*This Toffee Vanilla Pound Cake + Pumpkin Seed Brittle is a dense, moist, simple vanilla pound cake drenched in toffee sauce and studded with pumpkin seed brittle and amoretti cookies
This vanilla pound cake, on it’s own, is simple.
Drown it in toffee sauce and adorn it with crunchy pumpkin seed brittle and you have a cake worthy of any celebration.
Vanilla pound cake cooks nicely in a bundt, and keeps well, too.
Use the toffee sauce for almost any other use, as it also keeps well in the fridge.
If you want to make a larger, full sized bundt, x this recipe by 1 1/2. This cake as it’s written is on the smaller side and will fit in a 6-8 cup bundt.
The amoretti cookies on top are optional, but add a fun texture to the overall cake. Sub for any simple, crunchy cookie.
This cake can be made and garnished ahead of time, as long as it’s kept at room temperature. Storing in the fridge will cause the brittle to become sticky.
The mold for the bundt pan I used can be found here(x recipe by 1 1/2 to fill):
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More Autumn Cakes:
Pumpkin Zucchini Cake + Browned Butter Frosting
Pumpkin Butter Cake + Maple Bourbon Frosting
Pumpkin Layer Cake + German Egg Nog Buttercream
Cake base recipe adapted from Tessa’s Spice Cake in Sweet by Yotom Ottolenghi
Toffee Vanilla Pound Cake + Pumpkin Seed Brittle
x the recipe by 1½ to fill a larger/standard sized bundt pan. This recipe makes a bundt on the smaller side.
Author: Kayley
Recipe type: dessert
Serves: serves 12-16
Ingredients
- FOR THE CAKE:
- ¾ cup + 2 tablespoons Unsalted Butter
- 1½ cups Packed Brown Sugar
- 3 large Eggs
- ½ cup Sour Cream
- 1 tablespoon Vanilla
- 1¾ cups Flour
- ¾ teaspoon Salt
- ½ teaspoon Baking Soda
- 1 teaspoon White or apple cider vinegar
- FOR THE TOFFEE SAUCE:
- ½ cup (1 stick) Salted Butter
- ⅔ cup Brown Sugar
- ½ cup Heavy Cream
- FOR THE PUMPKIN SEED BRITTLE:
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup water
- ½ cup Pumpkin Seeds (pepitas)
- Amoretti cookies, to garnish
Instructions
- FOR THE CAKE:
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Grease and flour a smaller-sized bundt pan(6 cup). Set aside.
- Place the butter and sugar in a mixing bowl and beat until light and smooth, about 1 minutes. Beat in the eggs, one at a time. Mix in the sour cream and vanilla.
- In another mixing bowl, whisk together the flour and salt. Add to the wet ingredients, mixing just until combined.
- In a small bowl, stir together the baking soda and vinegar(it will fizz a bit), then add to the cake batter. Mix it in, only until combined.
- Spoon the batter into the prepared bundt pan, leveling and dropping on the counter a few times of work out air bubbles.
- Bake for 40-45 minutes, or until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes, then remove from bundt mold. Let cool completely.
- FOR THE TOFFEE SAUCE:
- Place the butter and brown sugar in a saucepan. Heat over low, stirring occasionally, until the butter is melted and the sugar is dissolved.
- Bring the heat up to medium high. Cook the mixture at a boil for a few minutes, or until it begins to turn a deep amber color. As soon as the mixture darkens, pour in the cream. Mixture will sputter and seize. Continue to cook until the mixture becomes smooth and silky.
- Remove from heat.
- Let cool.
- Pour over the cooled vanilla pound cake.
- FOR THE PUMPKIN SEED BRITTLE:
- Place the sugar and water in a saucepan and place over medium heat. Stir until the sugar dissolves completely. Bring the heat up to high and brush the inner sides of the pan with water to wash down sugar crystals(these will cause the mixture to crystalize if left on the pan). Continue to cook until the mixture turns a golden brown. Remove from heat and stir in pepitas. Spread the mixture out in a thin layer on top of a non-stick mat or parchment paper.
- Let cool completely and break into shards.
- Top the toffee coated cake with pumpkin brittle pieces and amoretti cookies.
- Store in an airtight container at room temperature.
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