I didn’t roast my pumpkin this year.  It’s been tradition for a while that I get a huge fairytale or cinderella pumpkin, roast, puree, and then freeze the puree in 2-cup containers for use throughout the season. Pumpkin soup, pumpkin risotto, pumpkin cookies, pumpkin cake…  I like pumpkin.

Alas, Nonna really doesn’t care for pumpkin, so I decided I’d just pick up a couple of cans this year and have it on hand for the occasional dish. At last count, I had picked up 10. Time to use up some pumpkin. Granted, it’s not going to go bad any time soon, but, still… 10 cans is a bit obsessive.

I decided I wanted a dessert since Victor is cooking a fabulous lasagne today – complete with homemade lasagne noodles – so I headed off to Epicurious to see what ideas they had.

Right away, I found a recipe that not only would use up some pumpkin, but also use up a couple of apples that were in the fruit bowl.  Win-win!

I haven’t cut into this one, yet, but dayum! does it ever smell good!  It is just wafting through the house.

I followed the recipe pretty much as written. It seemed very straightforward. I’ll let ya know later how it actually tasted, but I don’t think anyone will be disappointed.

Pumpkin Apple Streusel Cake

adapted from Bon Appetit

Apple Topping

• 3 tbsp unsalted butter
• 4 cups diced apples
• 3 tbsp sugar
• 1 tsp cinnamon

Cake

• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 cup (firmly packed) brown sugar
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3/4 cup canned pumpkin
• 1/3 cup sour cream
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 1 tsp cinnamom
• 1/4 tsp cloves
• 1/4 tsp nutmeng
• 1/4 tsp ginger
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 2 large eggs

preparation

For apples:
Melt butter in skillet Add apples and sauté until they begin to brown, about 5 minutes. Add sugar and cinnamon and sauté about 3 minutes longer. Cool.

For cake:
Preheat oven to 350°. Butter 9-inch-diameter springform pan. Combine flour, brown sugar, butter, and salt in large bowl. Beat until mixture resembles coarse meal. Set aside 2/3 cup of mixture for topping. Beat pumpkin, sour cream, 2 tablespoons sugar, spice, and baking soda into remaining flour mixture, beating just until smooth. Beat in eggs.

Transfer batter to pan. Scatter apples evenly over top. Sprinkle reserved topping over apples.

Bake cake until topping is golden brown and tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 1 hour 10 minutes. Cool cake in pan on rack 20 minutes.  Remove pan and place on platter.

Serve warm or at room temperature with ice cream.

Okay. This rocked the casbah!

Make it. Right now.