The window I shoot from is in the kitchen. It overlooks the back yard - the fenced in portion of our acreage that houses the dogs, the garden, and a large holly tree. I watch Elsa eye squirrels from the frustrating fence line. I watch Murphy avoid mud puddles. I watch Milo, restless, trying to find anything to keep his mind busy, his teeth busy, his paws busy.
I look out this window and it's officially a year since we first looked at this house of ours. Time's flown and here we are. This morning I held Elsa for an hour, made coffee, cleaned up a mouse that had died in our barn. Washed my hands, ate a slice of cake. It's all there is on these kinds of Sundays; it's just one thing after the next, small pleasures that have kept me going throughout this year of guesswork and growing our own roots in soil we haven't touched for years and years and years.
Ingredients:
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
- 3 TB espresso or strong coffee
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 3 eggs
- 1/2 cup flour
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup cocoa powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350*F
- Liberally butter and line a 6-inch cake pan
- Whisk together all wet ingredients until a pale orange and fully incorporated
- Sift together all dry ingredients in a mixing bowl and create a well in the center
- With a wooden spoon, slowly fold in wet ingredients
- Stir until just combined
- Pour into prepared pan and bake for 30-35 minutes, or until top is slightly cracked and the sides pool away from the pan
- Remove from oven, allow to cool completely before removing from pan and decorating (for this, I had some leftover cream cheese frosting to use, but I think a chocolate ganache would be phenomenal here)
With its high oil content, this cake stays moist for about 4 days in a container - so enjoy during and after the weekend!