Pumpkin Gingerbread Cake

I wanted pumpkin.  I wanted Gingerbread.  I wanted both.  This cake really did hit the mark for a Fall Dessert, on Columbus Day Weekend with house guests. 

I found this recipe on a web site called Very Best Baking.  When I saw that the ingredients called for a juice box, whipped topping and only baking soda,  I almost clicked away.  But then I decided to alter it enough to use real ingredients and the result was pretty sensational. 

Ingredients:

2 ½ cups all purpose flour
1 ½ tsp baking soda
1 ½ tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
¼ tsp ground cloves
¼ tsp ground nutmeg
1 cup orange juice
2/3 cup unsulphured molasses
¾ cup sugar
½ cup butter softened
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 large egg
Whipped Cream, optional

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Butter and flour a single 9” cake pan
• In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, nutmeg and salt.
• In a large (2 cup) measuring cup, pour in the orange juice to one cup.  Then pour in the molasses until the liquid measures 1 and 2/3 cups.  Mix and set aside.
• Cream the butter with the sugar until it starts to turn fluffy. 
• Add the pumpkin and beat.  Add the egg and beat.
• Add 1/3 of the dry mixture and beat until just combined.  Then add ½ of the juice mixture and beat until just combined.  Add another 1/3 of the dry and combine, followed by the remaining juice, then the final 1/3 dry ingredients.  Beat only until it is just combined.
• Pour into the prepared cake pan.  Bake for approximately 50 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean.
• Remove to a rack and cool in the pan for about 10 minutes, then remove from the pan and allow to cool on the rack completely.
• Sprinkle with confectioner’s sugar if desired, and serve with either whipped cream or ice cream.