By Angela Denstad
Time and again over the past 20 odd years, the infamous Pumpkin Spice Latte (PSL) has been met with both delight and disgust. Only some of this polarizing effect is due to its notably pumpkin-less spice and more to do with the associated lifestyle of those who are most able to indulge in it. To be sure, it does take a certain amount of nonchalance concerning one’s disposable income to shell out $6-8 for a single beverage as anything more than an occasional seasonal treat. Moreover, the ever earlier release date for this signature fall flavor is also contentious, with some people who would otherwise be indifferent in the debate feeling that its encroachment on summer is what’s most distasteful. There’s also a significant backlash to the near ubiquitous term invading all manner of foodstuffs, home goods, and personal care items.
Love it or hate it, pumpkin spice is everywhere. And now, in this economy, combine all those underlying tensions, including objections to coffee shop monopolies, with rising costs of imported “affordable luxury” items — like coffee, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves — and you’ve got the ingredients for one heated debate.
But the modern social dispute over the PSL pales in comparison to the history that underlies it. If you think some froufrou spices are mere trifles when compared with national or global affairs, the course of world history soundly disagrees.
It was the desire for spices — and the wealth and status they afforded — that led to the establishment of the first world trade routes and spurred on the age of exploration, resulting in bloody wars, genocide, slavery and colonization.
Consider: Christopher Columbus stumbled upon the American continents while trying to find a quicker route to the lucrative spice, silk and gold trade of the so-called East Indies. A century and a half later, the Dutch traded the island of Manhattan to the British in favor of control over a tiny Indonesian island that was the world’s sole producer of nutmeg. Black pepper, found on nearly every table today, was once worth more by weight than gold.
To say spices really heated up global commerce is a gross understatement. Prized for culinary and medicinal properties, spices have had more influence over the current world order than one would ever have cause to suspect while wandering down the spice aisle of any random supermarket today.
But therein lie the roots of capitalism and monopolies, overproduction and loss of biodiversity, and pervasive social and class structures that still influence lives today. The good news? We have elections coming up, and in a free society, we can cast our ballots in favor of candidates who most closely align with our values on free and fair trade, environmental protections, judicious use of natural resources, and societal reforms that value people over profits and a better world for all. As we’ve been told, those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it. For a more positive angle, we might say that when we know better, we do better. It’s never too late to make a good decision.
And now, to set the record straight with any regular readers, I’ll admit I’ve twice disparaged pumpkin spice in this very column within the past two months. Let me be clear: I’m quite fond of any and all warming spices that, once upon a time, were first marketed to our grandmothers as “pumpkin pie spice,” a shortcut for their busy kitchen lives with a name that makes total sense. I sometimes even mix up my own spice blend for recipes such as the one I’ll feature here, adding freshly grated nutmeg and a pinch of cloves where none are called for. What troubles me is that, in our created modern busyness, shorthand leads to confusion. What even is pumpkin spice?
Here, I put forth an honest pumpkin spice cake recipe, so named because it contains both pumpkin and spice, in a cake that is a joy to bake and always so nice to share.
Pumpkin Spice Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
Pumpkin Spice Cake
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon ground allspice
¼ teaspoon ground ginger
1 2/3 cups sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
4 large eggs, room temperature
1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin puree
Cream Cheese Frosting
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
½ cup (1 stick) butter, softened
1 tablespoon sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon salt
2 cups confectioners’ sugar
To make the cake: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees with a rack in the middle position. Grease a 9×13-inch baking pan. Whisk together the flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, salt, allspice and ginger.
In a large bowl or standing mixer, beat together the sugar, oil and eggs on medium speed until thick and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the pumpkin puree until combined. Slowly beat in the flour mixture until combined. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan, smooth the top and bake until a toothpick comes out with moist crumbs attached, 30 to 35 minutes. Cool completely.
To make the frosting: While the cake is cooling, beat together the cream cheese, butter, sour cream, vanilla and salt in the work bowl of a standing mixer on medium speed until smooth. Reduce the speed to low and slowly add the confectioners’ sugar, beating until smooth. Increase the mixer speed to medium-high and beat until the frosting is light and fluffy, 4 to 6 minutes. Spread thickly on top of the cooled cake.
Recipe adapted from Food & Wine Magazine, November 2001.
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