Equipment
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients
- 375 g all-purpose flour
- 8 g baking powder
- 4 g baking soda
- 5 g salt
- 6 g ground cinnamon
- 3 g ground ginger
- 2 g ground nutmeg
- 1 g ground cloves
Wet Ingredients
- 225 g unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 200 g granulated sugar
- 200 g light brown sugar, firmly packed
- 4 eggs, room temperature
- 15 ml vanilla extract
- 425 g pumpkin puree
Nutrition (per serving)
Nutrition is estimated per serving. Nutrients without complete source data are omitted.
Full nutrition
- Calories
- 419 kcal
- Protein
- 6 g
- Carbohydrates
- 61 g
- Fat
- 17 g
- Fiber
- 2 g
- Sugar
- 34 g
- Sodium
- 287 mg
- Saturated Fat
- 10 g
- Trans Fat
- 0 g
- Monounsaturated Fat
- 5 g
- Polyunsaturated Fat
- 1 g
- Cholesterol
- 102 mg
- Potassium
- 233 mg
- Calcium
- 77 mg
- Iron
- 1.4 mg
- Magnesium
- 21 mg
- Phosphorus
- 131 mg
- Zinc
- 0.6 mg
- Vitamin A
- 431 mcg
- Vitamin C
- 2 mg
- Vitamin D
- 0.3 mcg
- Vitamin E
- 1.0 mg
- Vitamin K
- 7 mcg
- Vitamin B6
- 0.1 mg
- Vitamin B12
- 0.2 mcg
- Thiamin
- 0.05 mg
- Riboflavin
- 0.12 mg
- Niacin
- 0.6 mg
- Folate
- 21 mcg
- Water
- 52 g
- Alcohol
- 0 g
Sources: USDA FoodData Central
Method
Preheat the oven to 160°C/320°F. Grease a 9x5-inch loaf pan and line it with parchment paper, leaving an overhang on the long sides for easy removal.
In a medium mixing bowl, thoroughly whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves to ensure even spice distribution.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the softened butter, granulated sugar, and light brown sugar on medium-high speed until light, fluffy, and visibly aerated.
Reduce the mixer speed to medium-low. Add the room-temperature eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition until fully incorporated, then stir in the vanilla extract.
Add the pumpkin puree to the wet ingredients and mix on low speed until combined. The mixture may look curdled at this stage; this is normal and will resolve when the flour is added.
Add the dry ingredient mixture in three separate additions, mixing gently on low speed or folding by hand with a spatula just until no dry streaks of flour remain. Do not overmix.
Transfer the thick batter to the prepared loaf pan, smoothing the top with a spatula. Bake in the preheated oven at 160°C/320°F for 65 to 75 minutes.
Remove the pan from the oven and allow the cake to cool in the pan for 15 minutes before using the parchment overhang to lift it onto a wire rack to cool completely before slicing.
Chef's Notes
- To concentrate the flavor and reduce excess moisture, spread the pumpkin puree in a thin layer on a plate and microwave for 3-4 minutes, or cook it briefly in a saucepan, before cooling and using.
- For pound cakes, ingredient temperature is critical. Cold eggs or cold butter will cause the batter to break, preventing the dense but tender crumb you are looking for.
- Baking at a slightly lower temperature (160 Celsius rather than 175) prevents the edges from drying out while giving the dense center adequate time to cook through.
- This cake develops deeper flavors over time. It is highly recommended to wrap the fully cooled cake tightly and wait 24 hours before slicing for the best texture and spice profile.
Storage
Refrigerator: 1 week — Wrap tightly in plastic wrap to prevent drying out.
Freezer: 3 months — Wrap individual slices in plastic wrap, then place in a sealed container.
Troubleshooting
Cake has a raw, sunken, or gummy center
Cause: Oven temperature was too high causing the exterior to set before the interior cooked, or the cake was underbaked
Fix: Cannot be fixed once fully cooled. If caught while hot, return to oven and tent with foil to prevent over-browning while the center finishes
Prevention: Verify oven temperature with an independent thermometer and test doneness with a skewer reaching the deepest part of the pan
Batter looks curdled after adding pumpkin
Cause: Temperature mismatch between eggs, butter, and pumpkin, or simply the water content in the pumpkin repelling the fat
Fix: Proceed with recipe. The emulsion will safely reform once the dry flour mixture is folded in
Prevention: Ensure all wet ingredients are at room temperature
Cultural Context
Pound cakes trace their origins to 18th-century Europe, initially relying on a strict formula of equal weights of flour, butter, eggs, and sugar. The incorporation of indigenous North American pumpkin makes this variation distinctly American. Historically, pumpkin was heavily relied upon by early colonial bakers as both a sweetener and a reliable moisture-retainer when refined sugar was expensive and scarce.
