Guys, cake!
Yesterday was a day that called for cake…even though I didn’t have any left, I wish I did. It was one of those frustrating, frantic, half-assed days where you’re pulled in different directions and nothing gets accomplished. Days like that deserve something sweet. In my case it was a Reese’s pumpkin eaten over the sink with a gulp of cold coffee between ringing doorbells, barking dogs, a startled baby, and a project I just couldn’t seem to get through. But I wanted it to be a piece of this cake with a side of coffee…that was still warm.
This cake is a moist pumpkin and spice number with little bits of hazelnut suspended in the batter, iced with a brown butter + cream cheese concoction, and sprinkled with crunchy hazelnut candy. It’s got it all: tender-spiced cake, a buttery-tangy frosting, and lots of crunchy-sweet texture. It’s a dream boat and a sure-fire cure for one of those kinda days.
I don’t mean to get all complain-y, but some days are better than others and cake days are definitely the best!
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- ½ cups finely chopped, toasted hazelnuts
- 1½ sticks (12 tablespoons) unsalted butter, browned
- 1½ cups brown sugar
- ¼ cup bourbon
- 2 eggs
- 1½ cups pure pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
- Brown Butter Cream Cheese Frosting:
- 1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter, browned
- 4 ounces softened cream cheese
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 3 cups confectioner’s sugar
- Hazelnut Crunch:
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons water
- pinch of salt
- 1 heaping cup toasted hazelnuts
- Preheat the oven to 350˚F. Grease 2 6-inch round cake pans and line with parchment circles (you can also bake this cake in a 9-inch square pan).
- In a mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, kosher salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and hazelnuts. In another bowl whisk together the browned butter, brown sugar, bourbon, eggs, and pumpkin puree until combined. Fold the butter-pumpkin mixture into the flour and spice mixture until just combined and there are no longer streaks of flour throughout. Divide the cake batter between the two cake pans and smooth the tops. Bake in the center of the oven for about 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cakes comes out clean. Remove from the oven and cool on wire racks for 15 minutes before turning out the cakes and cooling completely. Cool the cakes completely before frosting—it is even better to wrap the cooled cakes in plastic and place them in the refrigerator to chill before frosting.
- Frosting: Using a mixer, beat the browned butter with the cream cheese until smooth. Add the salt and beat the confectioner’s sugar gradually until smooth and spreadable.
- Place a sheet of parchment on a sheet pan and set aside.
- For the Hazelnut Crunch: Heat the sugar and water in a saucepan over medium high heat until the sugar dissolves and becomes a deep golden amber color—don’t stir it, but you can swirl the pan if you need to. Remove from the heat and stir in the salt and hazelnuts. Pour the mixture onto the sheet pan and cool completely. Chop the cooled hazelnut crunch coarsely and store in an airtight container until ready to use.
- To assemble the cake:
- Place one of the cooled cake layers on a cake stand, spread a heaping scoop of frosting on top of the layer and spread evenly, then sprinkle with a handful of the hazelnut crunch. Place the other cake layer on top, pressing down lightly to adhere to the first layer. Pile several heaping scoops of frosting on top of the cake and spread evenly to the edges of the cake, spread the excess frosting over the sides of the cake, evenly. Scrape any excess frosting off with an off set spatula for a “naked-cake” effect, or spread thickly for a more traditional look.
This cake looks absolutely gorgeous, Cindy! I love the addition of the hazelnut crunch. I agree, cake days are the best. Chocolate days are a close runner up in my book!
I know exactly the kind of day you mean! Just, nothing gets done and at the end of it you’re exhausted and feel crap. But HANG IN THERE, because those days mean that you’re busy and in demand! So you’re kicking ass! And check out this cake, I mean COME ON with the hazelnut crunch!
This cake is so pretty I want to scream. Looooove that crunch on top. Oh girl, you are a cake master!
Woah Cindy this looks bomb! I love the flavours going on here – it screams fall!
Oh, your cake looks fantastic! After I made pumpkin cake for the fist time ( here is the link http://thisisasweetblog.blogspot.com/2014/10/pumpkin-cake-with-mascarpone-frosting.html ) I do not know the better cake than that. Pumpkin makes magic – moist and light texture)
Holy yum! I saw your photo for this on instagram and had to click over to pin this bad boy! I cant wait to make this. Thank you for sharing.
Whoa, Cindy! This cake looks so grand! I can see where a slice of this could solve a bad day or pretty much all of the world’s woes. Stunning!
STUNNER!
This is everything I love combined into one beautiful cake! Can’t wait to try it.
Complain away as needed, lady — I hear ya. Sometimes these days a warm cup of coffee and a slice of cake is a luxury — especially if that cake is this rockstar!
Such a gorgeous cake!
I love cake days, especially if this was the cake!
This cake looks amazing!! I definitely need to start baking with pumpkin!
All things perfectly fall in one cake – I’m in love!
How long would you have to bake the cake if you do it in a 9″ pan?
I would start checking it after 45 minutes.
About 48minutes…or..clean toothpick (:
I made two 9″ for a cake order (:
OMG my house smelt amazing!!
I usually have cake around too and I know the feeling of when you WANT some and you don’t have any left… um, i have a bit of a problem with Reese peanut butter cups myself… just picked through a huge box of halloween candy to eat all of the cups for myself. oh dear. LOVE this cake, anything with a texturey crunch on top is top notch in my books! ^__^
Gorgeous cake, Cindy. I am new to your site and I am already loving it! I can’t wait to look at all your recipes!
Cake days are the best! It is such a pretty cake!
This cake looks so ridiculously good!! Adding it to my Thanksgiving menu!
I’m wiping butter off my laptop as I type — this cake was a winner! I made it for my 16th wedding anniversary. I don’t really remember the taste of my actual wedding cake but I think I will always remember this one. My husband kept pausing and smiling with pure delight as he savored every bite. My kids begged for seconds and we all had an extra helping. I didn’t have bourbon on hand so I used about 2 tsp. of vanilla extract and enough water to equal a 1/4 cup. I didn’t sugar the hazelnut topping either. A generous sprinkling of roasted, ground hazelnuts was good enough for us. Thank you for such a memorable cake! We loved it!
This makes my day, Kelly! Thanks for the feedback and I love your adaptations! 🙂