During the holidays I’m always looking for new ideas for desserts – since during this time of year we tend to entertain quite a bit and I love the traditional flavors of the holidays like pumpkin, apple and spice. This month for our on-line cooking class I’d like to share a delicious pumpkin layer cake that is finished with a light and sweet cream cheese frosting. If you happen to be casein free you could easily make this cake casein free by substituting the cream cheese for something like Toffuti cream cheese and Earth Balance butter for the butter.
I originally made this cake as a test on a gluten-free flour mix, Jule’s All Purpose Flour. I have done some baking with it before but have always been cautious about only experimenting with recipes that called for 2 cups of flour or less. This recipe calls for a whopping 3 cups of flour so I thought that if it works for this it probably will work for nearly all cakes. The result was a perfectly moist cake with no grit, no gluten-free taste whatsoever. In fact, I can honestly say that my son, who is not gluten intolerant, claimed that it was the best cake he’s ever had. So, I would say the test worked and I would encourage those of you still searching for a good gluten-free all purpose flour to try Jule’s concoction. You can purchase it on-line in 5 lb. bags, which makes it a little more economical (http://www.julesglutenfree.com/).
Equipment needed or recommended to make this cake:
- Mixing bowls
- Mixer – stand mixer is preferred
- Spatulas
- (2) – 9” cake pans
- Parchment paper
- Long serrated knife
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Let’s get started:
Before you begin, read through the recipe and make sure that you have all the ingredients. I found that as I made the cake I had the cream cheese and the butter (for the frosting) on the counter so it would have time to come to room temperature.
Pumpkin Layer Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting Ingredients:
For the cake:
- 3 cups gluten-free flour*
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 1-3/4 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- 1-1/2 cups sugar
- 1 cup brown sugar (packed)
- 1 cup canola oil
- 4 large eggs
- 1 15-oz. pumpkin puree
- 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
- Zest of one orange
- 3/4 cup raisins
- 3/4 cup sweetened flaked coconut
For the frosting:
- 1 8 oz. package of cream cheese, at room temperature
- 1-1/4 sticks of unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 4 1/2 cups powdered sugar (sifted)
- 1/3 cup sweetened coconut flakes
*We used Jules All Purpose Gluten-free Flour in this recipe.
Step 1
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Position the rack in the center of the oven. Butter (2) 9-inch diameter baking pans. Line the baking pans with parchment paper (using a pencil trace the bottom of the pan onto the parchment paper and then cut the circle out so you are assured a good fit). Dust the pans with gluten-free flour and set aside. |
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Step 2
Place the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, allspice, ginger, salt and nutmeg in a medium bowl and stir with a whisk until all ingredients are incorporated. |
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Step 3
Place the sugars in a bowl of a stand mixer (or alternatively in a large bowl to be used with a hand mixer) along with the oil and beat until combined. The mixture will be kind of grainy. |
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Step 4
Add the eggs, one at a time, to the sugar and oil combination, beating well after each addition. |
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Step 5
Add the pumpkin, vanilla and orange zest to the sugar and egg mixture; beat until well blended. |
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Step 6
Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients and beat until just incorporated. |
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Step 7
Stir in the raisins and the coconut flakes. |
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Step 8
Divide the batter evenly among the prepared baking pans. Bake for 1 hour at 350°F or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool the cakes completely in the pans on a rack. |
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Step 9
Run a knife around the outer edge of each cake to release the cake from the pan(s). Invert the cakes and remove the parchment paper. Turn the cakes over, rounded side up. Using a long serrated knife, carefully cut each cake in half horizontally to give you 4 cake layers (alternatively, if you don’t want to cut them into layers you could skip this step and just frost two layers). |
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Step 10
Make the frosting. Using an electric mixer beat the cream cheese and the butter until smooth. Add the vanilla and beat briefly. Add the sifted powdered sugar in about 3 additions, beating until the frosting is smooth after each addition. Be careful not to overbeat the frosting or it will potentially become too stiff to work with. |
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Step 11
Place one cake layer on a cake platter. Spread the top of the layer with about 1/4 of the frosting. Top with the second layer and another 1/4 of frosting. Repeat until you get to the last layer. Place this last layer, rounded side up on top of the cake and frost with remaining frosting. You only need to frost the top, not the sides. Top with coconut flakes.
This cake can be made ahead. In fact, we enjoyed our cake the first night and throughout about 3-4 days (of course refrigerate it since it contains the cream cheese frosting). This is an exceptional cake that can be served to anyone – gluten-free or not! |
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Enjoy!
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Chef Jessica 
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