Name: Squash and Chocolate Spice Cake With Cream Cheese Frosting
Prep time: 40 min
Total time: 80 min
Ingredients: FOR THE CAKE; 1/3 cup vegetable oil, plus more for brushing; 1 pound wedge Calabaza squash, peeled and seeded; 1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour; 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder; 1 1/2 teaspoons five-spice powder; 1 teaspoon kosher salt (we use Diamond Crystal); 3/4 cup plain Greek yogurt; 2 large eggs, room temperature; 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted; 1 cup granulated sugar; 2 teaspoons pure vanilla paste or extract; 4 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, coarsely chopped (3/4 cup); FOR THE FROSTING; 4 ounces cream cheese, room temperature; 1 stick unsalted butter, softened; 1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar

Squash and Chocolate Spice Cake With Cream Cheese Frosting

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It's like carrot cake meets spice cake, only better—and there are chunks of semisweet chocolate, too!

Greg Lofts

Published on December 19, 2024

spiced squash cake with cream cheese frosting and a knife — Photo:
Murray Hall

Prep Time:

40 mins

Total Time:

1 hr 20 mins

Servings:

It’s hard to have just one square of this spiced squash cake topped with cream cheese frosting. It’s similar to a carrot cake because it uses grated winter squash rather than cooked squash puree which is the usual for baking. Our favorite squash for this recipe is calabaza, a mild-flavored type of West Indian pumpkin that is available in many grocery stores, but if you can’t find it butternut makes an excellent substitute. Chunks of semisweet chocolate and five-spice powder bring sweetness and a kick and contrast deliciously with the rich, tangy frosting.

What is Five-Spice Powder?

Spice cakes often use a mix of spices; we opted to use one spice mix for this recipe: five-spice powder, a blend of star anise, cloves, cinnamon, Sichuan peppercorns, and fennel seeds. It’s warming, sweet, spicy, and perfect for baking, though it’s most often used in Chinese cooking for marinades for meat or an ingredient in braises and soups.

Other winter squash to use for this recipe: If you can't find calabaza, substitute it with butternut squash.

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Ingredients

For the Cake

1/3 cup vegetable oil, plus more for brushing
1 pound wedge Calabaza squash, peeled and seeded
1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons five-spice powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt (we use Diamond Crystal)
3/4 cup plain Greek yogurt
2 large eggs
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons pure vanilla paste or extract
4 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, coarsely chopped (3/4 cup)

For the Frosting

4 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup confectioners sugar

Directions

Preheat oven and prep pan:

Preheat oven to 350˚F. Brush an 8-by-8-inch cake pan with oil, line bottom and two sides with parchment, leaving a 2-inch overhang on sides, and brush parchment with oil.
Grate squash and squeeze to remove moisture:

Coarsely grate the squash on the large holes of a box grater (you should have 3 cups). Wrap squash in a clean kitchen towel and squeeze to remove as much moisture as possible.
Combine dry ingredients; mix wet ingredients together:

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, five-spice, and salt. In another bowl, whisk together yogurt, eggs, butter, oil, granulated sugar, and vanilla. .
Add wet ingredients to dry; fold in squash and chocolate:

Gently stir wet mixture into flour mixture just to combine but some bits of dry flour remain (do not overmix). Fold grated squash and chocolate into batter to evenly distribute.
Transfer batter to pan and bake:

Transfer to prepared pan and smooth top with an offset spatula. Bake until a toothpick inserted into center of cake comes out clean, 50 to 55 minutes.
Cool:

Let cool in pan on a wire rack 15 minutes. Remove cake from pan using parchment overhangs and let cool completely on rack.
Make frosting and spread on cake:

In a bowl, beat cream cheese and butter until smooth. Gradually add confectioners’ sugar, beating until light and fluffy. Spread evenly over top of cake and cut into squares to serve.

Storing This Squash Cake

We think this cake is best served the day it’s made, but it will keep for up to three days after it is baked. Leftovers should be refrigerated in an airtight container and removed from the fridge about 30 minutes before serving—who wants to eat cold cake!