HE'S 60!

Guess who turned 60 yesterday?  He didn't get his customary pecan pie for his birthday, but had to settle for Pumpkin Cake with cream cheese frosting.  I had to use up a can of pumpkin from the States from one of our visits.  This morning I took a big chunk of that cake to a lady I visit teach.  You can see the couch that he's sitting on sort of tore up.  We move the cushions over to the side and then we sit side by side and cover up with that blanket on his lap to watch tv.  I told him he had a rip-roaring birthday - We went to church, then came home and for dinner I made his favorite dinner: Shrimp Creole on rice and cornbread muffins.  But he did go fishing all day Saturday to Owel (prounounced "owl") Lake with an Irish friend from work and some of his family (brothers and dad).  He didn't catch anything. :0+ 

Since this was the absolute best pumpkin cake recipe, I'm posting it here:

PUMPKIN CAKE

3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup sugar

3 large eggs

1/2 cup buttermilk

1 cup canned pumpkin

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 cups flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

- Heat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray pan with Pam.  (I used a 13x9" pan, but you can also use those mini-bundt pans, layer cake pans, or even a bundt pan - I've made this with the mini's before)

Beat butter in large bowl, using mixer on medium speed until fluffy.  Beat in sugars and eggs, 1 at a time, till smoooth.  Set aside.  Combine buttermilk, pumpkin and vanilla.  Set aside.  Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and spices and stir in butter, in thirds - alternating with buttermilk mixture - until smooth.  Pour batter into prepared pans.  bake 25 minutes or till cake tests done. 

Glazes for bundt cakes:

CITRUS GLAZE: 1 1/4 cup powdered sugar and 3 TBL lemon juice.  Tint with orange food coloring.  Drizzle with spoon over cake. 

VANILLA GLAZE: 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar, 3 TBL water & 1/2 tsp vanilla.  Drizzle with spoon over cake.

CREAM CHEESE FROSTING: 2 packages cream cheese, softened, 3 cups powdered sugar, 1 tsp vanilla

In large bowl cream the cream cheese until smooth.  Gradually beat in powdered sugar and vanilla.  Beat until of spreading consistency, adding a little evaporated milk, if necessary.

I was out of powdered sugar, but had a tub of ready-made vanilla frosting and an 8 ounce package of cream cheese.  I just mixed the 2 together with my mixer.  It made a "less-sweet" cream cheese frosting, which I really liked.