Denise Monahan is at it again - sharing her fabulous recipes. (She also brought us her moist bran muffins and the cranberry-orange bread from Bandon Boatworks in Coos Bay, Ore.)
This delightful pumpkin cake is good for everyday, or to cap off a holiday meal. She says she's added raisins and nuts, on occasion, but we left it plain and it was great.
If you're itching to try something different than pumpkin pie for your Thanksgiving dessert, this is a good alternative. It requires just one bowl, saving on dishes - always welcome around the holidays - and there is no crust to make.
Baked in a jelly roll tin it allows for more pieces, which is nice for large family gatherings. I always cut back on the amount of butter called for in most cream cheese frostings and never seem to miss it.
For this cake, I altered it from the original 1½ sticks of butter to just one. If you decide to make it with raisins and nuts, let me know how it goes. I'll be waiting to hear back!
- Denise Monahan's Pumpkin Bars (more like cake) with Cream Cheese Frosting
1 cup oil
2 cups granulated sugar
2 cups canned pumpkin
4 eggs, beaten
2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon allspice
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
Mix all ingredients together in a large mixing bowl. Pour into a greased or sprayed 10- by 15-inch jelly roll pan and bake in a 350-degree oven for 25 minutes. Cool and frost with cream cheese frosting.
- Cream Cheese Frosting
6 ounces cream cheese
1 ½ sticks butter or margarine (we used one stick only)
2 tablespoons cream
2 teaspoons vanilla
3 ½ cups powdered sugar
Beat together cream cheese and butter until light. Add powdered sugar and vanilla and mix well. Add cream to desired consistency and beat until fluffy. Spread on cooled cake and cut into squares.
Susie Iventosch can be reached at suziven@hughes.net.
