pumpkin cake

The recipe is only for one 9" round, but it can easily be doubled and frosted for those who want a complete cake experience. But for someone like me who inhaled one (with some help from Amy and AJ) in 24 hours it's best to do this one at a time.

Pumpkin Cake
1 cup golden raisins
1/4 cup bourbon

2 eggs
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup canola oil
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 cup all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons whole-wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 cup ground pecans (or other nuts)

1. Place raisins and bourbon in a saucepan and bring to a boil for about two minutes. Cover, remove from heat, and let sit for about an hour.
2. Break up eggs, then add sugar, and gradually the oil and pumpkin.
3. Combine dry ingredients and add to the pumpkin mix.
4. Add raisins, bourbon, and pecans and mix until smooth.
5. Pour batter into a greased 9" round pan and bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes.

Notes: My sugar proportion is about 75% brown sugar to 25% granulated white sugar. Also since I grew up with a Korean mother I tend to think of dehydrated ground ginger as an oddity best avoided. Also my mom never bothers with peeling ginger, so I've dispensed with that annoying step as well.

For some reason I think that cream chees frosting would detract from the flavor a bit, so I would be inclined to do a vanilla buttercream with some pecans on top. I mentioned this to Amy who thought that the result might be a little too rich. After last night's version of the cake came out the oven I remembered that I have a package of cranberries sitting in the freezer that probably would have done well with the raisins and bourbon. Next time.