"Butternut Miss It" Cake with Buttermilk Icing

How in the world do I find the words to convey how much I absolutely love this cake? There doesn't seem to be enough adjectives to quite describe how lovely it really is! I love this cake so much; I made it FIVE times in one week! And this is coming from someone who really does not like making the same thing more than once. You really butternut miss it!
I had my eye on this recipe for several months but kept forgetting about it. This all changed about a week ago when I accepted an invitation to dinner at my friend's house. Not wanting to arrive empty handed, I stopped by the store the night before to pick up the ingredients for my Cream Sherry Cake (one of my favorite "go-to" recipes). However when I went to my trunk to grab my reusable grocery bag, I saw the February/March 2009 issue of Fine Cooking Magazine just sitting there. It was then that I remembered why it was in the car: this cake! I quickly turned to the recipe and was relieved to see that I had almost all the ingredients in my pantry. I just needed to pick up a small butternut squash, a pint of buttermilk, and some crystallized ginger.

One of my favorite things about this cake was the batter. It starts out very thick, but once the butternut squash starts to soften and cook down, the cake almost blooms in the oven, rising high in the pan. And if you’re thinking that no one will like it because it has butternut squash in it, have no fear! Because the squash is grated prior to adding to the batter, its favor isn’t overwhelming, in fact it becomes mellow and sweet. My son who wouldn’t normally be caught in the same room with a butternut squash, couldn’t get enough of this cake! So much so he insisted on having it for breakfast! A few tips about making this recipe:

Be sure to use only fresh butternut squash. Frozen squash will not work! Look for one that's very firm and the flesh is free of blemishes. Use a vegetable peeler to remove the skin and be sure to peel down far enough to get to the bright orange flesh. Use the big, wide holes on a food processor or a cheese grater to shred the butternut squash.

If you can find it, I strongly encourage you to use freshly grated nutmeg. If you are fortunate enough to have a bulk section in your local grocery store, look to see if they carry the whole seed. If you can buy just one seed, you can probably get it for less than .40 cents! It tastes a million times better than the already-ground stuff. Don’t despair if you can’t find it; I promise the cake will still taste good using the ground stuff.

If you can swing it, make the cake at least a day or two before you need it. Its flavor actually improves with age. Keep it cold until you need it but let it come to room temperature at least 30 minutes before serving.

This cake is great served all by itself, but holy cow is it good served warm or with a little scoop of butter pecan ice cream. Thanks to my good friend Adele for the suggestion! Pure genius!

"Butternut Miss It" Cake
adapted from FineCooking.com
Yield: about 12 to 15 slices, depending on how big you cut it.

Cake
3 cups (13 1/2 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda (note that there is no baking powder in this recipe)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon *freshly* grated nutmeg (use ground nutmeg if you can't find fresh)
1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup canola or vegetable oil
2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 tablespoon distilled white vinegar
3/4 cup buttermilk (low fat)
2-1/4 cups peeled and grated butternut squash (about 8 ounces)

Icing
1 cup confectioners sugar
2-4 tablespoons buttermilk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon finely chopped crystallized ginger (optional)

Make the cake
Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 325F. Butter and flour a 10-cup Bundt pan; tap out excess flour or just use Pam for baking (my personal favorite).

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, ginger, nutmeg, salt, and baking soda. Set aside.

In a large bowl with a hand mixer or in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter alone for 1 minute until it's soft. Add the sugar and mix on medium speed until well combined for 1 minute. Scape the bowl and the beater. Add the oil and beat another minute.

Add the eggs one at a time, mixing for 30 seconds between each one, on low speed. Add the vinegar and vanilla and mix again until just combined (30 seconds). Add half of the flour mixture on low speed, just combined. Add half of the buttermilk and mix until just combined. Repeat with the remaining flour and buttermilk. Mix again for 15 seconds on medium speed until it's well combined. Scrape down the bowl and the beaters.

Stir the squash into the batter in two parts and mix on low speed. Give it a good mixing on medium-high speed for 5 seconds. Transfer the thick batter to the prepared pan and smooth the top with a rubber spatula. Place the pan on top of a cookie sheet and bake until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, about 50 minutes to 60 minutes.

Cool on a wire rack for 30 minutes. Carefully invert the cake onto the rack and remove the pan. When the cake is completely cool, transfer it to a serving plate. Do not cover the cake until it's completely cool.

Make the icing
In a medium bowl, whisk the sugar, buttermilk, vanilla, nutmeg, and salt until smooth. Add more buttermilk, a few drops at a time, as needed, until the icing is pourable but still quite thick. Pour the icing back and forth in thick ribbons over the cooled cake. You may have some left over, so don't feel pressure to use all the icing.

Scatter the ginger on top. Let the icing set at room temperature, about 45 minutes, before serving (it gives it time to really soak into the cake).