You can mix all of the nuts in the cake or leave 1/4 cup out for garnishing.
Ingredients
1cuppecans, toasted and chopped
¾cupsugar
¾cupbrown sugar
1stick, 1/2 cup butter, melted
2eggs
1tsp.vanilla
2cupsflour
2tsp.baking powder
½tsp.salt
115 oz canpumpkin, I buy Trader Joe’s organic
frosting:
18 oz pkgcream cheese, softened
1cuppowdered sugar
2Tbsp.maple syrup
1tsp.maple extract, optional
Instructions
Heat the oven to 350. Coat an 8×8 baking pan with cooking spray.
Place nuts on a baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes, or in the microwave (on paper towel) for about 2 minutes, turning occasionally. Cook the nuts; chop and set aside.
In a large bowl, mix the sugars, butter, eggs and vanilla. Add in the flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix well.
Mix in the pumpkin, stirring well until combined. Add the chopped nuts.
Bake for about 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool for about 30 minutes and frost.
For the frosting, use a mixer to beat the cream cheese until smooth, adding in the powdered sugar, maple syrup, and extract. Beat until completely smooth.
Frost the cake and top with extra nuts if you prefer; serve with vanilla ice cream or gelato or pumpkin ice cream or gelato.