Well it is officially difficult to fit not one, but two, frozen turkeys into your freezers when they are overflowing with Holiday goodies. There are two things wrong with this sentence. Notice “turkeys” and “freezers” are both plural.
It is a problem when your family of four fills up two freezers with food, the majority of it being muffins, cookies, cake, brownies, pie, and tarts. Yeah, that is a problem alright.
You also know you are a little obsessed with food when you decide to buy two turkeys for Thanksgiving when you are not even going to be home for the holiday. Um, I’m not even baking a turkey…yet I have two!
This is where my other issue comes into play. I am a penny pincher. I think about money and how much our family is spending all of the time. So when turkeys are on sale for $10, you buy two and figure out the menu later. Who knows, maybe there will be a turkey day feast in the middle of July. Come one, come all!
But really, being a food blogger, it’s not like I can just pass up the opportunity to cook a turkey. It’s got to be done. So, Happy Thanksgiving to us this weekend while I stuff, rub, and cook the first of our little friends. I’ll let you know how it goes up in here.
And so back to my overstuffed freezers. I needed to make room. I was also missing some friends of ours that we hadn’t seen for a while. Perfect solution: smorgasboard dessert night at the Gundersens. Literally, I pulled 4 desserts out of the freezer for consumption…3 of which included pumpkin, and all of which are not yet on the blog. I am slacking here!
So first up in this dessert recipe hodge podge is this Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cake with Brown Sugar Frosting. Oh my! This cake is rich!
I’m not talking about the rich that you don’t like, you know the snooty rich that is too good for everyone and you just want to sock in the face because they are so arragont kind of rich? No, I’m taking about the so sweet, so nice, help everyone they meet, friends with every person around them kind of rich. You will most definitely want to be besties with this cake, from the very first bite to the very last morsel crumb spec.
This cake is spiced with cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice and the canned pumpkin and eggs give it a soft and moist, but not overly dense, crumb. The semi-sweet chocolate chips in this cake add to the richness and balance out the sweetness of the brown sugar frosting.
Uh, the brown sugar frosting. Can we just dwell on this for a moment?! Divine! I am telling you, this frosting you will want to eat with a spoon. It is rich, creamy, sweet, and salty. You pour it over the cake while it is still warm, and then it sets as it cools with a slight sugary coating on top. I could eat it for days…but then I would be sick, so I won’t. But really, so good!
This dessert was one of the favorites last night, so it’s safe to say that this would be a winner for your next holiday party or even for goodie deliveries. Since the top of the frosting slightly hardens, you are able to cover it with plastic wrap or cellophane to give to neighbors without it smashing the frosting. Go ahead and try, they will love you and then stalk you for the recipe…and then you just sent them to me.
How do you make room for extra food in your freezer?
- For Cake:
- ¾ cup butter, melted
- 1¼ cup brown sugar
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 2 eggs, beaten
- ½ cup canned pumpkin
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1½ teaspoons cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- 1¼ teaspoons xanthan gum
- ¾ cup potato starch
- ¼ cup tapioca starch
- ½ cup brown rice flour
- ½ cup gluten free oat flour
- 1½ cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
- For Frosting:
- ⅓ cup butter
- ⅔ cup packed brown sugar
- 3 tablespoons milk
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 2½ cups powdered sugar
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a metal or glass 9X13 pan and set aside.
- Microwave butter, covered, for 45 seconds to one minute until melted. Allow to cool slightly. Begin making the cake. In a large bowl or stand mixer, beat melted butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar, eggs, pumpkin until pale and smooth. Add vanilla and beat until incorporated. Add baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, and xanthan gum. Mix until blended. Add potato starch, tapioca starch, brown rice flour, and oat flour. Mix until combined. Beat an additional minute. Stir in chocolate chips.
- Pour batter into greased 9X13 cake pan and bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes or until cake bounces back at touch of a finger. Remove from oven and allow to cool on cooling racks.
- Once cake is cooled begin making frosting. Melt butter in medium saucepan on medium heat. Add brown sugar and stir until liquefied and bubbly. Remove from heat and add in 3 tablespoons of milk. Stir vigorously until smooth. Add salt and stir. Add powdered sugar slowly until frosting reaches a spreading consistency. Immediately pour over cake and spread with a spatula. Serve immediately or wait until frosting sets.
This cake looks so moist and delicious!! Pinned!
Pumpkin and chocolate combo is always awesome 🙂
Isn’t it though?! That’s pretty much why I’m happy all of fall. 😉