Instead of making a pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving I decided to leave the pies to someone else and went the cake route mostly because I have been wanting to make a poke cake for a while and this was as good a time as any.
When I told the mr I made a poke cake he had no idea what I was talking about, do you? A poke cake is exactly what it sounds like, a cake that had been poked. This cake that got poked was a simple but delicious pumpkin cake. Then all those poked holes got filled with cranberry sauce. and then frosted with a simple vanilla glaze situation.
A chunk of it was gobbled up within hours, the mr saying every time he ate a piece how good it was. I was trying to save at least half or it for family Thanksgiving but that didn’t happen. I ended up feeding it to a few more people. And they confirmed to me what I already knew…. It is delicious.
And now it is family Thanksgiving and I only have likes few pieces of the cake left…Good thing I have a brownie mix stashed somewhere in the pantry. Oops.
Now to the poke cake!
The stuff. Pumpkin puree, fresh cranberries, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg. Some brown sugar and white sugar. Flour, baking soda, salt. A neutral oil, apple cider vinegar, plant milk. And powdered sugar, vanilla, and a little vegan butter.
Start with making cake. Mix brown sugar, pumpkin puree, apple cider vinegar, plant milk, and oil in a big bowl. Once mixed add in the flour, spices, baking soda and salt and mix until just incorporated.
Scoop batter into a well greased pan and pop into a preheated oven.
While cake is baking make the cranberry sauce. Cranberries go into pot with white sugar and some water. Bring the mixture to a boil then simmer for a few minutes until all the cranberries pop when stabbed. Remove from heat, let cool a minute, and then either with a hand held blender or regular blender, puree until semi smooth.
A gorgeous baked cake. Now let it cool a bit in the pan.
After cooling for a few minutes grab a wood spoon or something that has a dime size handle and well, poke a bunch of hole into the top of the cake. Go deep but not all the way through.
And now grab the craberry sauce and pour all over making sure the sauce goes into the holes.
And now for the frosting glaze situation. Just mix the powdered sugar, vanilla, plant butter, and a little plant milk together unit completely smooth. It should be the consistency of a really thick glaze.
Then pour/smooth the glaze on gently. And if you are feeling fancy, make a design with a little extra cranberry sauce.
Finished cake looking like a class act.
And then you eat it.
Have fun poking!
-C
Pumpkin Cranberry Poke cake
makes a 10x10 cake
For cake
2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 cup of neutral flavored oil
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup pumpkin puree
1/4 cup plant milk
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
For Cranberry sauce
2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup water
For Glaze
2 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoons milk
Preheat oven to 375.
In a large bowl mix the brown sugar, pumpkin puree, apple cider vinegar, oil, and plant milk together unit completely combined. Next add in the flour, all spices, salt, and baking soda until just completely incorporated. Grease a 10x10 baking pan and scoop batter in. Level off and pop into the oven. Bake for about 35 minutes, until golden brown, but start checking for doneness at around 30 minutes.
While cake is baking make the cranberry sauce. Cranberries, sugar and water go into a pot. Place on stove and bring to a boil and once its boiling turn heat down and cook for another 3-5 minutes or until all the cranberries are soft and pop when stabbed. Remove from heat and let cool for a few minutes. Then with either a hand blended or regular blended, bend until semi smooth. Some chunks are good.
Once cake comes out of oven and has had a chance to cool down a little, grab a wooden spoon or something with a similar sized handle and poke a bunch of holes all over the top of cake. Go down deep but not all the way to the bottom. Now grab cranberry sauce and pour it all over the top of cake making sure it fills in all the holes. Smooth out the extra on top. Set aside and let cool and set.
To make glaze just mix the powdered sugar, plant butter and milk, and vanilla together unit smooth.It should be the consistency of almost frosting but still thin enough to pour. If it is to thick add a tiny more milk. o thin, more sugar. Once the cake is cooled and the cranberry sauce has had a little time to set up on the cake, pour glaze all over cake. And if you are feeling fancy and have a little cranberry sauce left in the pot you can make a little pattern in the glaze.
And then that is it. You eat it.
Cake is fine in airtight container out at room temperature for a couple of days but after that should be stored in the fridge for up to a week but really, who makes a cake and doesn’t eat it all right away?