whole Wheat Pumpkin Muffins
*Adapted from Muffins
1 C whole wheat flour
1/2 C sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 C butter
1 egg
1/2 C pumpkin puree
1/2 C evaporated milk
1/2 C raisins, optional (I omitted them)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Fill muffin cups with paper liners. In a mixing bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Cut in the butter until the mixture resembles cornmeal. I used two knives and then got down 'n dirty with my own two hands.

In a separate bowl, comgine the egg with pumpkin and milk. If including raisins (I didn't), add them.

Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture and stir until just combined. Don't overmix or you'll end up with one tough muffin.

Fill muffin cups about half way full and bake for 15-18 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Mine were done after 15 minutes.

Let cool. Drizzle with Sweet Spice Glaze.

Sweet Spice Glaze
1/4 C confectioners' sugar
1 tbsp milk
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice

Whisk all together in a bowl.

If it isn't thin enough to drizzle, add more milk until desired thickness.

Serve on a pretty plate, and you're set for your next gathering or even for a special evening at home. I Fall-ified mine even further by jazzing them up on this sweet plate that was gifted to us by our dear friends Ryan and Kristen at our mini housewarming party a few weeks ago. Isn't it just adorable? I couldn't wait to break it out for something as delicious as pumpkin muffins.

So there you have it, a little roundup of my baking frenzy. And these delicious, light as a feather muffins can easily be prepared on a weeknight since the entire process took about 20 minutes. Shaun and I had these muffins all week long and it was such a wonderful autumn treat after work each night!

So what do you think? Has your holiday baking bug kicked in yet? Are you obsessing over Fall flavors like I am? What's your favorite treat thus far? Any plans for yummy Fall eats this week?

Psst...for more heavenly Fall eats, check out my Apple Cupcakes + Cinnamon Frosting, a sure fire crowd pleaser!

Autumn Apple Cupcakes + Cinnamon Frosting

This past weekend finally felt like Fall. While Shaun would prefer for the summer to never, ever end (he loves his shorts and flops and doesn’t mind the sweat-induced summer heat - me? I mind), I relish the cool breeze, multi-colored leaves and the spicy, warming flavors that autumn brings.

In case you didn’t know, I have a major crush on everything apple and everything pumpkin. And if you weren’t aware of this wild mild obsession, you’re about to find out with lots of delicious recipes during the upcoming months. When we were invited to a birthday party at Shaun’s aunt’s house, I couldn’t wait to devise the perfect culinary offering. Since the forecast was to be chilly, I decided that a healthy dose of autumn baked goods was in order. Enter apple cupcakes.

This uber moist cake is complete with autumn spices including nutmeg and cinnamon along with grated apples that add just a bit of crunch along with a major dose of flavor. Oh and the addition of the sweet cinnamon frosting is just the icing on the...er, cake. But truly, these little cakes were like a bit of heaven - I’ve never gotten so many compliments on one of my baking creations before!

Autumn Apple Cupcakes
*Adapted from Martha Stewart
2 1/4 C all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp salt
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
2 C sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
Juice of one lemon
3 C shredded apples, I used 3 large Granny Smith apples, peeled and cored

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two muffin tins with baking cups. I realized only too late that I only had 21 liners, not 24, so I buttered and floured those bad boys up and crossed my fingers that I’d be able to get my little delights out of the pan (spoiler alert: it worked!).

In a mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt.

Meanwhile, grate your apples, after peeling and coring them up. Admittedly going through the motions of peeling and coring apples with just a paring knife was no doubt the lowlight of this entire process. I did, however, make grating them super simple by busting out the grater attachment on my food processor, which just made me happy and excited to use it. What can I say? Dorky things make me happy. Once grated, you will need to work quickly to prevent browning. Transfer the apples to a small bowl and mix in the lemon juice. Note: before adding the apples into your batter, you may want to drain them slightly or pat down with a paper towel. I did not do this and ended up with a lot of moisture at the bottom of my batter - something I would try to avoid next time.

In a stand mixer (or in a large bowl with a hand mixer), beat the butter and sugar together until fluffy, about 5 minutes. Mix in the eggs and vanilla extract. With the mixer on low speed, mix in the grated apples. Lastly, add in the flour mixture, slowly, so as not to shoot flour all over your pretty kitchen. Mix until just combined.

Fill muffin cups about half way and bake for about 18 minutes. Note: a toothpick will not come out clean on these uber moist muffins until it’s too late and they are burned. You will need to watch them and remove from oven once the tops are firm and spring back up when lightly pressed. Transfer to a wire rack and frost with cinnamon frosting once completely cooled.

And of course I just had to do an immediate taste test. You know, just to make sure they tasted ok. And no, I couldn't even wait for the frosting.

Cinnamon Frosting
1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature
4 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
3 C confectioners’ sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp ground cinnamon

In a mixer (or large bowl with hand mixer), beat the butter and cream cheese together. Slowly beat in the sugar, 1 cup at a time and mix until light and fluffy. Add vanilla and cinnamon and stir until combined. Frost apple cupcakes and resist the temptation to eat frosting by the spoonful (from experience, it doesn’t bode well for the stomach).

So what do you think? Are you a fan of fall flavors? If so, what's your poison? Or are you still lamenting the summer gone by?