Pumpkin Cake with Honey Marzipan Streusel

Anyone living in the United States is used to seeing the sudden increase in pumpkin flavored treats and knowing that fall has officially arrived. Here in Tübingen I have not had that experience, and living in a country that lacks both Halloween and Thanksgiving, Christmas has been in the grocery stores for almost a month already. I, however, do not wish to succumb to pressure telling me that winter and Santa Claus will be here soon, and instead want to enjoy my favorite season - fall. Thus, a few weeks ago, I ushered in fall by purchasing a two euro book called "Die Kürbisfibel" (The Pumpkin/Squash Handbook), which contains recipes for every type of pumpkin/squash food item you can imagine (except pumpkin pie, which unfortunately has yet to make it to Germany). A few days after purchasing that book, I made my first recipe from it: pumpkin cake with honey-marzipan streusel.

Kürbiscake mit Marzipanstreuseln

from Die Kürbisfibel (Brancucci and Bänziger, pronto Kochbücher), my translation

Ingredients:

150 g Butter

150 g Raw Sugar

2 Eggs (whipped)

300 g Pumpkin Puree

1/2 Teaspoon Sea Salt

1/2 Teaspoon Ground Ginger

Zest from 1 Lemon

1 Tablespoon Phosphate-Free Baking Powder

350 g Flour

350 g Honey-Marzipan*

5 Tablespoons Flour

1 Tablespoon Cinnamon

75 g Butter (melted and cooled)

*Honey-Marzipan is marzipan made with honey instead of sugar. This may be difficult to find in the United States, and if you cannot find any I would simply add a tablespoon of honey to the streusel. However, if adding your own honey, I would purchase the least sweet marzipan variety available.

Honey-Marzipan

Directions:

For the streusel: Place the marzipan in the freezer for five minutes, before removing it and grating it finely.

Mix in the flour and cinnamon, then add the butter and crumble with your fingers.

Pre-heat the oven to 190 degrees Celsius, and grease a 22 cm long bread tin.

For the dough: Whip the butter and the sugar together. Add the eggs, beating well after each one. Mix in the salt, ginger, lemon zest, and pumpkin puree.

Mix together the baking powder and flour, and add them to the butter/egg mixture.

Fill the bread pan half-way with dough, and sprinkle half of the streusel mixture on top. Add the rest of the dough, and then the rest of the streusel.

Bake for around 60 minutes, then remove and let cool in the pan.

Ready to go into the Oven

The final result