Tartine Bakery's Pumpkin Tea Cake
The recipe has ended up on many "best of" lists for pumpkin tea cakes. It is reliable, straightforward, and super-moist, and has a nice balance of pumpkin to spice. The flavor will differ depending on the brand of pumpkin purée you use—some resulting in a lighter-colored cake, and others a more pronounced pumpkin flavor.
Reprinted from Tartine Revisited by Elizabeth Prueitt with permission by Chronicle Books, 2019
Prep Time
30 minutes
Bake Time
1 hour
Total Time
1 hour and 30 minutes
Yield
one 9" x 5" loaf
Ingredients:
1¾ cups (230g) Organic Edison flour
1½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon + 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons freshly grated nutmeg
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
1 cup (255g) pumpkin purée (see Baker's Notes below)
1 cup (240g) safflower or sunflower oil
1 1/3 cups (265g) sugar, plus more for topping
¾ teaspoon salt
3 large eggs
Baker's Notes:
This recipe is easily mixed in an electric stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, or by hand with a whisk. As with all quick breads, make sure not to overmix the batter, or you will develop a coarse, tough crumb.
If you choose to make your own pumpkin purée, red kuri or kabocha squash work well: both have good flavor and a nice, smooth texture when puréed. This cake isn’t too sweet, so a dollop of Bourbon Hard Sauce is a delicious addition on a slice of this cake. If you can find raw pepitas (hulled pumpkin seeds), they make a beautiful crunchy topping, along with the sugar.
Instructions:
- Preheat the oven to 325°F.
- Lightly butter the bottom and sides of a 9" x 5" loaf pan.
- In a bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves. Set aside.
- In a mixing bowl of your electric stand mixer, beat together on medium speed the pumpkin purée, oil, sugar, and salt until well mixed.
- Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition until incorporated before adding the next egg.
- Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula.
- On low speed, add the flour mixture and beat just until combined.
- Scrape down the sides of the bowl, then beat on medium speed for 5 to 10 seconds to make a smooth batter. The batter should have the consistency of a thick purée.
- Transfer the batter to the prepared loaf pan and smooth the surface with an offset spatula.
- Sprinkle evenly with 2 tablespoons of sugar.
- Bake until a cake tester or toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 1 hour.
- Let cool in the pan on a wire rack for about 20 minutes, and then invert onto the rack, turn top side up, and let cool completely.
- Serve the cake at room temperature.
- It will keep, well wrapped, at room temperature for 4 days or in the refrigerator for about 1 week.
Baker's Notes:
This recipe is easily mixed in an electric stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, or by hand with a whisk. As with all quick breads, make sure not to overmix the batter, or you will develop a coarse, tough crumb.
If you choose to make your own pumpkin purée, red kuri or kabocha squash work well: both have good flavor and a nice, smooth texture when puréed. This cake isn’t too sweet, so a dollop of Bourbon Hard Sauce is a delicious addition on a slice of this cake. If you can find raw pepitas (hulled pumpkin seeds), they make a beautiful crunchy topping, along with the sugar.