Pumpkin-Raisin Cake with Lemon-Cream Cheese Frosting

This is one simple, satisfying little cake, a standard from my mother’s 1950s-era recipe box. Typed up on a big index card, the recipe has two notes I share with you: Next to the option of fresh or canned pumpkin, my mother wrote, “Fresh is best!” At the beginning of the instructions for mixing up the cake, she wrote emphatically, “Do not use mixer!” Now I find that canned pumpkin makes a beautiful cake, but I do take her advice on the issue of spoon versus mixer. It is worth the extra effo