whole wheat pumpkin cake
with espresso pecan caramel and brown butter cream cheese mousse
hey hi hello!
We are in crunch time right before the week of Thanksgiving! In true Kassie fashion I am sneaking a couple extra recipes in under the wire for your consideration.
In the spirit of pie season, I think we need to break things up a little with some cake. And to make your dinner prep easy you can make and freeze the cake layers now, then pull them out when it’s time to assemble. beauty beauty. You can also make the pecan espresso caramel now and keep it in the fridge until you’re ready to assemble. The only thing you’d need to make right before assembly is the brown butter cream cheese mousse- which you can make and chill the brown butter now and just bring it to room temp right before prepping. The mousse (which is lowkey a glorified whipped cream) comes together in 10 minutes. But, the flavor? oMG the flavor the cake this brings will have people thinking you spent hours bringing this baby together.
The cake itself uses some whole white wheat flour from Farmer Direct and the nutty notes from the flour blends well with the earthier notes of the pumpkin. The usual spice suspects also amplify the pumpkin flavor- but add a little cardamom and grains of paradise for extra depth.
This recipe is brought you you in collaboration with Gelson’s and Farmer Direct. and contains affiliate links, which if you click and purchase from I receive compensation at no additional cost to you
Let’s get to it!! xoxo
WHOLE WHEAT PUMPKIN CAKE
Makes a 2 layer 9” cake
TOOLS:
Rubber spatula
Mixing bowls
Non-stick spray
PUMPKIN CAKE
This cake was developed to use 100% whole wheat to account for it’s “thirst” and ability to soak up more moisture than conventional flours. You can sub it for other soft white whole wheat varietals of flour, but it isn’t suitable for a 1 to 1 swap with conventional all purpose flours. My go to pumpkin spice blend has a little cardamom and grains of paradise in the mix- worth adding 1/8 of a teaspoon each ground to this cake :)
INGREDIENTS
300 grams granulated sugar
100 grams dark brown sugar
200 grams egg (approx 4 large eggs)
245 grams neutral oil
125 grams buttermilk
1- 15 ounce can pumpkin puree
300 grams Farmer Direct Whole White Wheat Flour
2 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin spice blend
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons diamond crystal kosher salt
DIRECTIONS
Preheat the oven to 335F.
Add 300 grams granulated sugar, 100 grams dark brown sugar and 4 large eggs to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. (You can also do this using a hand mixer as well, just plan on standing in one spot) Whisk on medium speed until tripled in volume, the mixture will be pale in color. This should take anywhere from 5-8 minutes.
While the eggs and sugar whip up, combine the 245 grams neutral oil, 125 grams buttermilk and 15 ounce can of pumpkin puree. In a separate bowl combine the 300 grams whole white wheat flour with the 2 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin spice blend, 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon baking soda and 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt.
Once the eggs and sugar are fully aerated, turn the mixer to low and alternate adding the dries with the wets. Add 1/3 of the dry ingredients, half of the wets, 1/3 of the dries, the final half of the wets finishing with the final 1/3 of the dries. Once the dries are mostly hydrated with a few pockets of flour remaining- stop the mixer and finish off folding by hand to avoid over working.the batter.
Once the cake batter is homogenous, pour 1/2 of the batter, approximately 775 grams, into each of the 9” cake rounds that have been lined with parchment and hit with non-stick spray.
Bake for 30-35 minutes, until the cake is set and springs back when lightly tapped in the center. The internal temp of the finished cake should register 200F, if you want to be sure sure sure on doneness.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool to room temp before removing from the pans.
Wrap each individual layer in plastic wrap and store in the freezer until you’re ready to assemble.
ESPRESSO PECAN CARAMEL
You can also choose to infuse the heavy cream with ground espresso if that’s what you have on hand. Gently warm the cream and add 2-3 tablespoons of coarse ground espresso to steep for 30-45 minutes before straining and using in the recipe.
INGREDIENTS
175 grams heavy cream
1 tablespoon instant espresso powder
245 grams granulated sugar
1 teaspoon diamond crystal kosher salt
75 grams unsalted butter
100 grams toasted pecan pieces
DIRECTIONS
In a small saucepan heat up the 175 grams heavy cream and 1 tablespoon instant espresso together. Whisk together to dissolve the espresso powder into the cream. Cut the heat but keep warm to ensure it incorporates into the caramel easier later.
Meanwhile place a medium saucepan over medium heat. Allow the pot to heat up before adding in any sugar- we’re gonna be doing a dry method caramel.
Once the pot is hot add 1/4 of the 245 grams of granulated sugar to the pot. Evenly sprinkle it around the bottom of the pot. The sugar will begin to melt- don’t stir until it’s mostly melted and the edges begin to turn brown. Adding the sugar in separate additions helps to avoid major sugar clumping.
Add the next 1/4 of sugar, stirring with a spatula to combine it into the already melted sugar. Allow this addition to fully dissolve into the last and take on a little bit more color.
Continue this process with the remaining two additions of sugar. If you feel the caramelization is happening too fast, focus on temp control- turn the heat down and occasionally remove the pan from the heat source.
Once all the sugar has been added, cook the caramel until it takes on an amber color. It’ll begin to smoke lightly but don’t worry- thats normal!! You are burning sugar after all :)
Take the caramel to a deep amber color- the darker the caramel the more smokey and bitter the flavor will be. The lighter the caramel the sweeter it will be.
Once at your desired shade turn off the heat. Slowly add in the warm espresso cream from earlier along with the 1 teaspoon kosher salt. You want the cream to be warm otherwise cold cream will seize the hot caramel. The water in the cream will sputter and boil off creating a lot of hot steam. SO BE VERY CAREFUL!! Stir to combine the cream into the caramel.
Turn the heat back on to medium and add in the 75 grams of unsalted butter. Cook the caramel for about a minute more until the bubbling slows and thickens a bit stirring to emulsify the butter into the caramel.
Immersion blend in the 100 grams of toasted pecan pieces. If you don’t have an immersion blender you can either, wait until the caramel completely cools before adding it to the food processor with the nuts and breaking the pecans down that way or you can the nut pieces into the caramel as is and have a slightly chunkier caramel.
Allow to cool to room temp before storing in the fridge up to 3 weeks. The caramel will solidify in the fridge but you can heat it up in the microwave whenever you want to use some.
BROWN BUTTER CREAM CHEESE MOUSSE
INGREDIENTS
113 grams unsalted butter
2 tablespoons non-fat milk powder
454 grams cream cheese (2- 8oz package)
150 grams powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt, (1/2 the amount if using Morton’s!!)
440 grams heavy cream
DIRECTIONS
To a medium saucepan add your 113 grams unsalted butter. Allow it to melt down before adding in 2 tablespoons of non-fat milk powder.
Cook the butter over medium heat, whisking frequently to keep the milk solids moving. The added solids have a tendency to clump together otherwise. The butter will start to foam, sizzle and steam. Keep whisking as the milk solids begin to brown. The butter will begin to smell nutty and caramelized. The browned butter is ready when the milk solids are deep umber in color and the steaming has stopped. Quickly and carefully, pour the brown butter into a heat proof bowl to cool down.
Allow the browned butter to cool to room temp before moving on with the recipe.
Add the cooled browned butter to the bowl of a stand mixer with the 454 grams cream cheese. Beat with the paddle attachment on medium-low until the cream cheese and butter become homogenous.
Scrape the sides of the bowl. Add in the 150 grams powdered sugar and 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt to the mixer. Beat until the mixture is light and fluffy. Scrape the mixture into another bowl and set aside.
In the same mixer bowl now fitted with the whisk attachment, whip up the 440 grams of heavy cream until medium peaks have formed. Add in the cream cheese mix and whip on low speed until everything is mostly combined, about 5-10 seconds. Finishing off folding by hand to keep from overworking and curdling the cream.
Use immediately to assemble your cake.
ASSEMBLY
2 9” whole wheat pumpkin cake layers
Espresso pecan caramel
Brown butter cream cheese mousse
Cake board or plate 10”+ in diameter
Cake turntable
Small offset spatula
Bench knife/cake scraper
DIRECTIONS:
Affix the cake board/plate to the turntable.
Place a small dollop of the mousse on the board/plate to help keep the cake secure.
Place the first round of cake on the board.
Top the cake layer with about one third of the brown buttercream cheese mousse. Smooth the mousse to the edges of the cake with a small offset spatula.
Add about half to two thirds of the espresso pecan caramel to the center of the cake. Spread the caramel to cover just shy of an inch from the edge of the cake. It’ll be thick and might want to slide against the mousse, so you can pipe the caramel on instead.
Place the second layer of cake on top of the caramel layer.
Using the remaining mousse cover the top and sides of the cake, about a third for the top and a third for the sides. Use a combination of the small off set and bench scraper to smooth out the mousse.
Decorate truly however you’d like, and top with a any remaining caramel.
Allow the cake to set in the fridge until about an hour before it’s time to serve.
Allow the cake to come to room temp before slicing and serving.
Enjoy!!
