chocolate
dressed for autumn
For some, autumn inspires stocking the wardrobe with woolly sweaters and thick socks in anticipation of snowy ski slopes and slick ice-skating rinks. Not being the outdoorsy type, except for a long late-afternoon walk followed by a good and lusty meal, I retreat into the kitchen (plus, all that wool makes me terribly itchy).
For it is in the kitchen that the tawny colors and flavors of fall, and all the earthiness that accompanies the season, appear in my mixing bowls and on my table.
When the air takes an annual swerving turn from September-warm to October-crisp, I blend pumpkin puree and chocolate chips into a butter cake batter rich in eggs. The puree essentially ensures moistness while coloring the batter a demure, dusky orange with a tinge of yellow ochre. The only seasoning agent present is vanilla extract—spices are absent here as they would conflict with the chocolate—and its vaguely perfumelike quality becomes the natural link between the vegetable and the sweet batter. The pumpkin entrenches itself in the batter, but does not overtake it, and cushions all of those chocolate chips in gentle softness, qualities that make the cake a prime candidate for adding to the Thanksgiving roundup of sweets.
pumpkin cake, with chips
serving: one 10-inch cake, creating about 16 slices
ahead: best on baking day
pumpkin–chocolate chip batter
21/4 cups unsifted bleached all-purpose flour
3/4 cup unsifted bleached cake flour
21/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups miniature semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 pound (16 tablespoons or 2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
21/4 cups granulated sugar
5 large eggs
21/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
one 15-ounce can plain, solid-pack 100% pumpkin
confectioners’ sugar, for sifting over the baked cake
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Film the inside of a 10-inch Bundt pan (generous 33/4 inches deep, with a capacity of 14 cups) or a 10-inch Bundt pan (41/2 inches deep, with a capacity of 15 cups) with nonstick flour-and-oil spray.
For the batter, sift the all-purpose flour, cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt onto a sheet of waxed paper.
Thoroughly toss the chocolate chips with 2 tablespoons of the sifted mixture in a medium-size mixing bowl.
Cream the butter in the large bowl of a freestanding electric mixer on moderate speed for 3 minutes. Add the granulated sugar in 4 additions, beating thoroughly after each portion is added. Beat in the eggs one at a time, beating for 30 seconds after each addition. Blend in the vanilla extract. On low speed, add the pumpkin puree and blend until combined. The mixture will look slightly curdled at this point, but will smooth out during the next step. On low speed, add the sifted mixture in 3 additions, beating just until the particles of flour are absorbed. Scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl frequently with a rubber spatula to keep the batter even-textured. Stir in the chocolate chips.
Spoon the batter into the prepared baking pan. Smooth the top with a rubber spatula.
Bake the cake in the preheated oven for 1 hour, if you are using the 10-inch Bundt pan (generous 33/4 inches deep, with a capacity of 14 cups), or 1 hour and 5 minutes to 1 hour and 10 minutes, if you are using the 10-inch Bundt pan (4½ inches deep, with a capacity of 15 cups), or until risen, set, and a wooden pick withdraws clean or with a few moist crumbs attached.
Cool the cake in the pan on a rack for 10 minutes. Invert the cake onto another cooling rack. Lift off the pan. Cool the cake completely. Store in an airtight cake keeper. Just before serving, sift confectioners’ sugar over the top.
notes
• the combination of all-purpose flour and cake flour builds a well-structured cake with a supple texture
• tossing the chocolate chips with the sifted flour mixture keeps them suspended in the batter
• use a finely serrated knife to cut the cake
