This pumpkin cake is infused with the flavors of fall - cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves.   It's easy to make, especially if you use canned pumpkin (though it's not difficult to make your own pumpkin puree by roasting fresh pumpkin). 

Here in North America, we are sometimes intimidated by cooking with fresh pumpkin, as canned is so readily available.   Cooks in South America are much like to start with fresh ingredients, since packaged and prepared foods are less available and often more expensive.  I have seen recipes for pumpkin cake that call for grated fresh pumpkin (a common technique for zucchini bread), but I think the texture and flavor of this cake are much superior when prepared with puréed roasted pumpkin.

You could make this cake in a blender, which is a popular way to mix up cake batter in Brazil.  It works really well for this kind of cake and results in a very tender crumb.  You can also mix the batter by hand or use a standing mixer.

To achieve the look of the round Brazilian "bolo" cake, bake this cake in an angel food pan.  You can also bake it in a bundt pan or in 2 layer cake pans.

See Also

Bolo de Fuba - Brazilian Cornmeal Cake

Brazilian Carrot Cake

Brazilian Anthill Cake - Bolo Formigueiro