So yeah, I didn’t quite make it with my last pumpkin recipe yesterday. Somehow, Halloween ended up being way crazier than I had planned. I decided, sort of at the last minute, that I would join the mayhem in in Fells Point last night. And that decision derailed other plans for the day, like blogging, with more important and pressing tasks, such as napping. You read it right, I just said napping. I’ve found that now that i’m in my early late 20s, I just can’t seem to make it out at night without a good nap!
The other major derailing element–trick or treaters, who started showing up at our house at 3.30 yesterday afternoon! 3.30? Seriously, it’s not even dark then, even with all of this persistent cloud cover we’re living under. So Noel and I took turns answering the door, and the door is a long, long way away from our computer.
But enough with the excuses, and on to the pumpkin! For my last recipe, I decided to do something a little bit different. Ever since Mary the Food Librarian started her Big Bundts Challenge, I’ve REALLY wanted to make a bundt. So when my mom asked me to make her something pumpkiny to sell on the soccer fields yesterday, I asked if she would mind selling slices of bundt. Mom trusts my judgement (she’s a smart lady) so Friday night I had a hot date with a Pumpkin Spice Bundt with Buttermilk Icing.
Pumpkin Spice Bundt with Buttermilk Icing
Adapted from Gourmet via The Food Librarian
As soon as I visited the Epicurious site for this recipe, I knew it was the pumpkin bundt for me. The reviews simply rave about this bundt, and with good reason. It’s everything that you want in a bundt without allover icing–meaning it’s moist, moist, moist. Mom is really lucky that any of this cake made it to the soccer fields, since Noel and I were having a really hard time not eating all of it while we were cutting it up and wrapping it. Soooo good. This is officially on the list of contenders for my Thanksgiving cake.
I didn’t make too many adaptations to the recipe, other than using skim milk with vinegar in place of the buttermilk. And my glaze seemed a bit runny, so I would probably add a bit more powdered sugar if I was doing it again. But other than that, this cake is perfect as written!
Ingredients:
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)
Directions:
Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350°F. Spray pan with non-stick cooking spray meant for baking, like Pam with Flour.
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.
Make icing:
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.
Cake can be made 3 days ahead and kept in an airtight container at room temperature. But good luck keeping it around that long, because it’s scrumptious!
As I mentioned, this bundt has begun my quest for the perfect cake to take to Thanksgiving dinner! Check back over the next couple of weeks to see how the trials go–I’ll announce my choice in time for Thanksgiving!
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The cake was a great hit on the soccer fields with a complete sell out and lots of requests for more next week and requests for what other types of cakes does my daugher bake. I vote yes for this being the Thanksgiving Cake!! If only I had thought to take a picture of someone enjoying it!!
The bundt cake looks so nice. Came out perfectly. I had some Portugese kids come at 1:30 today for candy. They do it today but I was under the impression it was at night time.
Your bundt looks beautiful and super moist. Nice job!
WOW, such a gorgeous finale to the pumpkin series! I sooo love bundt cakes! I’m eagerly awaiting continued updates on the quest for the Thanksgiving cake! :-)
Giggles – thought it was just me who can’t seem to make it “out” at night without a nap beforehand anymore… :-) I’m glad to hear I’m not the only one! :-)
I have a silicon bundt pan that I absolutely love – nothing ever sticks! I’ll have to put this on my ever growing list of things to make. :D
Oh Beth, lucky you. By the time i was in my early 20s (and in my 2nd university – changed because I didn’t like the system), I was sleeping during the night out….before is much, much better
Made this today as one of the desserts for Julia’s Baptism party on Sunday. It turned out so well! Light, but substantive, and very flavorful. Thanks so much for posting and for the tip on the glaze. We’ll see if the cake lasts until Sunday!
Allison–I’m so happy this turned out for you. I feel like this cake has a nice balance of pumpkin and sweet. I hope you can make some of it last for the party on Sunday.