Pumpkin Gingerbread Cake: 'Tis Autumn

This lightly spiced cake with generous pieces of crystallized ginger is a moist treat made even more delicious by the tart sauce!  It is the combination of pumpkin and ginger that makes this seasonal cake marvelous.  What would autumn-time be without pumpkin...and without ginger?!

I'm on an autumn-song kick, so here's another to check out: "'Tis Autumn" sung by Nat King Cole.

PUMPKIN GINGERBREAD CAKE

1 cup brown sugar

½ cup butter, room temperature

½ teaspoon nutmeg

½ teaspoon ground cloves

1 teaspoon cinnamon

¼ teaspoon allspice

½ teaspoon ground ginger

2 eggs

¼ cup apple juice

1 cup canned pumpkin puree

1 ½ cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon baking powder

1 cup crystallized ginger, sliced into ¼-inch slivers then cut cross-wise into tiny pieces (optional)

1. Preheat oven 350 degrees.  Line a 9-inch by 9-inch square baking pan with parchment paper
2. With electric mixer, combine brown sugar, butter, nutmeg, cloves, cinnamon, allspice, ginger and eggs in a large bowl.
3. Add apple juice and pumpkin.  Mix.
4. Add flour, baking soda and baking powder.  Mix just until blended.
5. Stir in crystallized ginger.
6. Spoon batter into parchment paper lined pan. 
7. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until a knife inserted in center comes out clean.
8. Lift cake out of pan by the edges of the parchment paper.  Set on a cooling rack for five minutes.
9. Cut cake while still warm.  Place each piece on individual serving plates.  Spoon sauce over warm cake and serve.

SAUCE

2 ½ teaspoons cornstarch

¼ cup brown sugar, packed

½ cup apple juice

4 teaspoons lemon juice concentrate

1 tablespoon butter

1. In a saucepan, combine cornstarch and brown sugar by stirring together with a fork.  Add apple juice.  Over medium heat, bring mixture to a boil stirring all the whole time. 
2. Boil for 2 minutes and remove from heat.  Add lemon juice and butter. 
3. Stir until consistency is smooth.