Gluten-Free Pumpkin Chiffon Cake

Since I’ve vetoed pie at Thanksgiving this year, I’ve been on a quest for alternative desserts. I’ve figured it out: we’ll have pumpkin pie pudding, chocolate peppermint bark and this cake. (If you’re coming for dessert and have problems with any of those selections, zip it, please.) This cake is light and fluffy and deliciously delicate. If I didn’t know better, I’d call it pumpkin angel food cake. But, thanks to Joyofbaking.com, I know better. Apparently, chiffon cakes include egg yolks. Angel food cakes do not. Therefore, this is a chiffon cake.

(Adapted from Everyday with Rachael Ray)

1 cup all-purpose gluten-free flour

1 ¼ cup organic sugar

1 tbsp pumpkin pie spice

1 tsp baking powder

9 eggs total (4 yolks and 9 whites—all at room temperature)

1 cup pureed pumpkin

confectioners’ sugar, for dusting

1. Preheat oven to 325º. Lightly spritz a tube pan with canola oil.

2. Combine flour, ¾ cup sugar, pumpkin pie spice and baking powder in a large bowl. Mix well with a whisk.

3. Combine egg yolks and pumpkin in a medium bowl. Mix well with a whisk.

4. Add the pumpkin mixture to the flour mixture and stir until smooth.

5. Place the 9 egg whites in the bowl of a stand mixer with a whisk attachment. Whisk at medium speed until foamy, about 2 minutes.

6. As the mixer continues whisking, gradually add ½ cup sugar.

7. Turn the mixer speed up to high and beat the egg white mixture until it becomes stiff, but moist, 1-2 minutes.

8. Gently fold about a quarter of the egg white mixture into the pumpkin batter until no streaks remain. Repeat, gradually folding the rest of the egg white mixture into the pumpkin batter until no streaks remain.

9. Pour the batter into the pan and bake for 55 minutes. (The cake should be sproingy.)

10. Let the cake cool for 5 minutes and then flip the pan over* so the cake can cool upside down for about 1 ½ hours.

11. Dust the top with confectioners’ sugar and serve.

*Our tube pan has spikes on the rim so we flipped the pan over and put it on top of a cooling rack. If your tube pan doesn’t have spikes, try balancing the tube on a narrow-necked bottle.