Holy Pumpkin!

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Readers of this blog may be under the impression that I eat rich desserts all the time. Actually, my usual dessert (if I eat one) is a piece of fresh fruit. I do post a lot of dessert recipes, however; I’m proud of my baking, and I love to see people enjoy something sinfully sweet, even when I’m dieting.

In any case, one HAS to post something sweet for Halloween! So I’m sharing the formula for the chocolate-chip pumpkin cake I made this week on Mass Appeal. My appearance came the day after co-host Seth Stutman’s 30th birthday so I felt obliged to make a cake. Seth appeared pleased—and he certainly enjoyed the cake.

(Bill Collins, who cooked on the show the day before, did light a candle on a cheesecake, but that chef didn’t sing “Happy Birthday.” And a birthday isn’t a birthday without a serenade.)

I also made a satisfying version of my Irish Stout Cheese using yellow cheddar cheese to make it seasonal and an Oktoberfest ale instead of the stout. Personally, if I had to choose between cheese and cake, I would choose cheese. I’m glad no one is forcing me to make this excruciating decision!

The videos are embedded below. The gist of the cake-making is in the first video about that (the second one below); tune into the follow-up video only if you’re a fan of sprinkles and loud singing. (I like both.)

Cocoa, Rhubarb, and I wish everyone a Happy Halloween!

Halloween dogweb

Pumpkin Cake with Chocolate Chips

Ingredients:

1-1/2 cups non-GMO canola oil
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoons cloves
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
3-1/8 cups flour
2 cups pumpkin puree (or 1 15-ounce can)
2 cups chocolate chips

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a large bundt pan. Mix the oil and sugar in a large bowl. Add the eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each egg. Beat in the vanilla, followed by the baking powder, the baking soda, and the spices. Stir in the flour, followed by the pumpkin and the chocolate chips.

Spoon the batter into the prepared pan. Bake until the cake tests done (about an hour). Ice with cream-cheese frosting and seasonal sprinkles. Serves 10 to 12.

And here are the videos:

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7 Responses to “Holy Pumpkin!”

  1. Deb says:

    Loved it. I want to make the beer cheese!

  2. tinkyweisblat says:

    You won’t regret it….

  3. Excess needs to be celebrated and no one does it more glamorously or compellingly that when Tinky tackles desserts. I happen to have been blessed with many of Tinky’s pumpkin cakes in the past: I adore them and consume far more than I ought. It is a swoon-worthy cake, so I cannot fathom why it would need its lily gilded with chocolate chips, but I understand the conjunction of national days celebrating pumpkins and chocolate and the need to streamline the holiday calendar. That said I await Tinky’s take on that rare late March collision of National Anchovy Day and National Peanut Day. Alas, it will not be a dessert in all likelihood, but if Tinky reaches into her recipe archives and recalls her days in southeast Asia, I’d anticipate a ravishing chicken satay celebrating these two salty and seemingly incongruous ingredients. But back to dessert: Tinky gave me a slice of the pumpkin chocolate chip cake. The chocolate was well-behaved and did not overtake the heavenly spices of the pumpkin cake or the risk icing – much to my relief. And… she also sent along a slice of cranberry pie, which came so close to being the Tinky-trademarked cranberry blondie, that I was in heaven. But, truth be told, I was already in heaven with the pumpkin cake and agree with the assessment, “Holy Pumpkin!”

  4. That was “rich” icing, not “risk” icing. Risk icing is only used on double-or-nothing cakes. Auto-correct indeed has a mind of its own.

  5. tinkyweisblat says:

    I, too, have suffered from autocorrect. Thanks for that word “glamourously,” Flaneur, and I’m glad you enjoyed the cake and the cranberry pie. I love the blondie idea–and ESPECIALLY the satay!

  6. Grad says:

    I am definitely making the beer cheese to take to a Friendsgiving Dinner I’ve been invited to on Saturday. I said I’d bring roasted brussel sprouts with bacon and also a cheese board, so this recipe comes at a perfect time. I think I even have all the ingredients already! Like you, Tinky, I’m not big on desserts, but I have to tell you the cake looks pretty darn good.

  7. tinkyweisblat says:

    Happy Thanksgiving, Grad. Enjoy!