Have you ever steamed a cake? In lieu of baking this holiday season, try this scrumptious steamed pumpkin cake from pastry chef Dana Cree. This light and fluffy cake is both easy and fun to make! The recipe is from the recently published Twenty-Five: Profiles and Recipes from America's Essential Bakery and Pastry Artisans, a beautiful food arts book that highlights 25 accomplished pastry chefs and bakers from around the country. This drool-worthy book gives a behind-the-scenes look at the edible creations from some of our most celebrated bakers such as Chad Robertson of Tartine Bakery, Christina Tosi of Momofuku Milk Bar, cronut creator Dominique Ansel of Dominique Ansel Bakery, Candace Nelson of Sprinkles Cupcakes, and more. The recipes included in the book have been adapted for the home baker and we're sharing some with you just in time for the holiday season. Also try Tara Smith's Caramel Apple Tartlets here (we made them for Thanksgiving and they were a hit!).
Steamed Pumpkin Cake
Recipe by Dana Cree, courtesy of Twenty-Five: Profiles and Recipes from America’s Essential Bakery and Pastry Artisans
Makes two 8-inch round cakes
2¾ cups all-purpose flour
1 cup coconut flakes, processed in a food processor until very fine
2¼ teaspoons ground anise
2½ teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups pumpkin purée
1 cup coconut cream
4 eggs
1 cup light brown sugar
1½ cups sucrose (see Note)
Caramel sauce, for serving (homemade or store-bought)
Ice cream (flavor of your choice), for serving
1. Line two 8-inch cake pans with parchment paper. Whisk the flour, coconut flakes, anise, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Set aside.
2. Place the pumpkin purée and coconut cream in a bowl and stir until combined. Set aside.
3. Place the eggs, brown sugar, and sucrose in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Whip on medium speed for 5 minutes, until light and fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the pumpkin-coconut mixture. Whisk on low speed for 1 minute, until the pumpkin and coconut are evenly incorporated. Scrape the sides of the bowl and add the reserved flour mixture.
4. Change to the paddle attachment and mix on medium-low speed until blended evenly. Divide the batter between the prepared cake pans.
5. Transfer the cakes to a steam oven and steam for 35 minutes (Note: you can also set each pan, one at a time, on a rack in a large pot with enough water to to almost reach the pan). Once steamed, remove and transfer to a wire rack and let cool before serving.
6. For serving, divide the cake into 12 pieces and place each on a plate with a smear of caramel sauce. Top with a small scoop of ice cream.
NOTE: A good substitute for sucrose is Splenda.
From Twenty-Five: Profiles and Recipes from America’s Essential Bakery and Pastry Artisans, by Editors of Bake Magazine/Andrews McMeel Publishing, LLC.
