Yoder's Ultimate Pumpkin Spice Cake

By Kevin Williams

The pumpkin season continues to be in full swing and you're seeing Amish cooks heartily carving out their orange orbs and using the fresh filling in everything from breads, to rolls, and even soups.  While plenty of people joke about the over-saturation of pumpkin in everything, the taste really is a talisman of fall and the taste is just so distinctive, so wonderful. Someday I'd love to try growing some pumpkins in our garden.

So, I have a recipe that comes from an Amish woman in Ohio and it's a super pumpkin spice cake if you like the taste.  Awesome recipe tester Barbara made it for us and took the cake to work and it was so good the boss took the leftovers home. Now that's a cake!

The Purdue University extension department in Indiana gives these tips for harvesting your own pumpkins:

Pumpkins should be harvested before frost. In preparing for storage, pumpkins should be handled with care to prevent bruises or cuts in the rind, as these wounds provide entry for rotting organisms. Cure the pumpkins before storage in a warm, humid area, about 80-85 F with a relative humidity of about 80 percent. After about 10 days, the pumpkins should be moved to a storage area where the temperature can be maintained between 50-60 F with a lower relative humidity of about 50-70 percent. These conditions can be difficult to find in homes in September and early October. So try to time your pumpkin crop as close to Halloween as your growing conditions will permit.

Okay, now let's get to the cake!

Gathering the ingredients...

Mixing in the nuts, but the nuts are, as always, optional...

Ready for the oven...

Making the frosting....

And, finally: yum!!!

So, now if you are seeking a super duper autumn pumpkin spice cake, look no further!

YODER’S AMISH PUMPKIN SPICE CAKE

2 c. flour

2 c. sugar

2 t. baking powder

2 t. soda

½ t. salt

2 t. cinnamon

2 c. pumpkin

4 eggs

1 c. salad oil

1 c. nuts

Sift flour with sugar, baking powder, soda, salt and cinnamon. Add remaining ingredients except nuts. Beat until smooth. Add nuts. Pour into 13 x 9 pan . Bake at 350 for 45 minutes. Can be baked in Bundt Pan or Angel Food Cake Pan.

Frosting: 1 stick of butter 8 oz. cream cheese 1 t. vanilla 1 box powdered sugar use until right consistancy Cream butter and cream cheese. Add vanilla and powdered sugar. Mix until smooth.