Pumpkin Cake- 1 1/2 sticks (3/4 cup) unsalted butter, softened, plus some for greasing pan
- 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour plus some for dusting pan
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 4 teaspoons spices such as cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, or pumpkin pie spice
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/4 cups canned solid-pack pumpkin (not pie filling)
- 3/4 cup buttermilk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs
Heat oven to 350 F. Butter and flour a 9 x 13 inch pan. Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, spices, and salt in a
bowl. Whisk together pumpkin, 3/4 cup buttermilk, and vanilla in
another bowl.
Beat butter and sugar in a large bowl at
medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes. Add eggs
and beat 1 minute. Reduce speed to low and add flour and pumpkin
mixtures alternately, starting and ending with flour. Mix until batter is just smooth. Take care not to over beat.
Pour batter into pan,
smoothing to fill eveniy. Bake until a toothpick or skewer inserted in
center of cake comes out clean, about 45 to 50 minutes.
Chocolate Sauce
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 1/4 cup semisweet chocolate morsels
In a small pan, bring cream and butter to a low boil. Meanwhile, add chocolate to a bowl. Pour cream mixture over the chocolate. Let sit for 5 minutes. Whisk until smooth. It will thicken when cooled.
Orange Sauce or Creme Anglaise with Grand Marnier
- 2 cups half and half
- 1 vanilla bean with seeds
- zest from one orange
- 5 egg yolks
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 2 tablespoons Grand Marnier
In a medium sauce pan, heat half and half. Split vanilla bean lengthwise and scrape out the seed with a knife. Place vanilla bean, seeds, and orange zest into half and half. Bring to a low simmer. Meanwhile, beat egg yolks and sugar until a pale yellow color. Carefully add one spoonful of half and half mixture to the bowl, whisking constantly. Repeat until about 1/2 cup has been incorporated. Add the tempered egg yolk mixture to the half and half in the pot and stir over low heat, almost constantly, until the cream coats the back of the spoon. If you like a creamier sauce, feel free to cook it longer.
Strain the cream into a bowl, stir in Grand Marnier, and chill immediately. Serve with pumpkin cake, chocolate sauce and a Tawny Port.
