This is a fall tea cake, heavily spiced and topped with a fluffy mascarpone cream cheese frosting. If you have never roasted your own squash it has a rich earthy flavor and makes a silky-smooth orange puree. I use it in lieu of canned pumpkin in almost all of my fall bakes.
Notes:
For something more rich and nutty replace some of the oil with browned butter: brown 3/4 cup unsalted butter + 1/2 cup avocado oil. Let the butter cool to room temp before mixing.
I lean towards honey nut or kabocha squash, you can also use canned pumpkin puree, but the flavor will be more mellow.
This recipe can be made by hand or in a stand mixer.
Spiced Squash Cake with Mascarpone Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
Frosted Squash Tea Cake
1 3/4 (230g) all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
4 teaspoons cinnamon
2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 ground cloves
1 cup + 2 tbsp (250g) roasted squash puree
1 cup avocado oil
1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
1/3 cup (65) light brown sugar
3 eggs
Mascarpone Cream Cheese Frosting
8 ounce cream cheese, room temp
1 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla paste or extract
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup mascarpone
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325. Butter or spray a 9 by 5 inch loaf pan and line with parchment paper, leaving an overhang.
- Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves into a mixing bowl and set aside.
- In another mixing bowl (or the bowl of your stand mixer) beat together the squash puree, oil, both sugars and salt until well combined. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. On low speed add the flour mixture. Continue beating for a few more seconds to make a smooth batter.
- Transfer the batter to the prepared loaf pan and smooth out the top. Bake for about 1 hour, or until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool in the pan for 20 minutes, then invert it onto a cooling rack to cool completely.
Make the frosting
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese, powdered sugar and vanilla on medium-high speed until soft and creamy, about 2-3 minutes.
- Add the butter and continue beating until light and airy, 2 more minutes. Add the mascarpone and beat until fluffy.
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