Halloween : Chocolate-Pumpkin Cake: Trick and Treat

It took a few tries, but Mayi Brady, a food stylist in The Times Test Kitchen, found a way to combine chocolate cake with the flavors of pumpkin pie. Getting the right balance between pumpkin and chocolate wasn’t easy, but swirling layers of pumpkin cake batter into the chocolate made for a beautiful and delicious dessert.

CHOCOLATE-PUMPKIN CAKE

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 eggs

2 (1-ounce) squares semisweet chocolate

1/2 cup milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup canned pumpkin puree

1 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice

Chocolate Glaze

Beat butter in mixing bowl until creamy. Slowly beat in sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, 1 at time, until completely blended.

In small bowl over hot but not boiling water, melt chocolate with milk and vanilla. Stir well to combine.

Sift together flour, soda and salt. Beat into butter mixture. Divide batter evenly into 2 mixing bowls. Add pumpkin puree and pumpkin pie spice to batter in 1 bowl, stirring until well mixed. Add melted chocolate combination to batter in second bowl, stirring well to combine.

Using large spoon, alternately drop spoonfuls of both batters into greased and floured 9x5-inch loaf pan until batter is gone. Bake at 325 degrees 65 to 75 minutes or until cake tests done in center. Let cake stand in pan 5 minutes, then remove to wire rack to cool. Spread Chocolate Glaze over top of cake. Makes 12 servings.

Each serving contains about:

458 calories; 207 mg sodium; 84 mg cholesterol; 25 grams fat; 58 grams carbohydrates; 5 grams protein; 0.66 gram fiber.

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Chocolate Glaze

1 (8-ounce) package semisweet chocolate

1 cup whipping cream

2 tablespoons light corn syrup

Heat chocolate and cream over hot but not boiling water until chocolate is melted. Stir until blended. Stir in corn syrup. Let cool. Makes enough to cover 1 9x5-inch loaf cake.