Brown Butter Pumpkin Cake (Happy Birthday Tamara!)

Whenever I make a new cake, Mister Man loudly exclaims "this is your best cake EVER". Well, this time, I think he might have actually been right!

It was Tamara's birthday, and as always, we were heading to her place for a pot luck. We had appies thanks to Kari and Jan. (Oh, I should mention that the FIRST thing we do when we arrive at Tamara's place is to change into our pj's. Life is better when you're wearing pajamas.)

And Tamara, bless her socks, had quizzes. And we all know that quizzes lead to prizes!

I love this photo of Jan. She is taking one of the quizzes...

And I also love this photo of Tamara. She is opening presents.

After the quizzes and gifts, it was time for dinner. And dinner always leads to dessert. Andrew and Tamara were doing salmon on the grill, and they also did a really tasty potato dish from the Rebar Cookbook (I really do have to pick up a copy of this book for our home because there are some fabulous recipes in there!) Aileen was doing her world famous Caesar Salad, and I was doing birthday cake. Tamara LOVES all things orange, and being the season of orange, I thought she might enjoy a pumpkin spice cake. It just so happens that the latest issue of Fine Cooking magazine featured a recipe for Brown Butter Pumpkin Cake *insert chorus of angels singing*. It sounded delicious.

And delicious it was..... moist and slightly spicy, I would recommend this cake any day. It's worth the labour (and it is a bit labour intensive). Honestly.

Here's the recipe directly from the pages of Fine Cooking Magazine.

The Puree

2 tsp vegetable oil

1 medium-large pumpkin, cut in half from stem to bottom and seeded

(tinned pumpkin works too!)

The Cake

6 oz. (3/4 cup) unsalted butter, more for greasin' the pans

9 oz. (2 cups) unbleached, all purpose flour, more for the pans

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp ground ginger

3/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp. ground cloves

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

2/3 cups firmly packed light brown sugar

2 large eggs

1/3 cup buttermilk

The topping

1 1/2 Tbsp unsalted butter

2/3 cups pecans

2 Tbsp firmly packed light brown sugar

1/4 tsp table salt

1 1/2 Tbsp chopped crystallized ginger

The Frosting (I doubled this part of the recipe, because I needed to patch a couple of divets that happened when the cakes didn't release so well)

4 oz. (1/2 cup) unsalted butter

8 oz cream cheese, softened at room temp

1/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

5 oz. (1 1/4 cups) confectioners' sugar

The pumpkin purée

Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 350°F. Brush a 9x13-inch baking dish with the oil. Put the pumpkin halves in the dish cut side down and bake until tender when pierced with a fork, about 45 minutes. Let cool. Peel the pumpkin and purée the flesh in a food processor until smooth. You’ll need 1-1/2 cups of the purée for the cake. Refrigerate or freeze any remaining purée for another use.

The cake

Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 350°F.

Butter and flour two 9-inch round cake pans with removable bottoms (or butter two 9-inch round cake pans, line the bottoms with parchment, butter the parchment, and flour the pans).

Melt the butter in a heavy-duty 1-quart saucepan over medium heat. Cook, swirling the pan occasionally until the butter turns a nutty golden-brown, about 4 minutes. Pour into a small bowl and let stand until cool but not set, about 15 minutes.

In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, salt, and cloves. In a large bowl, whisk 1-1/2 cups of the pumpkin purée with the granulated sugar, brown sugar, eggs, and buttermilk until very well blended. With a rubber spatula, stir in the flour mixture until just combined. Gently whisk in the brown butter until completely incorporated. Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans.

Bake the cakes until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean, about 28 minutes. Let the cakes cool in the pans for 10 minutes. Turn the cakes out onto racks, remove the pan bottoms or parchment, and cool completely.

The topping

Melt the butter in a heavy-duty 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the pecans and cook until the pecans brown slightly, about 2 minutes. Sprinkle in the brown sugar and salt and stir until the sugar melts and the nuts are glazed, about 2 minutes. Stir in the ginger. Remove from the heat and let the mixture cool in the skillet.

Make the frosting

(NOTE: I doubled it as I needed to patch a couple of divets that happened when the cakes didn't release brilliantly)

Melt the butter in a heavy-duty 1-quart saucepan over medium heat. Cook, swirling the pan occasionally until the butter turns a nutty golden-brown, about 4 minutes. Pour into

a small bowl and let stand until the solids settle at the bottom of the bowl, about 5 minutes. Carefully transfer the bowl to the freezer and chill until just firm, about 18 minutes. Using a spoon, carefully scrape the butter from bowl, leaving the browned solids at the bottom; discard the solids.

Using an electric mixer, beat the butter, cream cheese, and brown sugar on medium-high speed until light in color and the brown sugar has dissolved, 2 minutes. Gradually beat in the confectioners’ sugar and continue beating until fluffy, 1 to 2 minutes.

Assemble the cake

Put one cake layer on a cake plate. Spread 1/2 cup of the frosting on the layer. Sprinkle 1/2 cup of the nut mixture over the frosting and top with the second layer. Frost the top and sides of the cake with the remaining frosting. Arrange the remaining topping in a ring 1-1/2 inches in from the edge of the cake and serve.

American friends, if you're looking for a perfect Thanksgiving dessert, I think this cake might fit the bill perfectly.

P.S. Oh, and in case you're wondering, I did happen to win a prize. It was a much coveted Oprah magazine and it's still hanging proudly in our reading room! Let's face it, the odd issue of Oprah magazine makes the world a nicer place.....