Pumpkin Spice Bundt Cake

We're still celebrating Fall with pumpkin flavors and decorations. It is a good thing that pumpkins are grown around the world, except Antarctic, and in almost every state of the U.S. Pumpkin growers get a heavy yield on their crops - over 10 tons per acre. The production from one acre could fill four semi trailers! In the U.S. last year, over 66,600 acres of pumpkins were planted. That should keep our pumpkin tastes supplied!

Besides the lovely decorations, smells, and colors of autumn, the many pumpkin recipes are fun. This week's recipe is Pumpkin Spice Bundt Cake. I shared half with the daughter and son-in-law up the hill who love pumpkin almost as much as I do. The cake was delicious, but I'll use another frosting recipe next time. The right thickness/thinness between not pourable and runny was hard to find. It tasted better than it looks! I did learn a tip for removing the cake from the Bundt pan. Spray or oil the pan just before adding the batter. This keeps the pan better coated without the oil pooling in the bottom (which turns out to be the top). That trick should help us all.

PUMPKIN SPICE BUNDT CAKE

Ingredients:

2 cups flour

1 cup vegetable oil

4 eggs

1 (16 oz) can pumpkin puree

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 ½ teaspoons baking powder

2 teaspoons ground ginger

½ teaspoon nutmeg

Frosting:

6 ounces softened cream cheese

2 tablespoons softened butter

2 cups powdered sugar

2 tablespoons heavy cream

2-4 tablespoons water

Directions:

1.     Preheat oven to 350°. Spray a Bundt pan with nonstick spray.  

2.     With an electric mixer, cream together sugar and oil on medium speed. Add eggs one at a time, mixing well in between.

3.     Add pumpkin and let the mixer run while you mix together the dry ingredients in a separate bowl.

4.     Whisk together dry ingredients – flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg.

5.     Turn mixer to low speed and gradually add dry ingredients to wet ingredients. Mix until incorporated.

6.     Spoon batter evenly into the Bundt pan, and smooth the top.

7.     Bake for 48-55 minutes, checking for doneness with a toothpick inserted in the top. Or you may check for doneness with a food thermometer reading 210 degrees.

8.     Remove cake from the oven and let cool in the pan for 15 minutes.

9.     Turn the cake onto a cooling rack. Tap the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon to help loosen if necessary.

10. Let the cake cool completely before frosting.

Look how nicely this came out of the pan! 

 Whisk together cream cheese, butter, and powdered sugar. Whisk in heavy cream, and then add water by the tablespoon until the desired consistency is reached. It should be just barely pourable, but not too runny.

The frosting isn't pretty, but it tastes good!