Jessica Seinfeld – Pumpkin Coffee cake from Deceptively Delicious @Not Quite Nigella

Moist Pumpkin Coffee Cake

April 13, 2009 by Not Quite Nigella

I cannot tell you how gloriously moist this cake is. For those who find normal cakes a bit dry, this is the cake for you. And because it is so moist, it keeps beautifully so you needn’t be baking on the day that guests drop by, instead doing much more productive work like watching reruns of Desperate Housewives or Seinfeld.

I know I eschewed Jessica Seinfeld’s suggestion of chopped pecans as I had some to put on the top after it had cooked (I was a little worried about them over-baking for the 60 min cooking time) but once it came out of the oven, the pink marshmallows had burst through the topping so I thought the only thing I could do is celebrate the pinkness of the cake with marshmallow flowers. I had most of the 500g bag of marshmallows left so I needed to do something with them.

Pumpkin Coffee Cake

Batter:

1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
4 tablespoons butter
1 1/4 cups low fat buttermilk or skim milk
1 cup reduced fat sour cream
1 large egg
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 cups wholemeal flour
2 teaspoons baking power
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup butternut pumpkin puree
1/2 cup mini marshmallows (I used regular sized ones cut up with scissors)

Topping

1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts
1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon

1. Preheat the oven to 350F/180C. Line a 9 inch cake pan or 8×8 inch baking pan with baking parchment.

2. In a large mixing bowl or the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the sugar and margarine until creamy. Beat in 1 cup of the buttermilk or milk, the sour cream egg and vanilla. Add the flour, baking power, cinnamon and salt and mix until completely incorporated.

3. Pour half of the batter into the pan and smooth the top. Spread the pumpkin puree over the batter and sprinkle with marshmallows. Stir the remaining 1/4 cup milk into the rest of the batter and spread evenly over the pumpkin filling.

4. Mix together the topping ingredients and sprinkle evenly over the batter. Bake until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the centre of the cake, 55-60 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes on a rack before cutting into wedges or squares.

Recipe by Jessica Seinfeld from Deceptively Delicious

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1. Barbara | April 13, 2009 at 8:23 am | #

I definitely love a moist cake! Looks delicious!
2. Maria | April 13, 2009 at 8:36 am | #

Thats an odd combination, pumpkin and marshmallows. It should make for an interesting tasting cake. Which flavor does it most take on? the pumpkin or just the spices added? I just adore moist cakes, so this is a winner for me!
3. anna | April 13, 2009 at 9:21 am | #

Mmm, I love anything with pumpkin. I’ve never tried it with marshmallow, though. I’ll have to make this someday!
4. Angela | April 13, 2009 at 9:44 am | #

Yay! I’ll definitely be trying this one out (I’ll need to use fresh kabocha, shouldn’t be a problem)… can’t wait! I love your marshmallow butterflies!
5. Dodo | April 13, 2009 at 10:07 am | #

Hi L,
Looks amazing. Just wondering did you left out the coffee?
6. deeba | April 13, 2009 at 10:32 am | #

Sounds like a yum & moist coffee cake Lorraine. Swell idea on the marshmallows too…& the flowers look so pretty!
7. Moya | April 13, 2009 at 10:55 am | #

this looks so yummy, like a pumpkin pie cake, I am definitely going to try this recipe!
Dodo, I think coffee cake is also a generic term for a rich afternoon or morning tea cake, it does not necessarily contain coffee but I think some instant coffee or a double shot espresso might work flavourwise as well!
8. justJENN | April 13, 2009 at 11:30 am | #

Interesting. Why is that deceptive, pumpkin sounds perfectly fine to me! Or is the marshmallow deceptive…hm.
9. Arwen from Hoglet K | April 13, 2009 at 12:33 pm | #

Mmm, pumpkin and spices sounds beautiful. Were the marshmallows distinct, or had they melted in?
10. Alexandra | April 13, 2009 at 2:06 pm | #

hmm interesting…would have never thought to use pumpkin for a cake…
11. Yasmin (Almond & The Hazelnut) | April 13, 2009 at 3:29 pm | #

Mmmmm… pumpkin…

I find pumpkin a sorely missed ingredient in Australia cakes and baked goods these days, disappearing as the popularity did with the grammar pies of our grandmothers. I re-fell in love with it when living in the US and have never looked back! Big fan of the moist cake, BIG fan
12. Johanna | April 13, 2009 at 3:41 pm | #

pumpkin is always great for keeping baking moist but marshmallows seem like a strange yet compelling addition!
13. yaelian | April 13, 2009 at 3:44 pm | #

Wow! What a beautiful cake!I love pumpkin based cakes, they are really delicious and have nice texture.
14. Not Quite Nigella | April 13, 2009 at 9:20 pm | #

Hi Barbara-Thankyou! Me too, a moist cake is a thing of deliciousness indeed

Hi Maria-The marshamallows don’t add a lot of flavour, I think it’s more for texture. It’s interesting, a bit

pumpkin but not like a pumpkin pie at all.

Hi anna-Great! I think you might like it, it was really nice and moist

Hi Angela-Oh great! Thanks, they’re so simple to make

Hi Dodo-Thanks! As Moya mentioned, a coffee cake in America is more a cake to have with a cup of coffee

Hi deeba-Thankyou! I love doing them as they’re so simple and appeals to my laziness

Hi Moya-Thanks! I’d love to know what you think of it if you make it Yep thanks for clarifying that

Hi justJENN-I don’t think that it tastes very pumpkiney but that’s the name of the book!

Hi Arwen-They’d melted in so that gave it an interesting texture on that layer but they weren’t very

“marshmallowey” as such.

Hi Alexandra-I confess I love pumpkin in cake! It really moistens cake.

Hi Yasmin-I have a great recipe for pumpkin slice that is so old but so good. It’s so moist and I love it. Yes

to the pumpkin!

Hi Johanna-They work but it’s not like the cake is distinctl7 pumpkiney or marshmallowey. I’ve baked with them

before and they work very nicely in cakes.

Hi yaelian-Thankyou! I agree they do don’t they!
15. Sophie | April 13, 2009 at 10:47 pm | #

MMMMMMMM…Lorraine, you creative woman!!
This cake looks superb!! What great & apart ingredients!!
I have never made pumpkin in a cake & marsmellow’s etc before! But I must say, I will have to try it because it looks deliciously evil!!
16. Jeff | April 13, 2009 at 11:44 pm | #

marshmellowy goodness. drooollll…..

I keep staring at these pumpkin jars from last year in my freezer with zero clue. Maybe I will get another baking bug and try this.
17. Sophia | April 14, 2009 at 12:17 am | #

I couldn’t help laughing when I saw this pumpkin cake recipe. another pumpkin recipe I get to try! I’m always baking something with pumpkin, so it has sort of become my trademark. anytime I bake something, my friends ask, “that’s with pumpkin, right?” well, now they get to try yet ANOTHER great pumpkin recipe…haha!
18. elra | April 14, 2009 at 1:01 am | #

What a pretty and delicious looking cake.
Cheers,
elra
19. stephchows | April 14, 2009 at 3:01 am | #

WOW!! This looks amazing!! I love moist cakes, I’m going to have to print this out right now! Love it
20. grace | April 14, 2009 at 4:23 am | #

mmm. it’s like squash casserole in cake form. i love it, and your marshmallows make it completely worthwhile.
21. Blond Duck | April 14, 2009 at 4:26 am | #

This is the cutest cake ever! Pink ribbon, pink flowers! I need to have it for the Pond!
22. snookydoodle | April 14, 2009 at 5:00 am | #

yummy I love pumpkin cake the mashmallow flowers on top look so nice
23. Anita | April 14, 2009 at 8:12 am | #

It looks very pretty, and since I love moist cakes it sounds like a definite winner
24. Cakelaw | April 14, 2009 at 8:56 am | #

This cake looks so pretty with its marshmallow flowers – I wanna try this. I made a pumpkin and prune cake from Vicious Ange’s site once, and I loved it. (I didn’t take it to work because they saw the recipe printout and said NO PUMPKIN – they didn’t know what they were missing!)
25. Astra Libris | April 14, 2009 at 10:19 am | #

Your cake is incredible!! I love the idea of layering the batter with pumpkin and marshmallows, and your marshmallow flowers are such a beautiful creation of artwork!
26. Taiko Tari | April 14, 2009 at 12:34 pm | #

The entire ingredients seem dangerously sweet. ON a scale of 1 to 10, how sweet was the cake?
27. maris | April 15, 2009 at 2:28 pm | #

I love pumpkin anything! If I make this I hope it looks as great as yours.
28. ArtemisIII | April 15, 2009 at 6:57 pm | #

oooh, that looks so delicious. You are making me hungry and I just ate some cornflakes!

I am not one for pumpkin normally, but I am easily swayed with some thing new and yummy looking.
29. Not Quite Nigella | April 15, 2009 at 9:11 pm | #

Hi Sophie-Thankyou so much! If you like moist cakes then this cake is ideal!

Hi Jeff-Hehe good idea! I’d love to know what you think of it if you make it

Hi Sophia-Oh cool! yes pumpkin is great when it comes to baking and not used enough! It’s a good trademark ingredient to use!

Hi elra-Thankyou so much!

Hi stephchows-Thanks so much! I’d love to know what you think of it!

Hi grace-Hehe thanks, I love making marshmallow decorations!

Hi Blond Duck -why thankyou! Yes it’s perfect for the pond!

Hi snookydoodle-Thankyou so much, you are too kind!

Hi Anita-Thanks! Yes this is for moist cake lovers

Hi Cakelaw-Oh no really! I can’t believe they eschewed pumpkin!

Hi Astra Libris-Thankyou! It was a bit plain looking without the flowers but I wasn’t sure if they were a bit too much or not

Hi Taiko Tari-No not at all! About an 8-well it is a cake after all.

Hi maris-I’m sure yours will be great!

Hi ArtemisIII-Thankyou! Hehe well you can’t really taste the pumpkin that much because of the spices
30. Beau | October 27, 2009 at 12:31 pm | #

wauw,,love moist cakes,,,and this one looks so pretty! next b-day party try-out .