Name: Pumpkin and Cookie-Butter Sheet Cake With Toasted Meringue
Cook time: 1 hour
Total time: 2 hours
Yield: 20–24 servings
Ingredients: 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for pan; 3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pan; 1 tablespoon baking powder; 1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon; 1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg; 1 teaspoon ground ginger; 1 teaspoon kosher salt; ½ teaspoon baking soda; 1⅓ cups canned pumpkin purée; 1 cup sour cream; ¾ cup speculoos cookie butter (preferably Biscoff); 2 teaspoons vanilla extract; 2 cups (packed) light brown sugar; 4 large eggs; 4 large egg whites; 1 cup granulated sugar; 1 teaspoon vanilla extract; ½ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg; ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon; ½ teaspoon kosher salt; 2 tablespoons pepitas (pumpkin seeds); A 13x9" baking pan, preferably light metal

Pumpkin and cookie butter cake topped with toasted meringue and pumpkin seeds on a baking sheet with a side of pumpkins...

Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Prop Styling by Nathaniel James, Food Styling by Anna Hampton

Speculoos cookies, represented here in their ground, “butter” form, add a spicy complexity to pumpkin purée for a new spin on the classic fall dessert. The dense, moist cake is topped with a light and fluffy meringue that cuts the richness.