This lightly spiced cake with generous pieces of crystallized ginger is a moist treat made even more delicious by the tart sauce! It is the combination of pumpkin and ginger that makes this seasonal cake marvelous. What would autumn-time be without pumpkin…and without ginger?!
I’m on an autumn-song kick, so here’s another to check out: “‘Tis Autumn” sung by Nat King Cole.
Pumpkin Gingerbread Cake
Ingredients
- 1 cup brown sugar
- ½ cup butter, room temperature
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon allspice
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- 2 eggs
- ¼ cup apple juice
- 1 cup canned pumpkin puree
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 cup crystallized ginger, sliced into ¼-inch slivers then cut cross-wise into tiny pieces (optional)
- 2 ½ teaspoons cornstarch
- ¼ cup brown sugar, packed
- ½ cup apple juice
- 4 teaspoons lemon juice concentrate
- 1 tablespoon butter
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Instructions
- Preheat oven 350 degrees. Line a 9-inch by 9-inch square baking pan with parchment paper
- With electric mixer, combine brown sugar, butter, nutmeg, cloves, cinnamon, allspice, ginger and eggs in a large bowl.
- Add apple juice and pumpkin. Mix.
- Add flour, baking soda and baking powder. Mix just until blended.
- Stir in crystallized ginger.
- Spoon batter into parchment paper lined pan.
- Bake for 35-40 minutes or until a knife inserted in center comes out clean.
- Lift cake out of pan by the edges of the parchment paper. Set on a cooling rack for five minutes.
- Cut cake while still warm. Place each piece on individual serving plates. Spoon sauce over warm cake and serve.
- In a saucepan, combine cornstarch and brown sugar by stirring together with a fork. Add apple juice. Over medium heat, bring mixture to a boil stirring all the whole time.
- Boil for 2 minutes and remove from heat. Add lemon juice and butter.
- Stir until consistency is smooth.
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