Pumpkin Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

As I mentioned in my previous post,  I love pumpkin.  Pumpkin lattes, pumpkin ravioli, pumpkin pie... you get the idea.  I also love this roasted pumpkin cake and I think you will too! I knew it was going to be  a winner too because I tasted the batter and even that was great.  I think the dark brown sugar and cinnamon combined with the pumpkin really blend well. It was super easy to make too.  It took me about 15 minutes only to prep.  This cake is best served with a cold glass of any milk you like.  I personally like rice milk but any will work well.  Enjoy!

For the cake:
2 cups roasted pumpkin puree
4 cups flour, unbleached
2  cups dark brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
3 tbsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. grated nutmeg
2 tsp. salt
4 eggs
1 1/2 stick butter (melted)
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

The first thing to do is roast the pumpkin in a 400 degree oven for about 30 minutes.  I used about 1/2 of a medium sized pumpkin that already came cut.  Once it's roasted, remove the seeds. Scoop out the flesh of the pumpkin and transfer to a food processor.  Blend on high speed until you have a smooth puree.  Make sure the puree is cooled before proceeding to the next step.

Make sure the oven is set to 375 degrees. Next add the butter, eggs, pumpkin puree, sugar and vanilla and blend on medium speed with a mixer. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg.  Add to the wet batter in thirds, mixing well each time.  Add the mixture to a 13x9 baking pan that has been greased.  Bake for 45 minutes. Remove from the oven and transfer to a cooling rack.  Allow the cake to cool completely before frosting.

For the Cream Cheese Frosting:
1 stick butter, softened
1 1/2 bars of cream cheese softened
4 cups confectioner's sugar
1 tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 pinch of salt -to balance out the sweetness

While the cake is baking,  let's make the frosting.  In a mixing bowl, combine the butter and cream cheese and blend well.  Add in the vanilla extract, salt and lemon juice and blend well.  Begin adding the powdered sugar one cup at a time  and begin mixing, scraping the sides and the bottom of the bowl to make sure everything is evenly blended.  Now go frost that cake!