Good morning, good evening or goodnight…. depending of course on when you are reading this delicious post.  We had a very productive weekend – lots of things are happening.  We completed the back splash in the kitchen, and the painter put the final two coats of verathane on the stairs (they look amazing).  We then emptied half of the storage trailer into the basement/garage and we even did some Christmas shopping.

I am not going to show you any more pictures until the final reveal next week.  We are so close to being complete I can hardly stand it.  We have professional cleaners coming in on Wednesday to do a thorough cleaning from top to bottom.  Once everything is complete I will do a whole post dedicated to the house so stay tuned.

On to the Food

I am pretty sure you are going to like today’s post.  It resembles some more Christmas baking like the fudge but this cake can be made year around for your enjoyment.  I can pretty much eat this cake in large chunks throughout the day but I have issues.

As you will see in the recipe below – I think the key ingredient is the cream cheese.  It keeps it moist and the texture soft.  It is quite simple to make and you do not necessarily need to use a bundt pan if you do not have one.  You can just use a large loaf pan.

Ingredients

• 1 Cup Butter
• 1 1/2 Cups White Sugar
• 4 Oz. Cream cheese, softened
• 4 Eggs
• 1/2 Cup Milk
• 3 Cups White All Purpose Flour
• 2 Tsp. Baking Powder
• 1 Tsp. Salt
• 1 Tsp. Vanilla, almond and lemon flavoring
• 1 lb. Gum Drops ( the baking ones)
• 1 Cup Flavored Cherries ( optional )

Method

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Cream together butter, sugar and cream cheese and then beat in eggs one at a time.
3. Add flavoring; sift in dry ingredients, saving 1/2 cup of flour for gum drops and cherries.
4. Add dry ingredients and milk into previously creamed mixture; stir in gum drops and cherries
5. Transfer to bundt or loaf pan.
6. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 1/4 Hours.





7. ENJOY!

Zesty Tip: By adding the half cup of flour to the gum drops and cherries it will prevent them from sticking together and staying in clumps throughout the cake.

Well – I only have a partial week at the office this week as I am taking off Friday and the following Monday for moving and getting settled in to the new pad.  I hope you have a great start to your week and I will talk to you tomorrow.

Take care

zesty

Hi! I’m Amy Green, author of Simply Sugar & Gluten-Free, a blog dedicated to great food made simple and a little healthier. All of my recipes are made without refined sugars or gluten – and the best part is that you wouldn’t know it if I didn’t tell you.

I am so excited to share a dish with Zesty’s readers, and wanted to do something extra special that said fall. Desserts are one of my favorites to create, especially when I can get something that’s good for you in them. So, I made a gluten-free, sugar-free, moist, tender Butternut Squash Orange Spice Cake with Orange Cream Cheese Frosting that can be dressed up or served simply.

To dress your cake up, level and torte the cake. Frost the top of the bottom layer. Then, add a layer of toasted walnuts that have been smashed in your food processor. Top those with a thin layer of frosting, add your next layer of cake, and finish by frosting the rest of your dessert. To get a rim of toasted walnuts around the edge of your cake, sprinkle smashed walnuts around the base of the cake. Use an offset spatula to gently push the walnuts up the side of the cake and into the frosting.

Or, my favorite – serve your cake simply. Level the cake and generously frost only the top. Garnish with a little orange zest and you’re done.

A few tips before you get started:

• When making a cake, it’s important to have your butter and eggs at room temperature because they cream better, which adds lightness to your final product. A few hours will be enough but I like to set mine out the night before I bake. Don’t worry – your eggs won’t go bad.
• Don’t skip the sifting step. This is especially important when baking gluten-free.
• Make sure to preheat your oven before you start mixing up the cake. This will give your oven enough time to heat up and ensure that the temperature is perfect for your cake.
• I used my KitchenAid but you can make this cake with traditional electric mixers.
• Adding the lemon juice at the end activates the baking soda and baking powders which will help your gluten-free cake rise much like a cake baked with regular flour. Once the lemon juice is mixed in, get that cake into the oven quickly!

Butternut Squash Orange Spice Cake

serves 8 – 10

Cake Ingredients

• ½ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 2/3 cup agave nectar
• 3 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
• 2 teaspoons orange zest
• 2 cups gluten-free flour blend (see below for the mix used here)
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon ginger
• ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
• ¼ teaspoon cloves
• ¼ teaspoon allspice
• 1 1/3 cups grated butternut squash (use the large holes on a box grater)
• ¾ cup golden raisins
• 1 tablespoon fresh-squeezed orange juice
• 1 tablespoon fresh squeezed lemon juice

Method

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and line a 8 inch spring form pan.
2. Cream butter on medium high for about 2 minutes. Add agave and continue mixing on medium high for another 2 – 3 minutes, until light and fluffy.
3. Add eggs one at a time while mixing on medium low until eggs are completely incorporated. Mix in orange zest.
4. Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, and all spice. Add sifted flour mix to butter mix on low speed until smooth. Stir in butternut squash and raisins.
5. Add orange juice and lemon juice and stir until smooth. Turn into prepared pan and smooth the top with a spatula.
6. Bake for 35 – 40 minutes, until the top is a deep golden brown and a cake tester tests clean.
7. Let cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes, then slide a thin spatula between the cake and the edge of the pan.
8. Release the springform side and let cake cool for another 20 minutes before removing the bottom of the pan.

Frosting Ingredients

Orange Cream Cheese Frosting *This will frost a 2 layer cake. If you want to only frost the top, cut the recipe in half.

• 16 ounces light cream cheese, at room temperature
• ¼ cup agave nectar
• 1 teaspoon orange zest
• 1 cup heavy cream

Method

1. Place cream cheese in a medium mixing bowl and mix on medium high until light and fluffy. Add agave and orange zest. Continue mixing until thoroughly incorporated.
2. In a separate bowl, whip the heavy cream until stiff peaks form.
3. Stir ¼ of the whipped cream completely into the cream cheese mixture. Gently place remaining whipped cream on top of cream cheese mixture and fold until thoroughly incorporated.
4. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

Gluten-Free Flour Blend (makes 3 cups)

• 1 cup sweet rice flour
• 1 cup sorghum flour
• 2/3 cup cornstarch
• 1/3 cup tapioca flour

Thanks so much Amy (Simply Sugar & Gluten-Free) for such a great post.  I hope you all have a great day today and I will fill you in on U2 when I get back.

Take care

zesty