Pumpkin bars with cream cheese frosting
Preppy Kitchen · ♥ 15.6K likes · 444.9K views · 13 min video
Read about winter squash and pumpkin in the BrightCulinary Book
Timestamp
Ingredients
Method
Techniques
- 1 cup brown sugar
Break the packed cup of brown sugar apart by hand so there are no pebbles, since lumps will not dissolve.
Breaking up the brown sugar by hand
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ¾ tsp salt
- 1½ tsp cinnamon
- ½ tsp allspice
- ¼ tsp ginger
- ¼ tsp nutmeg
- 3 whole eggs
Whisk the dry ingredients: 240 g all-purpose flour, one teaspoon baking powder, one teaspoon baking soda, three quarters of a teaspoon salt, one and a half teaspoons cinnamon, half a teaspoon allspice, a quarter teaspoon ginger and a quarter teaspoon nutmeg.
- ⅔ cup veggie oil
- ¼ cup milk
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 425 g pumpkin puree
In a separate bowl combine the sugar, the packed cup of brown sugar, three eggs, two thirds of a cup oil, a quarter cup milk, two teaspoons vanilla and 425 g pumpkin puree.
Whisk the wet ingredients until smooth and emulsified, working out any lumps of brown sugar; an unevenly mixed batter rises unevenly.
Why mix the wet well first
Pour the wet into the dry and fold with a spatula only until there is no powdery flour left; overmixing activates the proteins in the flour and makes the cake gummy, dense and chewy.
Line the pan with parchment paper, pour the batter in and level it out into an even layer, since the bars are too thin to spread evenly by themselves.
Rigging a jelly roll pan and leveling
- butter
Cream the butter for a few seconds until smooth and soft.
- 8 oz cream cheese
Add eight ounces of cream cheese and mix about a minute until smooth and well combined before any sugar goes in.
- 340–360 g powdered sugar
Add three cups, about 340 to 360 g, powdered sugar and mix on low speed until it comes together.
Spread the frosting over the top and work it into swoops with a spoon or a rounded corner spatula, lifting the spatula straight up for curls.