Sooner or Later…

One of the best dessert recipes in my collection is Pumpkin Cake.  I found the direction amongst the “clutter free gift ideas” at the flylady website.  It is not a sweet cake, instead more like a moist bread and makes a nice breakfast–much less sweet than cereal.  Here is the original recipe followed by my tweaks.

Pumpkin Cake 4 eggs
2 cups sugar
1 cup oil
2 cups flour
2 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. cinnamon
0.5 tsp. salt
2 cups pumpkin (1 can pumpkin - NOT pie filling)

Cream eggs and sugar together until light. Add oil, continuing to beat. In separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Gradually add dry ingredients. Add pumpkin, mixing well.Bake in well greased and floured bundt cake pan. Bake at 350° for 50-55 minutes. Cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out and let cool completely.

Cream Cheese Frosting: 1 stick butter
3 oz. cream cheese
1 tsp. vanilla
1 lb. conf. sugar

May also add chopped pecans to frosting or stud cake with pecan halves (very pretty).

Tweaks:  For the oil I use olive oil.  We began using olive as a healthier alternative to other vegetable oils.  It is simplier to buy and use one kind than keep up with several.  However:  On Christmas Eve–after 6 pm so the stores were closed–I discovered the bottle had only a few dribbles left* so substituted a cup of margarine.  It tasted great and was a moist as ever. 

Also I seldom ever frost this cake.  It is a very moist cake and frosting is just ‘icing on the cake’. 

*Son #3 has been baking again and forgot to mention that we were nearly out of oil.  Shame on  him for not telling me & shame on me for not double checking the cupboard at holiday time.  Oh well, it is a great cake anyway.