Pumpkin Butter Cake + Maple Bourbon Caramel & Candied Pecans

It’s been awhile since I’ve made a pumpkin cake. Well, pumpkin anything, really. Last year I somehow missed the boat on super seasonal, spiced pumpkin baked goods. So I figured it was high time I put a little pumpkin in the oven. Since I’m really on a kick with my new favorite blend of millet, oat, and sweet rice flour for super tender gluten free baked goods, I thought a pumpkin cake would be the perfect place for those to be put to work.

They did their job well, my friends. This cake is everything I’ve ever wished for a pumpkin cake to be: Ultra tender and moist, but not heavy. Buttery and rich in flavor, without any overpowering spices to mask the pumpkin. Come to think of it, my kids keep referring to this cake as “that pumpkin cake that felt like clouds”. Yeah – it’s that soft.

The cake is topped with a maple bourbon caramel. Somewhere along the road of baking without refined sugars I’ve lost the taste for heavy buttercream frostings. Some sort of honey or maple caramel, drizzled on top, has become my go to which works especially well on bundt cakes. The combination of maple syrup and bourbon works so well with the clean flavors of the pumpkin cake. I’ve also make this same cake with a maple caramel made with Kahlua instead of bourbon, which was just as fantastic.

Candied pecans top the cake and give it a nice textural component –  a sugary crunch. These are really a simple garnish and only take about 5 minutes to make. Walnuts would be a wonderful substitute for pecans, should you not have them.

Despite my lack of pumpkin baking consistency over the last year, I have learned something new: Did you know that most canned pumpkin is not actually pumpkin, but another squash in the pumpkin family? I didn’t until recently and it rocked my little pumpkin pureeing world. With this newfound knowledge I have been experimenting with using other kinds of squash in place of pumpkin in the things I bake/cook. Turns out that kabocha and red kuri squash make much better pumpkin pie/pumpkin cake/soup than the canned pumpkin I’ve used so many times. Sure, it takes a little more work to roast and puree your own squash, but I feel the effort is WELL worth it. I’m especially partial to using red kuri squash. The color is such a rich, deep orange, the texture so smooth and dense, and the flavor it as sweet as any sugar pumpkin I’ve ever baked.

Maybe give the squash puree a try? You may just become a convert, like me. And I assure you, this cake is just the thing to try it out on!

More cake? I’m with you on that one:

Nutella Stuffed Chocolate Hazelnut Dream Cake

Cardamom Spiced Whole Wheat Apple Cake + Honey Caramel

Caramel Soaked Coconut Tres Leches Layer Cake

Zucchini Browned Butter Oat Cake + Apricot Caramel

Pumpkin Butter Cake + Maple Bourbon Caramel & Candied Pecans

 

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This recipe makes small bundt pans (roughly 5-6" each), 1 large bundt pan, or 6-12 mini bundt pans (depending on size).

Serves: serves 12

Ingredients

• FOR THE CAKE:
• 8 tablespoons (4 ounces or 1 stick) Butter, softened
• ¾ cup Raw Cane Sugar
• 1 Vanilla Bean
• 2 Large Eggs
• ½ cup Buttermilk
• ¾ cup + 2 tablespoons Pumpkin Puree (I use red kuri squash puree)
• ¾ cup Sweet Rice Flour
• ½ cup Oat flour
• ⅓ cup Millet flour
• ½ teaspoon Baking Soda
• 1½ teaspoons Baking Powder
• ½ teaspoon Sea Salt
• FOR THE MAPLE CARAMEL:
• ½ cup Maple Syrup
• 2 tablespoons Butter
• ½ cup Heavy Cream
• 2 tablespoons Bourbon (Kahlua is also a good option)
• ½ teaspoon Vanilla
• FOR THE CANDIED PECANS:
• ¼ cup Maple Syrup
• 2 tablespoons Butter
• ¾ cup Pecan Halves

Instructions

1. FOR THE CAKE:
2. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Grease and flour 2 small bundt pans (roughly 5-6" each), 1 large bundt pan, or 6-12 mini bundt pans (depending on size).
3. Place the butter and sugar in a mixing bowl. Slice the vanilla bean in half and scrape the seeds out into the sugar. Beat the butter and sugar together with an electric mixer for 2-3 minutes, or until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, until fully combined. Add the buttermilk and pumpkin puree to the mixture. Beat until completely mixed in. Set aside.
4. Place the sweet rice flour, oat flour, millet flour, baking soda, baking powder, and sea salt in a mixing bowl and whisk together.
5. Add dry ingredients to the bowl of wet ingredients and mix in until fully combined. Spoon the batter into prepared pan(s). Bundt pans should be about ⅔ full of batter.
6. Bake cake(s) as follows: 55-60 minutes for a large bundt, 40-45 minutes for 2 smaller bundt pans, and 25-30 minutes for mini bundts. Test cake with a toothpick before removing from oven. Toothpick should come out clean with a few moist crumbs attached.
7. Let cakes cool for 10 minutes, then invert onto a serving dish, removing pans. Let cool completely.
8. When cake has cooled, drizzle the maple bourbon caramel over the top and place a mound of candied pecans in the center.
9. FOR THE MAPLE CARAMEL:
10. Place the maple syrup in a saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Let cook for another 1-2 minutes, until the maple syrup has thickened and gives off a caramelized aroma - take care not to burn as maple syrup can do so easily.
11. Add the butter, cream, and bourbon to the caramelized maple syrup. Syrup may seize and harden, which is fine. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until the bubbling mixture becomes smooth and fully combined (this should take another 1-2 minutes. Remove the saucepan from heat and stir in the vanilla. Let cool for 5 minutes before drizzling over cake.
12. FOR THE CANDIED PECANS:
13. Place the maple syrup and butter in a saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium/high heat. Continue to cook for another 2-3 minutes, or until the mixture becomes a pale golden color and is quite thick. Add the pecans to the bubbling mixture and stir until all nuts are coated.
14. Pour the nuts onto a piece of parchment paper, spreading in a single layer. Let cool. Break any nuts that are stuck together apart. Use to garnish cake.

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