What? You forgot about pumpkin after Thanksgiving?
I love pumpkin. Mostly, I love all the spices that are associated with it: cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, allspice… Tonight after a Moroccan-inspired dinner, a spiced cake with dark chocolate chips was just what we needed. And who says pumpkin isn’t February food?
This recipe is a variation of the New York Times’ chocolate-pumpkin layer cake. We needed dessert fast, so layers weren’t an option and neither was making frosting. I basically cut the recipe in half, skipped the nuts, added my own touches (cardamom and orange zest) and 30 minutes later, we were enjoying spicy, pumpkinny, dark chocolatey goodness. This is really dense and moist, and that’s what makes it good.
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cake
Idea from Florence Fabricant of the New York Times
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream the butter and sugar together in a bowl. Add the egg and egg white. (Baking isn’t my strong suit so I’m not sure what it’d be like with just one or two whole eggs.) Mix in the 3/4 cup of pumpkin.
In a separate bowl, whisk flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Gradually add to pumpkin mixture. Now
start shaking in the spices. This is an inexact science and depends on your taste. There should be a higher proportion of cinnamon and ginger to nutmeg and allspice. I’ve been adding cardamom to just about everything these days, so in went two pinches of that. Add the orange zest. Taste the batter to see if you’ve added enough cinnamon and spice.
Pour into a greased and floured cake pan. Bake at 350 for 25-35 minutes, until a fork comes out clean.
