There is something special about home-baked cakes. It’s not just that they are really delicious, nor even that they are delightfully different from those you can buy. Homemade cakes and slices turn any occasion into a special one, whether served with morning coffee, or an old-fashioned afternoon tea party, or as a luxurious dessert at the end of a celebratory meal. Honey Spice Pumpkin Bars with Cream cheese Icing make great after-school snacks and any-time-of-day nibbles.
Honey Pumpkin Bars with Cream Cheese Icing
(1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)
Loading...Ingredients
- For the bars:
- 2/3 cup butter, plus extra for greasing
- 1/2 generous cup sugar
- 2 cups cooked pumpkin
- 1/2 cup honey
- 1 Tbsp. water
- 1 1/2 cups self-rising flour
- 1/2 tsp ginger
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- seeds from 8 cardamom pods, ground
- 2 eggs beaten
- For the cream cheese icing:
- 1/2 lb. cream cheese, at room temperature
- 4 Tbs. (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 2 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1 cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted
Instructions
Preheat an oven to 350°F. Line a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with aluminum foil and lightly grease the foil with butter.
Place the butter, sugar, honey, and water into a heavy-bottom pan. Set over low heat and stir until the butter has melted and the sugar has dissolved. Remove from the heat and let cool for 10 minutes.
Sift the flour into a bowl and mix in the ginger, cinnamon, and cardamom. Add the honey mixture, cooked pumpkin, and eggs and beat until smooth. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake in the preheated oven for 30-35 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean. Let cool in the pan for about 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire to cool completely.
Meanwhile, make the cream cheese icing: In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the flat beater, beat the cream cheese, butter and vanilla on medium-high speed until smooth, light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Gradually beat in the confectioners’ sugar until thoroughly combined. If the frosting is too soft, refrigerate it until it is spreadable, about 15 minutes.
Spread the icing over the cake then dust lightly with cinnamon. Cut into squares and serve.
7 Comments
Rosa's Yummy Yums
February 17, 2013 at 12:00 amWhat lovely bars! Divine.
Cheers,
Rosa
Eric Pepple
February 17, 2013 at 12:55 amThose look and sound soooo good! I absolutely love your photography as well. Thanks for sharing!
Happy Blogging!
Happy Valley Chow
Marina
February 17, 2013 at 11:51 pmLooks delicious! Good thing about blogging is that you can "eat" all this desserts without getting weight. 🙂
Medeja
February 18, 2013 at 5:39 amHoney really makes a difference. I like using it for baking.
Peggy G.
February 18, 2013 at 2:58 pmThese bars look like the perfect treat =)
Rayna Bryan
February 18, 2013 at 8:18 pmyour photos are gorgeous!
Nami | Just One Cookbook
February 19, 2013 at 7:09 amIf I was correct, I think I learned from your old post that chocolate/brown color looks so beautiful with blue color. And again, your pictures are stunning! Not only I want to have these bars, but I want to have your pictures as well… 😉