Thanksgiving has come and gone, that is, if you live in the great white North, but I still want to take this time to be thankful, gracious, and grateful. After all, if I publicly declare how much I love fall (impending inclement weather and hazardous road conditions forthcoming), getting older (how does one really handle simultaneous wrinkles, zits, dry patches and oily skin?), and the upcoming Christmas shopping season (angry mad crowds, the pressure of finding the “perfect gift”, and fighting over the last remaining parking spot)… it must be true. Kind of like a self fulfilling prophecy, right?

After all, fall is a beautiful time of year. The leaves are gorgeous colors of bright yellows and stunning reds. The sunlight is soft and golden. The air is cool, crisp and clean. Fall produce lends itself so well to comfort food and time spent with loved ones and family. And my personal favorite: the winds often dies down and the mornings are cool and hazy, my perfect running weather.

So I WILL be thankful for my family and friends. Their love and support means the world to me. And I will age with grace. I hope.  And I am grateful for all the blessings bestowed on me like the fact that I can go Christmas shopping, Starbucks spiced pumpkin latte in hand, and spoil my beautiful nieces and nephews with gifts. But for those of you who are not near a Starbucks (I am working on being grateful for  my place of residence. Working… but it’s a slow process. I’d really prefer a Cafe Artigiano’s) try this cake. It’s a pretty good second!

Pumpkin Spiced Latte Cake

For the Cake:

• 3 C all purpose flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 C butter at room temperature
• 1/4 C applesauce
• 2 eggs at room temperature
• 1 C granulated sugar
• 1/2 C brown sugar
• 1 C pumpkin puree
• 2/3 C fat free vanilla yogurt
• 1 tsp vanilla

Notes:

• You may replace the 1/4 C applesauce with butter, the fat free yogurt with full fat, and the low fat cream cheese with regular cream cheese. The above is the slightly more “figure friendly” version. Because getting older is hard and your metabolism slows down. And you know what fall means? Winter. Which means WINTER VACATION. And a bikini.
• If you want a sweeter cake, feel free to add an additional 1/4 C to 1/2 C sugar. I thought the cake was great without it and so did my husband who doesn’t always appreciate my “de-fatted” foods. This one passed the test.