In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar; add eggs and continue beating until light and fluffy. Stir in chopped pecans. Sift together the flour, nutmeg, cloves, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt. Add about 1/3 of the sifted ingredients to the creamed mixture; mix well. Stir in milk. Add remaining sifted ingredients alternately with the pumpkin purée. Pour batter into a buttered and floured 9x5x3-inch loaf pan; bake pumpkin cake at 350° for 50 to 60 minutes. Cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto cake rack. When cool, frost with Creamy Frosting.
Creamy Frosting
- 1/4 cup butter
- 2 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
- 2 tablespoons milk
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla
In a mixing bowl, cream butter; blend in half of the confectioners' sugar. Mix in milk and vanilla, then add remaining sugar and beat until smooth. Enough to frost a loaf cake.
* To make pumpkin purée, cut pumpkin in half, crosswise. Remove seeds and membranes. Place on a greased baking sheet, cut side down, and bake at 325° for 1 hour, or until tender. Cool for 10 minutes. Remove pulp and place in blender or processor. Purée or process until smooth. Place in a cheesecloth-lined mesh strainer or sieve and let drain into a bowl for about an hour. When dripping has stopped, put purée into a container, cover, and refrigerate if not using right away.