The 2011 Flashback Series: Cake Contest

June 22nd 2011:

In my March issue of Hobby Farm Home Magazine they announced that for their 5th anniversary there was going to be a contest for readers to submit their favorite cake recipe using farm-based ingredients. Sounds like fun to me. So I came up with a recipe to enter into the "Best Vegetable-based Cake" category. Pumpkin Cake with Whipped Maple Frosting. I had Cori test it out before I sent it in. She made it and took it to work and said that everyone loved it.

I didn't get selected as a winner but I was thrilled to get an email from the assistant editor telling me: "we loved it too much to keep it to ourselves and felt it deserved honorable mention. That's why we've included it in a special online slideshow of our favorite entries."

You can see the slideshow on the website here.

And here is the recipe...

Cake

• 2 cups cake flour
  
• 2 tsp. baking powder
  
• 2 tsp. baking soda
  
• 1 tsp. salt
  
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
  
• 1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
  
• 1¼ cups oil
  
• 1½ cups sugar
  
• 4 eggs
  
• 3 cups shredded cooking pumpkin or butternut squash

Frosting

• 4 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
  
• 1/3 cup maple syrup
  
• 1 cup heavy cream, chilled

Cake

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg into medium-sized mixing bowl.

In large mixing bowl, cream oil, sugar and eggs. Add pumpkin, and mix well. Add dry ingredients gradually, stirring until just mixed.

Pour batter into greased 9- by 13-inch baking pan or two greased 9-inch round pans. Bake 40 to 50 minutes for sheet cake or 35 to 40 minutes for round cakes. Let cool for 5 to 10 minutes before inverting onto wire rack. Let cool completely before icing.

Frosting

Beat together cream cheese and maple syrup until smooth.

In chilled mixing bowl, whip heavy cream until soft peaks form. Add to cream cheese mixture and beat until desired consistency is reached.