How sweet it is to be home! I missed you!
Since I returned from a month-long trip last Sunday, I’d been thinking about a fall cake. Pumpkin or apple or maybe – probably – both. I wanted a chunky, dense sort of cake that a person could cut and grab a small (or large) hunk when sidling through the kitchen on the way to the mailbox. (I only had one bite!! Honest.) Something that, should we have need of it, would hold together in a lunch box or travel intact to a party without melting or crumbling or even shifting in the pan on the back seat. What about a goody to accompany a big cup of hot coffee out onto the deck some cool morning? Or one to sneak in bed with us sometime when that felt ok? (Are you a crumbs in the bed sort of person? While I’ll happily guzzle coffee in bed any day, I’m not a breakfast in bed woman, even when ill.) I had in mind what we currently call a snacking cake, which denotes an easy-to-make and easy to serve homey cake that’s for any time at all you need or want cake. Not an occasion dessert like birthday cake, wedding cake, or even an elegant dinner party cake but simply a hang around the kitchen, come as you are kinda cake. And while some snacking cakes boast a glaze, a frosting, or a fine dusting of powdered sugar, I was leaning, once again, toward a crowning cap of spicy streusel.
The word is snacking cakes are made mostly in one bowl and hopefully using pantry ingredients. No chocolate ordered in from Europe and no sugar other than plain old white or brown, for instance. No fancy pan most folks don’t have. Use a loaf pan, a 9″x 9″ square, or 9″x13″ but skip the 7″ springform. Those are my favorite sorts of cakes –aren’t they yours? I kept dreaming of one that had all of the fine qualities of my favorite Marion Cunningham pumpkin bread and also all of the character of a decent apple cake. I wanted it a bit on the thick, heavy side but still moist. Sturdy is what I might call it. In fact, this cake weighs a good bit and when you lift the pan, you know you’ve lifted something. When you’ve eaten a piece, you stay fed. You are…satisfied. That says a lot for a cake.
BTW: Read the Marion Cunningham article --as I did after writing my recipe-- and see that I discovered Marion, too, thought her bread made a good cake. Great minds think alike 😉 .
TWO-WAY CAKE: You choose. You can make this cake with butter OR oil. I first tried it with salted butter, instead of Marion’s indicated shortening, and used a 7-qt Kitchen Aid mixer. I liked it fine. Best sous and husband Dave, the cookie monster at our house, ate two pieces straight away. I don’t eat a lot of sweets but found that while this was sweet (not too), it was also just something good to eat. There’s a difference. The butter in the batter –say that three times real fast–gave the cake a certain indelible flavor but it also meant the baker needed an electric mixer or a right arm like an MLB pitcher. I then adapted the recipe to one using vegetable or canola oil and mixed it with a whisk, which meant it was faster, cheaper, and easier to make. (You’ll need a really big bowl for your whole batter; I used a 6qt.) Both of us liked it just as well and perhaps better. I did everything I could to get Dave to say which cake he liked best but he refused. He has a fairly discriminating palate (he’s pickier than I am), so that means a lot. In the end, unlike most recipes on this blog, I’ve decided to put up both versions and let you make the one you prefer–butter for those who love dairy and feel like beating something that day and oil for those who maybe want to skip butter or just like oil cakes. If you’ve got a newbie kid baker who wants to bake, you might let them try their hand at the oil cake. I used canola oil; many bakers bake with vegetable oil. If you use olive oil, as I do in some of my cakes, I think it will define the cake and probably detract from its, do I dare say it, pumpkin spice profile. You could try light olive oil, which has a less pronounced flavor.
Want a no-butter streusel, too? Use vegan butter if you like or make a no-butter streusel like the one in my Peach Muffins with Cardamom Streusel recipe. You'd probably need to double the cardamom streusel for this cake.
After you’ve made and tasted it whichever way, just for fun, choose words to describe your bit of goodness and let me know what they are. You might share what was your favorite way to have your cake and eat it, too. No plate? No fork? No napkin or paper towel? Served up at the tailgate? Snarfed down over the sink? On your mother’s china with sterling silver flatware and a tiny crystal glass of Madeira? See, I did the wine pairing for you. And I’ll ask this for the last and most important question: Is a piece of cake in the hand better than two pieces in the pan? However you decide to gobble some down, I think you’ll be happy when you try this:
Pumpkin-Apple Streusel Cake (Butter Version)
Ingredients
STREUSEL:
- ¾ cup (90 grams) all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup (156 grams) brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ cup (8 tablespoons/4 ounces/113 grams) softened, salted butter
- ½ cup (64 grams) chopped walnuts
- 1 cup (89 grams) old-fashioned oats
CAKE:
- 11 tablespoons (5.5 ounces/155 grams) softened salted butter, cut into pieces
- 1 ½ (300 grams) cups granulated sugar
- 4 large eggs at room temperature
- 2/3 cup (160 ml) milk
- 15- ounce can (425 grams) pumpkin purée (not pumpkin pie mix)
- 3 1/3 cups (400 grams) unbleached, all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 generous teaspoon each: ground cinnamon and ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 ¼ cups (140) grams chopped, unpeeled Granny Smith apples-cut into medium dice (about 1 large)
Instructions
- PREPARATION: Grease and flour a 9”x13” metal baking pan. Set rack at center and preheat oven to 350F (180 C) degrees.
- MAKE THE STREUSEL: In a large bowl, stir together all the ingredients. Using your fingers, rub and pinch together until crumbly and well-combined. Set aside.
- MAKE THE BATTER: (Wet Ingredients) In the bowl of a standing electric mixer (or in an extra-large bowl with handheld electric mixer or by hand), beat together the softened butter with the sugar until mixed. Add the eggs, milk, and pumpkin and mix well. It’s ok if there are some pieces of butter in the mixture.(Dry Ingredients) In a large bowl, stir together the flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, and spices. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix slowly until just combined.Add the chopped apples to the batter and mix briefly. Using a rubber spatula, scrape the cake batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Sprinkle the reserved streusel topping evenly onto the batter.
- BAKE for 30-40 minutes or until toothpick comes out nearly clean. Cool pan on rack at least 30 minutes. Slice and serve warm or at room temperature. Store well-wrapped on the counter for 2 days or in the refrigerator for 5 days. Bring to room temperature before serving. Double wrap and freeze for up to a month.
Notes
Pumpkin-Apple Streusel Cake (Oil Version)
Ingredients
STREUSEL:
- ¾ cup (90 grams) all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup (156 grams) brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ cup (8 tablespoons/4 ounces/113 grams) softened, salted butter, cut into pieces
- ½ cup (64 grams) chopped walnuts
- 1 cup (89 grams) old-fashioned oats
CAKE:
- ½ cup (118 ml) vegetable or canola oil
- 1 ½ (300 grams) cups granulated sugar
- 4 large eggs at room temperature
- 2/3 cup (160 ml) milk
- 15- ounce can (425 grams) pumpkin purée (not pumpkin pie mix)
- 3 1/3 cups (400 grams) unbleached, all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 generous teaspoon each: ground cinnamon and ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 ¼ cups (140 grams) chopped, unpeeled Granny Smith apples-cut into medium dice (about 1 large)
Instructions
- PREPARATION: Grease and flour a 9”x13” metal baking pan. Set rack at center and preheat oven to 350F (180 C) degrees.
- MAKE THE STREUSEL: In a large bowl, stir together all the ingredients. Using your fingers, mix and rub and pinch together until crumbly and well-combined. Set aside.
- MAKE THE BATTER: (Wet Ingredients) In an extra-large bowl, whisk the eggs. Whisk in the oil, sugar, milk, and pumpkin until well-combined. Set aside.(Dry Ingredients) In a large bowl, stir together the flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, and spices. Spoon the flour mixture into the large bowl with the wet ingredients and mix slowly until just combined.Add the chopped apples to the batter and mix briefly. Using a rubber spatula, scrape the cake batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Sprinkle the reserved streusel topping evenly onto the batter.
- BAKE for 30-40 minutes or until toothpick comes out nearly clean. Cool pan on rack at least 30 minutes. Slice and serve warm or at room temperature. Store wrapped on the counter for 2 days or in the fridge for five days. Bring to room temperature before serving. Double wrap and freeze for up to a month.
Notes
CHANGE IT UP: While I’ve given you two basic options for baking this cake, I’m thinking about trying it with chopped cranberries–perhaps at the bottom of the pan. I found the first cranberries of the season today at the grocery. My good friend Patti, a fine local baker and caterer, may try my cake with gluten-free flour; I’ll let you know. SPICES: Should you want an extra spicy cake, increase the ground cloves to 1/2 teaspoon or increase the cinnamon and ginger by 50%.
STUFF TO READ OR LISTEN TO:
“Why It’s Better to Use Canned Pumpkin for Fall Baking,” Taste of Home
Snacking Cakes: Simple Treats for Anytime Cravings: A Baking Book by Yossi Arefi (Book to order or check out from the library) Here’s a quick synopsis:
In Snacking Cakes, the indulgent, treat-yourself concept of cake becomes an anytime, easy-to-make treat. Expert baker Yossy Arefi’s collection of no-fuss recipes is perfect for anyone who craves near-instant cake satisfaction. (courtesy amazon.com)
“Three Snacking Cakes to Change Your Afternoons” Melissa Clark/NYT (gifted article without paywall).
Want a frosted pumpkin cake? Sally’s has lovely, tried, true baking recipes and I looked at her cake when deciding how to bake mine. The Best Pumpkin Cake I’ve Ever Had/SALLY’S BAKING ADDICTION
Snack Cakes (recipes)/King Arthur Baking
“The Magic Pumpkin: It’s a Bread, It’s a Cake” by Marion Cunningham/LAT
Do you own a 6-qt mixing bowl? If you don’t and really want to cook, buy one. This is what you need for mixing many things but mostly for making and tossing a salad on a nearly daily basis. Try this one.
“If I Knew You Were Comin’ I’d’ve Baked a Cake” (Eileen Barton)
“The Great Pumpkin Waltz” IT’S THE GREAT PUMPKIN, CHARLIE BROWN/Vince Guaraldi
Make and Freeze Thanksgiving: 10 Make-Ahead Thanksgiving Recipes for a Stress-Free Holiday/FOOD NETWORK
IF YOU LIKED THIS, YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE MY:
LIFE GOES ON:
…a few photos from the 28-day trip to Seattle, northern Alaska, Kodiak Island, and Hawaii
Good to go and good to come back. Bake a cake!
Alyce