Spiced Chocolate Pumpkin Cake

 

This cake I have baked today comes from a baking book by Yossy Arefi entitled Snacking Cakes.  Simple treats for anytime cravings.  I was wanting to bake something pumpkin, but I was also wanting to bake something different.

This cake looked interesting.  Chocolate and pumpkin are flavors that go really well together.  Chocolate and spice work well. Pumpkin and spice work well. I felt the three would work really well together.  I was not wrong!

This is one incredibly moist and dense chocolate cake. The pumpkin makes it so. You don't really taste the pumpkin in the batter. At least I can't.  But I do taste the spice.  I think the chocolate somewhat overpowers the taste of pumpkin.

It is thoroughly studded with sweet and decadent chocolate chips.  Which is not a really bad thing. I love biting into a cake and then having my teeth hit the rich creaminess of a chocolate chip. You can use either milk or semi-sweet.

 

I don't know why I bake chocolate desserts.  They are notoriously difficult to photograph and make them look decent.  Why is that???

I apologize for the poor looking pictures of this cake. I am not a professional photographer and so I didn't really know how to make them look as delicious as this cake really is.  Please don't let them put you off! 

 

I know that anything with chocolate is going to photograph very badly and yet I will still bake chocolate things.  I must be a sucker for punishment, lol

Or I am just a glutton who can't get enough chocolate. You take your pick!  Sucker or glutton. I am content either way. Maybe I am both! haha

 

WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE SPICED CHOCOLATE PUMPKIN CAKE

Simple baking cupboard ingredients plus some tinned pumpkin puree.  Tis the season for pumpkins and spice and all that!

 

For the cake:

• 3/4 cup (150g) soft light brown sugar, packed
• 2 large free range eggs
• 1 cup (230g) pumpkin puree (not pie filling)
• 1/2 cup (120ml) light olive oil
• 1/2 cup (120ml) whole milk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp salt
• pinch cayenne pepper
• 1/2 cup (45g) unsweetened Dutch process cocoa powder
• 1 cup (140g) plain all purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 cup (85g) chocolate chips

For the glaze:

• 1 cup (130g) icing sugar, sifted
• 1 TBS pumpkin puree (not pie filling)
• 1 TBS whole milk (or as needed)
• 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
• pinch cayenne
• pinch ground cloves
• pinch salt

 

True confessions here. I did not have Dutch Process cocoa powder. I just used ordinary cocoa powder. Dutch cocoa powder tends to have a much deeper color than regular cocoa powder and  so if you use it your cake will be darker in color.

Another true confession. I think I actually left the milk out of the cake batter?  Say what!  I know!  But in writing it up I could not remember putting it in. My cake turned out fine however, so maybe I did and just can't remember doing so.  Yes, its one of those days. 

 

Another true confession here. I cut the glaze ingredients in half for my cake. I am trying to cut back a bit on sugar if I can and felt that half the glaze would be sufficient. I think that was the right choice for me.

In the book the author suggests an alternative topping.  For a loaf cake mix together 1 TBS granulated sugar along with 1/4 tsp cinnamon and a pinch of cayenne.  Sprinkle this over top prior to baking.

I think I would have personally enjoyed this more than the glaze.  A bit of heat. A bit of sweet. A bit of crunch.

 

HOW TO MAKE SPICED CHOCOLATE PUMPKIN CAKE

I know I say it all the time, but its true. A very easy cake to throw together. 

Preheat the oven to 350*F/180*C/ gas mark 4. Butter a 9 X 5 X 3 inch loaf tin. Line with baking paper leaving an overhang at the sides for lifting out.

Measure the brown sugar and eggs into a bowl. Beat with an electric whisk until light and foamy. Whisk in the pumpkin puree, oil, milk, cinnamon, salt and cayenne until smooth. Whisk in the cocoa powder.

Whisk the flour, baking powder and soda together. Stir this into the wet mixture to combine thoroughly. Fold in the chocolate chips.

Pour into the prepared loaf tin, smooth the top over.

 

Bake in the preheated oven got 55 to 65 minutes. When done a toothpick inserted in the center should come out clean and the top should spring back when lightly touched.

Leave to cool in the pan for 10 minutes before lifting out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

To make the glaze, whisk all of the ingredients together to give you a nice smooth drizzle icing. Spoon this over the cake and allow to set before cutting into slices to serve.

 

If you are a fan of Mexican type of chocolate cakes then you will really love this cake. It packs a lovely bit of spice and some heat from the cayenne, which is totally optional by the way.

You will also love the creamy bits of chocolate studding the cake. I know I do. 

If you wanted to you could skip the pumpkin glaze and do a chocolate one in its place. If I make the cake again, and I probably will, I think I will do a chocolate glaze.  

For a quick and easy chocolate glaze whisk together 1 cup (1030g) icing sugar, 3 TBS sifted unsweetened cocoa powder, 1 TBS very soft butter and two to three TBS of boiling water until smooth and pourable.  Pour over your cake and allow to set before slicing. 

If you are in the mood for baking with pumpkin (and who isn't at this time of year) you may also enjoy the following:

PUMPKIN, ORANGE & CRANBERRY BREAD - This pumpkin bread recipe makes the best pumpkin bread ever and that is all down to my mother-in-laws secret ingredient, which is frozen orange juice concentrate.  Yes, frozen orange juice concentrate.  This was not something I could get in the UK either, but it was an ingredient that I learned to adapt.  This adds a lovely touch of orange flavor.

PUMPKIN STREUSEL CAKE -  A dense and spicy pumpkin Bundt cake with a ribbon of brown sugar streusel running through it. Delicious!!!  This smells heavenly when it is baking. You have been warned!

Spiced Chocolate Pumpkin Cake

Yield: Makes one 9 X 5 X 2 inch loaf cake

Author: Marie Rayner

Prep time: 10 MinCook time: 65 MinTotal time: 1 H & 15 M

This is a lightly spiced cake, packed with plenty of chocolate. Its moist from the use of pumpkin and sports a lush pumpkin glaze.

Ingredients

For the cake:

• 3/4 cup (150g) soft light brown sugar, packed
• 2 large free range eggs
• 1 cup (230g) pumpkin puree (not pie filling)
• 1/2 cup (120ml) light olive oil
• 1/2 cup (120ml) whole milk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp salt
• pinch cayenne pepper
• 1/2 cup (45g) unsweetened Dutch process cocoa powder
• 1 cup (140g) plain all purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 cup (85g) chocolate chips

For the glaze:

• 1 cup (130g) icing sugar, sifted
• 1 TBS pumpkin puree (not pie filling)
• 1 TBS whole milk (or as needed)
• 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
• pinch cayenne
• pinch ground cloves
• pinch salt

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350*F/180*C/ gas mark 4. Butter a 9 X 5 X 3 inch loaf tin. Line with baking paper leaving an overhang at the sides for lifting out.
2. Measure the brown sugar and eggs into a bowl. Beat with an electric whisk until light and foamy. Whisk in the pumpkin puree, oil, milk, cinnamon, salt and cayenne until smooth. Whisk in the cocoa powder.
3. Whisk the flour, baking powder and soda together. Stir this into the wet mixture to combine thoroughly. Fold in the chocolate chips.
4. Pour into the prepared loaf tin, smooth the top over.
5. Bake in the preheated oven got 55 to 65 minutes. When done a toothpick inserted in the center should come out clean and the top should spring back when lightly touched.
6. Leave to cool in the pan for 10 minutes before lifting out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
7. To make the glaze, whisk all of the ingredients together to give you a nice smooth drizzle icing. Spoon this over the cake and allow to set before cutting into slices to serve.

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