This cozy and sweet pumpkin cake is a riff on the super popular powdered donut cake from my book Snacking Cakes. All you need is a bowl, whisk and pan to put this perfect little fall cake together in less than an hour. It is packed with lots of fall (pumpkin!) spices, pumpkin puree and buttermilk just enough sweetness to be a treat. This cake keeps well for a few days on the counter so you can enjoy it one sliver at a time, you can also freeze the cake without the topping for a rainy day.

Pumpkin Spice Donut Cake

Makes 1, 8-inch square or 9-inch round cake

Cake

3/4 cup (150g) granulated sugar

2 large eggs

3/4 cup (165g) pumpkin puree

1/2 cup (100g) well shaken buttermilk

1/2 cup (113g) unsalted butter, melted

1 teaspoon pumpkin spice blend

1/2 teaspoons freshly grated nutmeg

3/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1 3/4 cups (225g) all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

Topping

1 tablespoon unsalted butter melted

3 tablespoons confectioners' sugar or 2 tablespoons granulated sugar mixed with 1 teaspoon pumpkin spice

Make the cake: Position an oven rack to the center of your oven and preheat the oven to 350F. Butter or coat an 8-inch square baking pan with nonstick spray. Line the pan with a strip of parchment paper that hangs over two of the edges.

In a large bowl, whisk the granulated sugar and eggs until pale and foamy, about 1 minute. Add the pumpkin, buttermilk, butter, pumpkin spice, nutmeg, and salt. Whisk until smooth and emulsified.

Add the flour, baking powder, and baking soda. Whisk until well-combined and smooth.

Pour the batter into the pan and bake the cake until puffed and golden, and a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean, 30 to 35 minutes. Set the pan on a rack to cool for about 15 minutes. Then use the parchment paper to lift the cake out of the pan and set it on to the rack to cool almost completely.

To Assemble: While the cake is just warm to the touch, brush the top with the melted butter and dust with the confectioners' sugar or spiced sugar you should have a nice thick layer of sugar - more than you think might be necessary. (Store the cake, covered, at room temperature for up to three days. The cake will absorb the sugar on top, so it might need a fresh dusting of confectioners' sugar after the second day.

Hi! Hello there! How are you? I hope you are holding up ok.

I have been keeping a secret, and I’ve been nervous to share this news with you because wow the world feels upside-down right now, but I guess now is as good of a time as any to tell you: I WROTE AND PHOTOGRAPHED A NEW BOOK! It’s called SNACKING CAKES and it will be published by Clarkson Potter this October if all goes according to plan.

Phew.

Snacking Cakes is full of one-bowl cake recipes that you can make with minimal ingredients, some simple tools (no electric mixers necessary!), and an 8x8 (or 9-inch round!) pan. There are 50 recipes, but they all sneakily have flavor and pan variations making the true count of recipes much higher than that. It’s got it all from bright citrusy cakes to rich chocolatey ones, and everything in between. There is truly something for everyone and they are the kind of cakes you can make any day of the week. That beauty on the cover is a Cocoa Yogurt Cake that comes together so quickly, and lasts for days on the counter. You can top it with a glaze too, but only if you feel like it. This one is vanilla bean, but there are lots and lots to choose from.

I know I haven’t checked in here in a long while and the truth is I took the summer off of blogging to work on some photography projects, and teach at my beloved Melisses. Then, the minute those projects were wrapping up I found myself writing this VERY FUN book full of TRULY EASY, very SNACKABLE CAKE recipes for any occasion…like moving into a new apartment or a low key birthday or making it through work on a Monday. I kinda wish I could just send it to all of you right now because I know you are all baking at home a lot more than usual and I’d love to share these recipes with you. Alas, that isn’t the way that book publishing works.

I’ll be back soon with more info, but if you’d like to and can swing a preorder (please do, this is such a weird time to be publishing a book!) there’s a link over in the sidebar. Take care of yourselves and others out there.