Tuesday, October 15, 2013

Ginger Pumpkin Cake with Brown Butter Maple Cream Cheese Frosting


Sorry for not giving you any pre-Thanksgiving related posts, but I was busy enjoying the extra day off, and celebrating with family and friends!  I'm sharing this recipe with you maybe too late for your Thanksgiving feast, but this recipe would be a great fall themed treat anytime.  I brought this Ginger Pumpkin Cake to our orphan's Thanksgiving feast hosted by some lovely friends of ours.  What's Orphan's Thanksgiving, you ask?  It's a gathering of all those who cannot make/afford the trip home to be with their blood relatives.  But our motley crew has become pretty close over the years, and are our Calgary non-family family!



Our Thanksgiving hosts have built an ingenious outdoor smoker, and smoked up a huge feast!  Smoked butternut squash with brown sugar and rosemary, smoked carrots with oregano, and garlic smoked ham with honey glaze and chilli powder = So Good! 

The rest of the invited guests each brought a dish to share, and we had ourselves a potluck style feast. 
Good Food, great friends, and (no offence) no family drama!








I'm so glad I did not bring home the leftovers of this cake, although I can't stop thinking of it and craving it. It's fall, so obviously pumpkin cakes and bars and treats are everywhere.  But what makes this cake so fab is the frosting!  So. So. Good.  If you're gonna add butter, you might as well brown it! And anything with cream cheese is a winner for me, but the hint of maple playing in the background is what makes this frosting absolutely killer!



Ginger Pumpkin Cake
Recipe Adapted From: Simply Scratch
3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pan
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon allspice
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup packed light-brown sugar
1 can (15 ounces) pumpkin puree
3 eggs

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Prepare your baking dish by lightly greasing with butter, then dust with flour (tap out any excess flour and discard).   
I used a round bundt pan, but you could also use an 8x5 loaf pan.  In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, ginger, cinnamon, all spice, and salt.  In a large bowl, cream together the sugars, pumpkin, butter, and eggs. Next add in the flour mixture, and stir until just combined.  Pour batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 50-60 minutes, or until and toothpick comes out clean.  Let cool for about 10 minutes in the pan, then invert the pan and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.


 Brown Butter Maple Cream Cheese Frosting

1/2 cup butter, browned & cooled
1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, room temperature
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
1/4 teaspoon maple extract
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 - 3 cups icing sugar

Heat a small skillet over medium/medium-high heat.  Add in the butter. The butter should instantly start to melt, keep stirring, until the butter bubbles and then gets frothy, keep stirring a take off heat, you'll notice the butter brown, and a delicious nutty aroma.  Set aside to cool.
Using a medium bowl, add the cooled brown butter, cream cheese, maple syrup, and vanilla, using a hand mixer cream together.  Add the icing sugar a cup at a time, until you reach your desired consistency.  Frost your cooled cake, and top with chopped candied ginger, for that extra somthin'!

Enjoy!

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