Pumpkin-Orange Cake

9 Ratings
8 Reviews

Canned pumpkin in the cake batter gives rich flavor and moistness, and a ring of mandarin oranges crown the top of this two–layer cake. Both of these orange–colored foods are high in disease–fighting antioxidants, as are the crimson pomegranate seeds that fill the ring of orange segments.

By Kathryn Conrad

Recipe by Cooking Light October 2004

Gallery

Credit: Becky Luigart-Stayner; Jan Gautro

Recipe Summary

Yield:

14 servings (serving size: 1 slice)

Nutrition Info

Directions

Step 1
Preheat oven to 350°.

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Step 2
Place granulated sugar and butter in a large bowl, and beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended. Add pumpkin; beat well. Add egg substitute and vanilla; beat until well blended.
Step 3
Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour and next 6 ingredients (through nutmeg), stirring with a whisk. Add flour mixture and milk alternately to butter mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Pour batter into 2 (9-inch) round cake pans coated with cooking spray; sharply tap pans once on counter to remove air bubbles. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans 10 minutes on a wire rack; remove from pans. Cool completely on wire rack.
Step 4
Place 1 cup powdered sugar and cream cheese in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended. Add remaining powdered sugar and rind; beat until fluffy.
Step 5
Place 1 cake layer on a plate. Spread 2/3 cup cream cheese frosting evenly over top of cake. Top with remaining cake layer; spread remaining cream cheese frosting over top, but not sides, of cake. Arrange orange slices in a ring around outer edge of top cake layer. Sprinkle pomegranate seeds over center of top cake layer. Store cake loosely covered in refrigerator.

Chef's Notes

You can also prepare this in a 13 x 9-inch pan (bake for 40 minutes, and cool in pan for 10 minutes) or a tube pan (bake for 55 minutes, and cool in pan for 20 minutes). For the variations, you'll need an extra pomegranate and can of oranges for the topping.

Nutrition Facts

Per Serving:

338 calories; calories from fat 26%; fat 9.6g; saturated fat 5.9g; mono fat 2g; poly fat 0.4g; protein 5.9g; carbohydrates 58.5g; fiber 1.2g; cholesterol 28mg; iron 2.3mg; sodium 354mg; calcium 102mg.

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EllenDeller

12/25/2012

I am a good baker, like almost everything, and followed directions exactly. This cake is gummy and flat. What a disappointment! Try a different pumpkin cake recipe, but keep the oranges and pomegranate topping.

Gtenhoopen

10/28/2011

I've made this cake several times and have always gotten compliments. I like that it's not too sweet and is very beautiful.

LazyRae42

01/03/2011

The cake was a pie/cake hybrid that worked rather well (it deflated on me a bit so it might not have been cooked all the way). I added some orange juice to the frosting because the zest wasn't doing enough for me. However, this made the frosting slightly runny and all the fruit slowly slid of the top off the cake; It didn't make it to xmas dinner. It looked ugly but tasted yummy. Next time I'll place the altered frosting in the fridge to solidify a bit so I'm not embarassed by melty frosting/fruit. This was my first time making non-box cake.

norquista

11/06/2010

Made this cake yesterday for a dinner party and it was gone in a matter of minutes. Sometimes CL cakes aren't the most moist or light/airy, but this cake was really moist, the texture was awesome, and no one knew until I told them that it was CL. I doubled the spices, but next time will try tripling them. Not spicy enough for my taste.

colebear

11/25/2009

Very tasty and it got many compliments for flavor, but I had the problems others experienced with the icing and topping sliding off. Very messy looking.

firefly8teen

11/20/2009

I have made this cake several times over the past few years and love it. A few tips....If the icing is too sweet and you want it to be more cream cheese tasting just add sugar to taste instead of the amount in thte recipe. Also not everyone likes the orange flavoring so I leave it out. It still makes a great tasting cake. As far as the oranges sliding off, besides drying them with paper towels you can also skewer them with toothpicks while transporting or storing. this is my grand father's favorite cake ,but he had trouble eating the pomegranate seeds so I replaced them with fresh raspberries and it tasted great.. Don't use frozen or all the icing will melt away and the cake turns into a gooey red mess. As far as the thickness of the cake I too have had this problem and am thinking of using egg whites in place of the egg substitute to see if it will give it a lighter texture.I'll repost when I see how it turns out.

mentorsusan

11/12/2009

I have made this cake several times. It is a favorite for the fall season. It is a gorgeous and moist cake. I would be interested in adding a touch of chocolate for a marble effect ; any suggestions how to do that?

cooks4myman

11/25/2008

I have made this cake several times and it is always the hit of the party! Everyone just raves about it. I am going to make it again for Thanksgiving tomorrow, and I'm going to do it as a trifle. I will be sure to post my tips and success! Happy Thanksgiving everyone! :)

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