Fall Harvest Cake With Browned Butter Cream Cheese Frosting

Fall is my favorite time of year. The colors, the temperatures, the flavors...pretty much everything.

This cake has some pumpkin (what says fall more than pumpkin?), some spices, some crazy good browned butter frosting, and pretty much tastes like fall.....if fall were a food. 

In fact, I think this would be the dessert you would want to make if you had someone show up at your house that didn't know what fall was. You could make them this, give them a taste, and say "There. That is what fall is." and they would be all "Oooooooh....I get it now!"

Really.

I wouldn't lie about a thing like that.

Fall Harvest Cake With Browned Butter Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients

Frosting

1/3 cup butter, browned

1 brick (8oz) cream cheese, room temp

3/4 cup brown sugar

1 tsp vanilla

Cake

2 1/2 cups flour

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground cloves

1/2 tsp ground ginger

pinch salt

1 1/4 cup butter, room temp

1 cup brown sugar

3/4 cup sugar

3 eggs

1 can (398 ml) pumpkin puree (about 1 1/2 cups)

1/2 cup dried cranberries

1/2 cup dates, finely diced

1/2 cup pecans, diced

1/4 cup coconut

Directions

Prepare frosting - In a medium bowl, beat together browned butter and cream cheese until smooth. Beat in brown sugar and vanilla until smooth. Set in fridge, covered, until ready to frost cake.

Prepare cake - Preheat oven to 350. Line 2 X 9 inch pans with parchment paper (cut to fit bottom) and spray the parchment paper with cooking spray. (Can also be made in a 9 X 13 pan if desired.) Set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, and salt. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, beat butter until smooth. Beat in brown sugar and sugar. Beat in eggs, one at at time - beating in between additions. Beat in pumpkin.

Gradually beat in flour mixture, beating in between additions.

Stir in the cranberries, dates, pecans, and coconut.

Spread evenly into prepared pans. (I used 2 - 6 inch pans and a 7 X 11)

Bake at 350 for approx 30 - 50 minutes. (It will depend greatly on the pan size you use. The cake is done when a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Top will be golden browned.)

Remove from oven and let cool 5 minutes. Run a knife around the edge to loosen. Invert onto wire cooling racks to cool. (Or, leave in pan and serve directly from pan.)

When cake has cooled off. Place one layer  of cake on a serving platter and frost with a thin amount of frosting. Place second layer on top and frost the top and sides with the remaining frosting.

(I had enough frosting from the above recipe to frost my 2 - 6 inch cakes and the 7 X 11, lightly) 

Chill in fridge until ready to serve.

I had a few caramels and chocolate sprinkles leftover so I made some little acorns to decorate the top of the cake.

So cute. 

Try not to taste the frosting while you are preparing it. It's addicting. Browned butter and fall baking go together like peanut butter and chocolate. 

You should probably add this to your fall baking "To Do" list. 

 

Don't forget to stop by Memories By The Mile and Anyonita Nibbles and Adventures Of Mel and Cookin and Craftin and Wondermom Wannabe for tons of fantastic links!