Pumpkin Streusel Cake

 

I have a beautiful cake recipe to share with you today that is very seasonal and quite, QUITE delicious!  It comes from one of those little cook booklets that you can find near the Grocery Tills all over North America, entitled Fall Baking, Gold Medal, published in the Autumn of the year 2000.  I must have purchased it not too long before moving over here.  I always loved those booklets that the different companies would put out (like Betty Crocker and Pillsbury, etc.)  They were always filled with a lot of lovely recipes and I have a few which I have kept through the years that have become members of my family! 

 

I used to think that it was really difficult to bake a bundt cake that looked terrible, but I think I was wrong . . . haha.  This is not the prettiest cake in the world, but what it lacks for in looks, it more than makes up in flavour! 

 

Be warned you will need a LARGE bowl to mix this up in, and it will only use up roughly half a tin of pumpkin, but not to worry, I am sure you will find a use for the remaining pumpkin and if not, you can easily freeze it in a plastic container to use again another day. 

 

The cake itself is moist and delicious  . . .  moist from both the pumpkin and the use of yogurt/sour cream.  Cakes which are baked with even one of those things are moist, but to have both, well, you have got a winner here! 

 

There is a full tablespoon of ground cinnamon in the batter itself.  Not to worry . . .  its perfect, and you should smell this when it is baking!  WOWSA!  the smell of this will have the family rushing into the kitchen to see what's up, forks in hand!

 

Our landlord and the Engineer were here to fix our shower and their taste buds were tingling at the smell.  Unfortunately they were gone by the time it came out of the oven. (More for me!)

 

What makes this cake a bit different from other pumpkin cakes is that there is a fabulous ribbon of spicy brown sugar streusel running through the middle of it.

 

This adds even more flavour and interested to an already pretty special cake! 

  

It needs no frosting, just a light dusting of icing sugar to dress it up and that is only if you want to.  It doesn't really need it.

 

Interestingly enough when I first moved over here to the UK, it was nigh on to impossible to get a tin of pureed pumpkin in this country, unless you paid a premium price at an American Import company.  Thankfully that is not the case any longer and you can find it at most good shops.  It is still a bit pricey, but every now and then you luck in.  Our local Aldi had it one year and I think I bought 10 tins of it. I think the cashier thought I was nuts.

 

Its not really difficult to use up 10 tins of pureed pumpkin, especially when you have tasty things to do with it like this cake.  (Be sure to use the Pureed Pumpkin and not the Pumpkin Pie Filling.)

 

This is perfect to be enjoyed on a chilly Autumn day as you sit by the fire drinking a lovely hot drink with the one you love.

  

You truly can't get much better than that . . .

Yield: 16Author: Marie Rayner

Pumpkin Streusel Cake

prep time: 15 minscook time: 1 hourtotal time: 1 hours and 15 mins

A moist autumn cake with a deliciously spiced brown sugar streusel running through the centre.

ingredients:

For the streusel:

100g soft light brown sugar (1/2 cup, packed)

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice (see my recipe)

2 tsp butter, softened

For the cake:

420g plain flour (3 cups)

2 tsp baking soda

1 TBS ground cinnamon

1 tsp salt

240g butter, softened (1 cup)

380g granulated sugar (2 cups)

4 large free range eggs

180g pumpkin puree (1 cup, NOT pumpkin pie filling)

120g sour cream or plain yogurt (1 cup)

1 tsp vanilla extract

powdered sugar to dust the finished cake (optional)

instructions:

Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4.  Grease and flour a 12
 cup bundt pan, tapping out any excess.  Make the pumpkin streusel by
rubbing all of the ingredients together until crumbly. Set aside.

Whisk
 together the flour, soda, cinnamon and salt.  Beat the butter together
with the sugar until creamy, scraping the bowl occasionally. Beat in the
 eggs, two at a time, beating well after each addition.  Beat in the
pumpkin, sour cream and vanilla.  Gradually beat in the flour on low
speed, until well blended.

Spread half the
batter in the cake tin.  Sprinkle the streusel over the batter making
sure it doesn't touch the sides.  Top with the remaining batter, making
sure the batter does touch the sides of the pan.

Bake
 for 55 to 60 minutes, until well risen and a toothpick inserted in the
cake comes out clean.  Cool in the pan for 30 minutes before removing to
 a wire rack to cool completely.  Dust with powdered sugar to serve.

Created using The Recipes Generator

 

It was very gloomy today with the skies threatening of rain all day, but it never quite happened.  I had a difficult time taking really appealing photos of the cake.  I hope I did it justice.  I really did try.  Bon Weekend and Happy Thanksgiving to all  my Canadian family and friends!