Warm Spiced Pumpkin Cake Recipe for Fall Evenings

Preheat your oven to 170°C (340°F), setting it on the upper and lower heat mode. This ensures even baking throughout the cake.

In a bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and holiday spice blend using a whisk. There's no need to sift these ingredients; just mix them until they're evenly incorporated.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the vegetable oil, eggs, brown sugar, white sugar, pumpkin puree, and vanilla. Ensure that all the ingredients are well combined to create a smooth batter.

Gently mix the dry ingredients into the wet mixture using a whisk. *For extra texture*, fold in the chopped pecans using a spatula. This step ensures that the nuts are evenly distributed without over-mixing the batter.

Pour the batter into a rectangular frame measuring 31x11 cm (12x4 inches) or a square frame of 20x20 cm (8x8 inches) on a Teflon mat. Depending on the thickness of the batter layer, the baking time may vary. *My cake baked for about 25 minutes* until a skewer came out clean.

Transfer the cake along with the mat to a wire rack to cool completely. If you can resist the delicious aroma, try to let it cool before serving.

For the puree, cut small sweet pumpkins in half, or slice larger ones, and bake in the oven covered with foil at 200°C (390°F) until soft, about 45 minutes. Blend the flesh until smooth.

*For richer flavor*, peel the pumpkin and sprinkle with 10% of its weight in cane sugar and 1 gram of cinnamon before baking. Puree together with the resulting caramel. Use this puree, reducing the white sugar in the cake by 20 grams for a tender, melt-in-your-mouth texture.