Pumpkin Spice Cake with Maple Cream Sauce
A tall, tender pumpkin cake with brown sugar, cinnamon and ginger, served in generous wedges with warm maple cream poured over each slice.
- Total
- 1 hr 20 min
- Prep
- 25 min
- Bake
- 55 min
- Level
- Medium
- Serves
- 10
- Tin
- 20 cm springform
This pumpkin spice cake has a close, soft crumb that stays moist beneath its gently domed top. Brown sugar gives it a deeper sweetness, while cinnamon and ginger bring warmth without covering the pumpkin.
Use plain pumpkin purée rather than pumpkin pie filling. The batter is fairly thick and the cake is tall, so give the centre time to bake before taking it out of the oven.
Ingredients
For one 20 cm springform, serves 10
For the cake
For the maple cream sauce
You will need
- 20 cm round springform cake tin, preferably deep sided
- Baking parchment
- Large mixing bowl
- Medium mixing bowl
- Balloon whisk
- Silicone spatula
- Wire cooling rack
- Cake skewer
- Small heavy-based saucepan
- Wooden spoon
- Small pouring jug
Oven
175°C fan 155°C 345°F
Method
Oven 175°C · fan 155°C · 345°F
Whisk the eggs, sugars and oil
Heat the oven to 175C, 155C fan. Grease the springform tin and line its base and sides with baking parchment. Put the eggs, both sugars and sunflower oil into a large bowl. Whisk until the mixture is smooth, glossy and the colour of dark caramel, with no large lumps of brown sugar remaining.
Make the pumpkin batter
Whisk the pumpkin purée, soured cream and vanilla extract into the egg mixture until it has an even orange-brown colour. In another bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and salt. Tip the dry ingredients into the pumpkin mixture and fold with a spatula until no dry flour remains. The batter should be thick, smooth and softly dropping from the spatula. Stop mixing once the last pale streak disappears.
Fill the cake tin
Scrape the batter into the prepared springform tin, getting right into the edges. Smooth the surface with the spatula and give the tin a gentle tap against the worktop to settle any large air pockets. The batter should sit in an even, deep orange layer with a slight sheen across the top.
Bake the cake
Put the tin on the middle shelf of the oven. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, until the top is gently domed and a deep golden brown. A skewer pushed into the middle comes out with a few damp crumbs, and the top springs back when lightly pressed. If the surface is browning too quickly towards the end, rest a loose sheet of foil over the tin.
Cool and release
Leave the baked cake for 20 minutes in the tin. It will settle slightly as the steam escapes, and the edges should begin to pull away from the parchment. Release the springform ring, peel away the side parchment and transfer the whole cake to a wire rack. Leave it to cool until the base no longer feels warm and the crumb has had time to firm up.
Make the maple cream sauce
While the cake cools, put the maple syrup, double cream and butter into a small heavy-based saucepan. Warm over a low heat, stirring until the butter has melted and the mixture looks smooth and pale amber. Bring it to a gentle simmer, stirring until it lightly coats the back of a spoon. Take it off the heat and stir in the salt. The finished sauce should be glossy and pour in a continuous ribbon.
Cut the first slice
Once the cake has cooled, place it on a serving plate and cut into generous wedges with a sharp knife. Lift the first slice away carefully. The cut face should show a close, even orange-brown crumb with tiny darker flecks of spice and no wet batter near the base.
Pour the sauce at the table
Transfer the warm maple cream sauce to a small pouring jug and bring it to the table alongside the cake. Put a wedge on each plate and pour the sauce over the cut face immediately before serving. It should run gently down the sides and gather in a shallow pool beneath the slice.
Baker's notes
- Choose pumpkin purée with a thick, spoonable consistency. If yours has a layer of free liquid on top, stir it thoroughly before weighing it into the bowl.
- A deep-sided springform tin is needed for this amount of batter. The lined tin should have enough spare height for the cake to rise without reaching the rim.
- The finished cake can be baked the day before serving. Once completely cool, wrap it well and leave the sauce until nearer serving time.
- Allergens: contains gluten, egg and dairy. The recipe contains no added nuts or alcohol, but check the packaging of individual ingredients if cross-contact is a concern.
Keeping it Keep the cooled cake in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days, or in the fridge for up to 4 days. Store the maple cream sauce separately in a covered container in the fridge for up to 3 days and reheat gently before serving. The unsauced cake can also be wrapped and frozen for up to 2 months.
Questions, answered
Can I use homemade pumpkin purée?
Yes. Roast the pumpkin rather than boiling it, then blend the cooked flesh until smooth. Homemade purée can hold more water than tinned purée, so drain any obvious excess liquid before weighing it.
Can I use butternut squash instead of pumpkin?
Yes. Roasted and blended butternut squash has a similar colour and consistency, although its flavour is slightly sweeter. Allow it to cool completely before adding it to the batter.
Can I make this cake without the maple cream sauce?
The cake can be served on its own. It has enough moisture and sweetness to stand without a topping, although the sauce adds a buttery maple flavour and contrast to the spiced crumb.
Can I freeze individual slices?
Yes. Wrap the unsauced slices separately and place them in a freezer-safe container. Defrost them while still wrapped so the exposed crumb does not dry out.
Can I replace the sunflower oil with melted butter?
You can use cooled melted butter, but expect a slightly firmer crumb, particularly after refrigeration. Sunflower oil gives this tall pumpkin cake a softer texture when served at room temperature.
If it goes wrong
- It sank in the middleSeven causes, told apart by the shape of the crater.
- It came out raw in the centreBrown outside, wet inside, and how to rescue the one you are holding.
- The caramel seizedIt is almost always fixable. The lump re-melts.
