One Perfect Bite: dump cake

Saturday, September 29, 2012

Pumpkin-Spice Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...I've made this cake more times than I can count. It's fast and easy to prepare and the frosted cake is really quite delicious. My calendar fills up quickly in the fall. I'm busy with meetings and committees that manage to keep my 9 x 13-inch baking pan in nearly constant use. The Silver Fox jokes that it in an election year it never gets put away. That's a bit of an exaggeration, bit I will confess it does get used a lot. I've learned over the years, that people, especially volunteers, tend to look for things that are not there. They may not eat a piece of cake but they want to know it's there. It makes them feel appreciated and I want them to know they are. So, to please them, while keeping my own sanity, I tend to bake very simple things that look more complicated than they actually are. This dump cake is well-traveled and well-received. The original recipe was developed in the Pillsbury test kitchen and it is a gem of simplicity. The cake, which feeds a lot of people, takes minutes to prepare and it is disappearingly delicious. If you have not already done so, I hope you will give this seasonal cake a try. Here's the recipe.

Pumpkin-Spice Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite courtesy of Pillsbury

Ingredients:
Cake
4 eggs
2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
1 can (15 oz) pumpkin
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 cup raisins, if desired
Cream Cheese Frosting
1 package (8-oz) cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup butter, softened
2 to 3 teaspoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
4 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup chopped walnuts, if desired

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 15 x 10 x 1-inch pan with cooking spray.
2) Combine eggs, granulated sugar, oil and pumpkin in a large bowl and whisk until smooth. Stir in flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger and cloves. Stir in raisins if using. Spread in pan.
3) Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean and cake springs back when touched lightly in center. Cool completely, about 2 hours.
4) In medium bowl, combine and beat cream cheese, butter, milk and vanilla with electric mixer on low speed until smooth. Gradually beat in powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time, on low speed until smooth and spreadable. Spread frosting over cake. Sprinkle with walnuts. Cut to desired size. For bars, cut into 7 rows by 7 rows. This recipe will make 49 bars. Store covered in refrigerator.

One Year Ago Today: Couscous and Cranberry Salad

Two Years Ago Today: Zucchini Muffins

Three Years Ago Today: Bierstube Pork Chops

Sunday, September 23, 2012

Orange Pumpkin Sheet Cake

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...I paid a visit to the pumpkin patch today. Surreptitiously, the trip was to select pumpkins to line the stairs that lead to entry of our home. The real reason was to watch the children pick their Halloween pumpkins. When our children were small, Halloween was second only to Christmas in terms of the excitement it generated, and certain rituals quickly became associated with the holiday. So, hot or cold, wet or dry, preparations always began with a trip to the pumpkin patch where they were set loose to find their own version of the perfect pumpkin. They could have any pumpkin they wanted as long as they could carry it back to the scales without assistance. One of my children, who to this day, swallows life in great gasping gulps, always picked the largest pumpkin in the field and, of course, was left to puzzle how it move it. Today, I was reminded of that as I watched a four year old try to move a pumpkin nearly his size through the fields. My deja vu aside, I was also struck by how much children still love this holiday. As we move closer to Halloween, those of you who are asked to bake for it, might want to keep this simple dump cake in mind. It makes enough cake to feed the immediate world and it is very, very easy to make. I have one caution to share with you, and that regards the browning of the butter that is used in the icing. Don't let it get away from you. Remove it from the heat as soon as it turns a light golden brown. It will burn if you blink. This cake is wonderfully flavorful. Pumpkin pie spice and the juice and zest of an orange combine to give the cake a unique taste that sets it apart from others of its kind. The cake is light and refreshing and the frosting is delicious. I know those of you who try the cake will enjoy it. Here's how it is made.

Orange Pumpkin Sheet Cake...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite courtesy of Pillsbury Test Kitchens

Ingredients:
Bars
2 cups all-purpose flour
1-1/2 cups granulated sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
2 teaspoons grated orange peel
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup orange juice
1 cup canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix)
2 eggs
Lightly Browned Butter Frosting
1/3 cup butter (do not use margarine)
2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 to 4 tablespoons milk

Directions:
1) Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease bottom and sides of 15 x 10 x 1-inch pan with shortening and dust with flour, or spray with baking spray with flour.
2) Dump all bar ingredients into bowl of an electric stand mixer and beat on low speed, scraping bowl as necessary, until ingredients are moistened. Increase speed to medium and beat for 2 minutes longer. Bake 23 to 27 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool completely, about 1 hour.
3) In 2-quart saucepan, heat butter over medium heat, stirring constantly, until light golden brown. Remove from heat. Stir in powdered sugar, vanilla and enough milk until smooth and spreadable. Immediately spread frosting over cooled bars. Refrigerate about 15 minutes or until set. For bars, cut into 8 rows by 6 rows. If desired, garnish each bar with orange peel strip. Yield: 48 bars.