Having my cake....

We're all different kinds of guys (or girls). You know what I mean. There's "Corvette guy" who is making up for some sort of shortcoming. There's "softball guy", that 35-year-old loser who owns his own softball bat who swears that if his high school baseball coach hadn't fucked him over he'd be batting 3rd for the Red Sox. When it comes to food, there's "scared to eat girl" who swears that food is out to get her; "bad date guy" who complains...loudly...about not being able to get a baked potato at Babbo in NY.

Basically all kinds of people are out there. Especially when it comes to food. Me, I obviously am "will eat anything and lots of it guy". But when it comes to dessert, I am definitely "layer cake guy". I love all desserts. My sweet tooth knows no limits. Especially cakes. Maybe it's all those homey associations I make from the smell of my mom's baking cakes wafting through the house. Wanting to be the one to lick the frosting off the beater blades. Luckily for me w is "likes to bake cakes girl", and the following bit of baked deliciousness has quickly shot to the top of my cakes-to-eat-for-my-last-meal list. I saw this fabulous pumpkin cake on one of my favorite food sites, Leite's Culinaria. I showed it to w and she said, "Hm, maybe I'll make it." I replied, channeling Montgomery Burns, "EXCELLENT"!

We've had it twice now, the most recent last Sunday with friends, and this cake kills! The cakey part is moist and pumpkiney, and the maple cream cheese frosting is completely out of control. Holy shit, it is a childhood dream come true! We've had some leftover frosting in the fridge, and I've been dipping my finger into it and eating it that way. Yeah, that good!! So if you're ever invited to a cake smackdown, may I suggest the clicking on this link!

One note: w has found that mixing the cake batter by hand makes for a more airy, less dense cake, which for this recipe we both prefer. A little more work, but well worth the effort!
*photo in upper left courtesy of Leite's Culinaria