Blog

Be-Anything Pumpkin Bread

This is a large recipe and makes over 3 dozen muffins, which become cupcakes if you ice them. Alternately, you could make three pumpkin loaves or a very large Bundt cake. Layer Cakes are also an option.  

This recipe is very forgiving, and I have made it with various flours and oils. Vintage recipes calling for salad oil are usually referring to corn oil. For the cake pictured here, I used all-purpose flour and corn oil. The cake rose higher than expected, and it was delicious. I could have made a few muffins and not filled the Bundt pan quite as full if I had wanted a flatter base.

This cake tastes better after a couple of days on the counter, so it is an excellent make-ahead recipe. I freeze the cake, in quarters or slices, on the third day.  

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. 

Combine the following wet ingredients in a stand mixer:

3 cups of granulated sugar

1 cup of salad oil (corn or canola oil)

4 beaten eggs

1 ¾ cups of pumpkin purée (I use canned pumpkin)

Mix the following dry ingredients:

3 ½ cups of all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

2 teaspoons baking soda

½ teaspoon cloves

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon nutmeg

1 teaspoon allspice 

2 teaspoons salt

2/3 cup of water

Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, alternating with the water, mixing well, and ending with dry ingredients. 

Pour into three buttered loaf pans or one large, buttered and floured Bundt pan and bake at 350 degrees, testing for doneness after one hour using a toothpick or cake tester.

When cooked, remove the cake from the oven and leave it to cool for fifteen minutes. A Bundt cake should be inverted at this time. If your cake rises above the pan, invert it onto a bowl-like plate, slice the top off, or let the icing drizzle onto the plate, giving the illusion of a flat bottom. The cover photo shows that the cake looks fine the way it is.

Both cupcakes and layer cakes should be baked at 375°F. Cupcakes take about 20 minutes, while layer cakes take 40 minutes. Check for doneness before time is up because bake times vary with pan-colours and ovens.    

This is a Be Anything Pumpkin Bread. I love it slathered in cream cheese icing. 

It is delicious covered in cheese slices.

I often cut the cake into quarters and wrap each piece in plastic wrap and foil and store it in the freezer. I love a crescent of Bundt cake on a platter of treats. 

TIP: To prepare a fresh pumpkin, just half it, remove seeds, cut in wedges and peel the skin off the outside while scooping the stringy inner lining away. Next, boil the pumpkin as you would turnips or carrots. Mash the cooked pumpkin and strain any strings out. Use the pumpkin in any recipe calling for pumpkin purée. Purée freezes well. I usually use canned pumpkin for this recipe.

Chameleon Cake Can Take Any Shape

Whether this recipe becomes a loaf, a layer cake, or a cupcake, you will find it versatile, moist, and delicious. Make it the day ahead if you plan to cube or slice the cake. Once cut, feel free to freeze it. It has been served in my family since the 1950s. This one recipe can provide the start for a dozen different desserts. The boy from the Get a Bigger Wagon stories enjoys it smothered in maple syrup or topped with one of the sauces I have shared in Let's Get Saucy. The cupcakes featured in Prairies North Magazine, 2021 summer issue are Chameleon Cupcakes.     

Ingredients:

½ cup of oil (canola or corn oil)

1 cup of sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon almond extract

½ teaspoon of salt

2 cups of all-purpose flour (oat or spelt flour works too)

¾ cup of milk

3 teaspoons baking powder

Instructions:

Add the sugar to the oil in a medium-size bowl and mix with an electric hand mixer. Beat the eggs into the sugar and oil. Then add vanilla, almond extract, and salt. Set this batter aside. In a separate bowl, combine the baking powder with the flour. Add portions of the flour mixture to the batter, alternating with portions of milk, ending with flour.

Pour the batter into a greased loaf pan and bake for 60 minutes at 325° F.

OR

Spoon batter into well-greased or paper-lined muffin tins (makes 14) and bake at 375° F for 20 to 30 minutes.

OR

Pour batter into two well-greased eight-inch layer cake pans and bake cakes at 375° for 25 to 30 minutes.

Note:

Chameleon loaf is delicious served with fruit and whipped cream, covered in maple syrup, or glazed with caramel icing. Slice this cake into fingers to serve plain with tea or cube it for dipping into a chocolate fondue. Freeze it in slices for a quick dessert at a later time.

For a fun family dessert, serve a platter of cake slices and a tray of sauces, fruit, ice cream, and sprinkles. Tell the children it is “make your own dessert” night. To follow a special grown-ups' dinner, splash a little rum over the cake, then top with whipped cream and pineapple. Yum!