Absolutely pumpkin again! I am not actually the hugest pumpkin pie fan. It’s fine, I just don’t love it. I think it’s that I need more body, more substance from my pie, a nice piece of fruit to sink my teeth into. But for all of my complaining and declining of pumpkin pie, I actually love the squash itself, the wholesome flavor, the smooth mouth feel, and if you toss in a bit of pumpkin pie spice– forget about it.

When I found the recipe for Pumpkin Spice Cake with Honey Frosting in Everyday Food, I knew that this would be a recipe I had to try. Now I love Martha Stewart, but we have a rather tumultuous relationship. Her recipes have just never worked out for me, angel food cakes have never risen, sauces were bland, and chicken, let’s just say that the salmonella police came a callin’. But this wasn’t her recipe per se, just a recipe from one of her magazines that is trying so hard to reclaim a place in America’s entertainment lexicon after its CEO suffered a minor set-back due to a debacle with the U.S. government. So, in the spirit of holiday tidings (and justice for all!) I gave it a shot.

The cake was moist, dense, and hearty. The honey frosting was simply a cream cheese icing, enriched with butter, which was a nice foil for the intensity of the cake. But, if I must be truly honest, this wasn’t the pumpkin cake of my dreams. It was rather…clunky. There was nothing light about it, no cloud-like associations could be made. I added some large milk chocolate chips, just a few to play off the pumpkin pie spice, and they proved to be a strong addition, especially for any chocolate lover.

But a very peculiar thing happened. When the cake was done baking, golden brown crust achieved, toothpick pulled clean from the center, and the dessert had been cooled and subsequently frosted, I noticed during digging in with eager anticipation, the cake had not been evenly baked. There was one quadrant, and not even the center, the most dense part of the cake, where one half of an inch was a globby, orange mess. Just one quadrant, go figure!

How does this happen? And why does something like this happen every time I make one of Martha’s recipes? Is there some sort of crazy climatic consequence of living in Connecticut versus Berkeley, CA? And am I the only individual who ends up making every Martha recipe twice?