Pumpkin Streusel Cake with Maple Cinnamon Glaze

I don’t know what happens to me every October, but I can’t wait to eat pumpkin in just about any recipe.

It pains me to wait until the week before Halloween to carve my pumpkins, because really I just want to roast the seeds and eat them…don’t really care about carving them with a face or sticking a candle in them. Halloween would not be on the top of my favorite Holiday list… or for the middle of that list for that matter.

So I have opted to run out and buy some canned pumpkin and try out this recipe I ran across. The only pre-requisite for my husband is that it MUST have cinnamon in it…check.

So as I get ready to attempt yet another baking chemistry ordeal: I cross my fingers, preheat the oven and let my dairy come to room temp… wish me luck!

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Okay, this cake was fantastic. Especially with the Maple Cinnamon Glaze I added once the cake cooled (o.k. it was not completely cooled and could have looked prettier…but I wanted to eat it..so I did).

From Make Ahead Meals for Busy Moms

1/2 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
15 oz can pumpkin
3 large eggs
2 1/2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt

Streusel Topping:
1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1/3 cup walnuts, chopped

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray the inside of a tube or bundt pan with nonstick spray; set aside. In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter and sugar on medium speed until well blended. Add the pumpkin and eggs and mix thoroughly. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves and salt. Add the flour mixture to the pumpkin mixture. Mix on medium speed until combined. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Prepare the streusel topping: In a small bowl combine the flour, sugars, cinnamon, melted butter and walnuts. Sprinkle the streusel over the cake batter. Bake for 50-55 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack for about 15 minutes. Slide a knife around the pan so the cake doesn’t stick when removing it. Invert the cake onto a plate. Then invert the cake onto another plate, so that the streusel is on the top. Cool completely. Cover and store at room temperature.

Maple Cinnamon Glaze:

• 1 1/2 cups confectioners sugar
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon Maple Syrup (real stuff please)
• milk

whisk together first three ingredients, then slowly add in 1 tsp of milk at a time to get a consistency to drizzle on top of cooled cake.