Chocolate, Pecan and Pumpkin Pie Spice Cake

Chocolate, Pecan and Pumpkin Pie Spice Cake

If you like squash and pumpkin this cake will delight you. A dense and rich chocolate cake, with the addition of sweet pumpkin puree, the crunch of pecan and a light buttercream topping flavoured with warming and sweetly spiced pumpkin pie flavours – ginger, cinnamon, allspice and nutmeg.

I got inspiration from a mud cake recipe by Dan Lepard in the Guardian, but for me adding the large amount of water that his recipe requires seemed anathema and I am not a huge fan of missisipi mud cake so I kept a more traditional batter but I like the combination of pecan, chocolate and pumpkin. I used pumpkin puree rather than the grated pumpkin that Dan uses. For the frosting, I added a zing of orange food colouring and spices that you would find in pumpkin pie to buttercream. It complements the dense chocolatiness very well and the bright orange colour gives a visual hint of the warming, seasonal pumpkin flavours within.

Chocolate, Pecan and Pumpkin Pie Spice Cake

Difficulty: easy to moderate

Time: Preparation 30 minutes, baking 30 minutes

Ingredients:

200g dark chocolate

250g unsalted butter

3 medium eggs

150g soft brown sugar

100g Dark Muscovado sugar

Seeds from one vanilla pod (or 2 teaspoon vanilla powder)

250g plain flour

2 tsp baking powder

100g pumpkin puree

125g chopped pecans

For the icing: 275g icing sugar 100ml double cream 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon, 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg, 1 teaspoon ground ginger, 1 teaspoon allspice powder Half teaspoon orange food colouring (I used a Peach Gel Colour)

Method:

Line a square 20cm cake tin with greased nonstick paper and pre-heat the oven to 180C (160C fan-oven)

Melt the chocolate and butter together.

In a stand mixer or using a hand held mixer, beat the eggs and brown sugar until smooth, then beat through the chocolate mixture evenly.

Sift in the flour and baking powder, and beat until very smooth.

Stir in the vanilla, pumpkin puree and pecans. Little helpers are very keen to be part of this process…

Pour the batter into the cake tin and bake for 30-40 minutes.

Turn out onto a wire rack. Keep the cake tin on the cake for 10 to 15 minutes to ensure the cake sets then carefully lift it away.

For the frosting, melt 25g butter, beat in the icing sugar, food colouring, pumpkin pie spices and cream, spread over the top of the cake and leave to set. I decorated with grated chocolate.

I am linking this to Ren Behan‘s Simple and In Season