On Pumpkin Cake

And why it needs to grace every table!

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You are likely already aware, if you have met me even once, that I absolutely cannot stand pumpkin pie. In my family, though, Thanksgiving comes with pumpkin pies. As in, one for each person.

A few years ago, I put my foot down, turned my back on tradition, and made a cake. It was still pumpkin flavored! It had pumpkin spice in it. It had maple frosting. And it was the star of the desserts course. I’ve thought about that cake a lot since then. It meant something to me, even though I didn’t develop the recipe. It was the first time I ever really tried to find something different that could still fit within a traditional role at the table (the pumpkin pie role, duh). It was around the same time that I was deciding to stop eating meat, and somehow that all tied together and made this cake stick.

Another thing that made it stick was just how delicious it is. I think that pumpkin is far too sweet, and it needs a good bit of salt, fat, and a little special something to help it be interesting. (I also prefer it in savory recipes, like the pumpkin lentil chili I made the other night. It was so easy and so delicious that I think I might have to write it down for you.)

For this variation, I chose to add a tahini maple whipped cream. It wasn’t quite a frosting—more of a glaze meets icing. Drippy but with lots of body! Sweet but distinctly savory. I’ve also paired this cake with the aforementioned traditional maple buttercream (just whip softened, salted butter, maple extract, and powdered sugar together until fluffy). It gets very adult when you skip the frosting, and brush it instead with a cardamom simple syrup and add a dollop of whipped cream.

The cake itself is also distinctly not-too-sweet, despite the amount of sugar it contains. The olive oil pulls in a salty, lip-smacking edge, and the fattiness of the (full-fat!) Greek yogurt carries everything nicely. I mean, I don’t mean to brag, but I’ve had some absolute disasters of a cake in my kitchen, and this was not one of them!

Pumpkin Spice Cake with Tahini Maple Whipped Cream