Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Pumpkin Spice Bundt Cake

While I already have my own pumpkin spice cake recipe, I was at a Warm Up to Thanksgiving dinner last night (wherein we begin stretching out our bellies in preparation for the real deal on Thursday) and there was a very tasty pumpkin spice cake that one girl made from a recipe she found on Epicurious.  Her frosting hadn't worked out, but the cake was divine on its own, and well, with a little dollop of vanilla whipped cream that was probably made to go with the chocolate bundt cake, but that's neither here nor there.  Epicurious has plenty of yummy looking pumpkin spice cakes btw.

For cake 
1 1/2 sticks (3/4 cup) unsalted butter, softened, plus additional for greasing bundt pan
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour plus additional for dusting pan
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups canned solid-pack pumpkin (from a 15-ounce can; not pie filling)
3/4 cup well-shaken buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
3 large eggs
For icing 
2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons well-shaken buttermilk
1 1/2 cups confectioners sugar 
Special equipment: a 10-inch nonstick bundt pan (3 quart)

Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350°F. Butter bundt pan generously, then dust with flour, knocking out excess.
Whisk together flour (2 1/4 cups), baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, allspice, and salt in a bowl. Whisk together pumpkin, 3/4 cup buttermilk, and vanilla in another bowl.
Beat butter (1 1/2 sticks) and granulated sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes, then add eggs and beat 1 minute. Reduce speed to low and add flour and pumpkin mixtures alternately in batches, beginning and ending with flour mixture and mixing until batter is just smooth.
Spoon batter into pan, smoothing top, then bake until a wooden pick or skewer inserted in center of cake comes out clean, 45 to 50 minutes. Cool cake in pan on a rack 15 minutes, then invert rack over cake and reinvert cake onto rack. Cool 10 minutes more.

While cake is cooling, whisk together buttermilk and confectioners sugar until smooth. Drizzle icing over warm cake, then cool cake completely. Icing will harden slightly.

Of course, my new focus now is a gorgeous bundt cake - I have always lusted over those fancy ones, and seeing this gorgeous cake only reinforced my desire.
You can find some good ones at Amazon.com.

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