Head to our island pumpkin patch on Day Rd. and you just might come home with more pumpkins than you intended. (I always do.) Wander the hill and find exactly the right one to carve or perch on your porch. Let yourself also fall in love with all the types of cooking pumpkins waiting to be baked into pies, roasted for soups, or turned into treats for lunchboxes and lazy mornings. Baking with pumpkin puree is a particular indulgence of fall and one that can be leveraged throughout the winter if you portion it out and freeze it. Defrost and add to cakes, muffins, breads, as well as more savory recipes.

Here is a festive coffee cake with layers of pumpkin, vanilla, and chocolate. When sliced, it shows surprising stripes that might remind you of candy corn. The recipe uses a few bowls but has a simple procedure, the sour cream ensuring you'll have a light, moist crumb.

For the vanilla cake batter:
1 cup sugar
8 tbls. butter (plus a little more for pan)
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup sour cream

For the pumpkin layer:
vanilla cake batter
1 c. pumpkin
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
2 tbls. flour

For the chocolate layer:
vanilla cake batter
2 tbls. cocoa
1 tbls. water

Topping:
4 tbls. butter, melted
1/2 c. whole pecans
1/4 c. sugar
3/4 c. all purpose flour
1/4. tsp fresh nutmeg
1/4 tsp. cinnamon

  1. Set your butter out to soften and come to room temperature. To hasten this process, slice the butter thinly and spread it out on a plate.
  2. Prepare a 9x13 pan. Cut a piece of parchment to fit the bottom and butter the sides with room temperature butter.
  3. Make the vanilla batter. With an electric mixer on medium low and a beater or paddle attachment, cream together the butter and the sugar until light.
  4. Add eggs, one at a time. Add the vanilla extract.
  5. In a separate bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
  6. Fold or gently mix this flour mixture into the creamed mixture, alternating with the sour cream.
  7. You have now made your vanilla batter. Pull out two more bowls and divide the batter equally between three bowls, with about 1 1/4 cup in each. Set one bowl aside with your completed vanilla layer.
  8. In one bowl of the divided batter, add the cocoa and water. Mix well.
  9. In the other bowl, mix the pumpkin, cinnamon, and 2 tbls. additional flour.
  10. By heaping spoonfuls, dollop the chocolate batter around the your prepared pan. Spread this carefully to the sides and middle.
  11. Next, gently spread the pumpkin layer over the chocolate layer. Take care to spread it flatly and evenly. Repeat lastly with the vanilla batter.
  12. Make the topping. Pulse the nuts, flour, sugar, and spice in a food processor until coarse but even. Pulse in the melted butter. (Or, if you can, chop your nuts finely and mix it all together.)
  13. Squeeze the topping into clumps and then sprinkle on with your fingers. Press gently down.
  14. Bake at 350F for 40-45 minutes, testing with a toothpick to see if it comes out clean. Let cool and then remove from pan. Slice as you like.

Sidebar-
How to work with a fresh pumpkin.
To make your own pumpkin puree, slice a pie pumpkin (or other tasty squash) in half, piercing the skin with your knife and working from the top to bottom. Scoop out all of the seeds and set aside. (Feel with your fingers to be sure that you’ve got them all.) Place pumpkin halves, cut side down, on a parchment lined baking sheet. Roast at 400F for one hour. When cool, remove the flesh from the skin with a large spoon. If desired, pulse for a few times in a food processor to create a smoother puree. Store in the refrigerator, freeze in one cup portions, or use right away for your recipe. One three pound pumpkin yields about 4 cups of puree.