I wanted pumpkin. I wanted Gingerbread. I wanted both. This cake really did hit the mark for a Fall Dessert, on Columbus Day Weekend with house guests.
I found this recipe on a web site called Very Best Baking. When I saw that the ingredients called for a juice box, whipped topping and only baking soda, I almost clicked away. But then I decided to alter it enough to use real ingredients and the result was pretty sensational.
Ingredients:
2 ½ cups all purpose flour
1 ½ tsp baking soda
1 ½ tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
¼ tsp ground cloves
¼ tsp ground nutmeg
1 cup orange juice
2/3 cup unsulphured molasses
¾ cup sugar
½ cup butter softened
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 large egg
Whipped Cream, optional
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour a single 9” cake pan
- In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, nutmeg and salt.
- In a large (2 cup) measuring cup, pour in the orange juice to one cup. Then pour in the molasses until the liquid measures 1 and 2/3 cups. Mix and set aside.
- Cream the butter with the sugar until it starts to turn fluffy.
- Add the pumpkin and beat. Add the egg and beat.
- Add 1/3 of the dry mixture and beat until just combined. Then add ½ of the juice mixture and beat until just combined. Add another 1/3 of the dry and combine, followed by the remaining juice, then the final 1/3 dry ingredients. Beat only until it is just combined.
- Pour into the prepared cake pan. Bake for approximately 50 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Remove to a rack and cool in the pan for about 10 minutes, then remove from the pan and allow to cool on the rack completely.
- Sprinkle with confectioner’s sugar if desired, and serve with either whipped cream or ice cream.