Thanksgiving Cake of Gloriousness

Technically this is a Brown Butter Pumpkin Layer Cake. But doesn't my name sound so much more...glorious?!

This is a complicated looking recipe, but it really wasn't that hard. I'm going to break it down into pieces.

To start, prepare two 9" round pans. Butter them, put a round of parchment at the bottom of each one, butter the parchment, and then flour the cake pans. Pre-heat the oven to 350.

The Cake:
3/4 cup unsalted butter
2 cups all purpose flour
1.5 tsp baking soda
1.5 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
3/4 tsp table salt
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1.5 cups of plain pumpkin puree
1.5 cups granulated sugar
2/3 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1/3 cup buttermilk

Melt the butter in a heavy duty sauce pan over medium heat. Cook, swirling the pan occasionally, until the butter turns a nutty golden-brown, about 4 minutes. Transfer to a small bowl and let sit for 15 minutes.

In a medium bowl whisk the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, salt, and cloves. In a large bowl, whisk together the pumpkin puree, granulated sugar, brown sugar, eggs and buttermilk until very well blended. With a rubber spatula, stir in the flour mixture until just combined. Gently whisk in the brown butter until completely incorporated. Divide the batter evenly between the two pans.

Bake the cakes until a tester comes out clean, about 28 minutes. Let the cakes cool in the pan for 10 minutes before flipping the cakes out onto a rack. Allow them to cool completely.

The Topping:
1.5 tbs unsalted butter
2/3 cups pecans
1/2 cup raw, unsalted, hulled pepitas (I actually didn't use these because I couldn't find them, so if you can't find them, just use more pecans)
2 tbs packed light brown sugar
1/4 tsp salt
2 tbs chopped crystallized ginger

Melt the butter in a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the nuts and cook until the pecans brown, about 2 minutes. Add the brown sugar and salt, and stir until the sugar melts and the nuts are glazed, about 2 minutes. Stir in the ginger pieces, and remove from heat. Allow to cool in the nonstick skillet.

The Frosting:
1/2 cup unsalted butter
8 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
1/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 1/4 cups confectioners sugar

Melt the butter in a heavy duty sauce pan over medium heat. Cook, swirling the pan occasionally, until the butter turns a nutty golden-brown, about 4 minutes. Transfer to a small bowl and put in the freezer to chill until the butter is just firm. Using a spoon, carefully scrape the butter from bowl, leaving the browned solids at the bottom.

Using an electric mixer, beat the butter, cream cheese, and brown sugar on medium-high speed until light in color and the brown sugar has dissolved, 2 minutes. Gradually beat in the confectioners sugar and continue beating until fluffy, 1 to 2 minutes.

Assemble the Cake:
Put one layer of the cake on a cake stand. Cover with 1/2 cup of the frosting. Sprinkle 1/2 cup (or about 1/2 of the topping) over the frosting, and then top with the second layer of the cake. Use the remaining frosting to frost the remaining cake. Add the rest of the nut mixture on top of the cake.


I know I know. There's a lot going on in this recipe. But it turns out really really delicious. And pretty!