Would you believe it's Secret Recipe Club time again? It's hard to believe October is here already. (And boy, did fall not waste any time in announcing its arrival this year - it's been fiendishly cold outside all weekend, and the autumn colours are in full swing already.)
This month, I was assigned to Kate, who blogs over at Kitchen Trial and Error.
I first discovered Kate's blog through the SRC, where her mad photography skillz pretty much guarantee that her post is one of the first I check out in each month's blog hop.
While Kate only started blogging in 2010, she's been regularly posting at least twice a week for the whole time, which means there are still plenty of delicious recipes to choose from. (And, BTW, she's even managed to keep up this pace after having her first daughter last June... so obviously, on top of having mad photography skills, she's got some mad organizational skills too!)
I had totally planned on making something healthy when I first browsed through Kate's blog looking for my pick, but despite all my best intentions of making something good-for-me, I just couldn't pass up her recipe for a Pumpkin Chocolate Spice Bundt Cake.
I couldn't help it, really. I'm kind of having a love affair with all things pumpkin at the moment - I've been buying pumpkin muffins and pumpkin breads on my coffee breaks, decorating the house with adorable mini-pumpkins, devouring Pumpkin-Pecan Granola by the handful, and have already consumed enough Pumpkin Spice Lattes to float a small boat. In other words, I'm totally obsessed.
And since Canadian Thanksgiving happened to be the weekend just before this month's reveal, I figured I could make it part of our Thanksgiving supper and enlist our unsuspecting human guinea pigs guests to help us eat it all (and possibly take some leftovers home with them).
Unfortunately, my oh-so-clever plan failed, since the in-laws had to bail on dinner due to a rather nasty flu, leaving only my mother to help us get through the cake. And yes, there's quite a bit left over, sitting on the kitchen counter as I type this, taunting me with its pumpkin-and-chocolate deliciousness.
I followed the cake recipe pretty much to a tee, but decided to replace the pumpkin buttercream with a simpler browned-butter glaze, since I didn't really feel like fussing with a buttercream icing on top of all our other Thanksgiving preparations. It adds a nice toasty-caramel sweetness to the cake, which isn't all that sweet on its own.
Thankfully, this cake is really delicious, so it's no big sacrifice to eat an extra slice or two. It's tender and moist, with a deep, dark chocolatey flavour with just a hint of pumpkin and spice.
In fact, come to think of it, this cake is actually pretty healthy.
I didn't frost it with buttercream, the cake itself is relatively low-fat, and it's full of healthy ingredients like milk and eggs and flour. And didn't I read somewhere that spices are full of antioxidants and other healthy benefits?
In fact, there's a whole darn can of pumpkin in this cake, which means it basically counts as a vegetable. Right? Right?
I think I'm going to go cut myself another slice right now. It's lunchtime, after all.
(Why yes, I can rationalize anything. Why do you ask?)
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Iced Pumpkin Chocolate Spice Bundt Cake
- Total Time: 1 hour 30 mins
- Yield: 16 1x
Description
Moist, tender and chocolatey with a hint of pumpkin spice and a sweet browned butter icing, this beautiful bundt is the perfect way to celebrate the arrival of fall.
Ingredients
Pumpkin Chocolate Spice Cake
- 1 ¾ cups all purpose flour
- 1 cup sugar
- ¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 ½ tsp baking soda
- 1 ½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp ground ginger
- ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
- ⅛ tsp ground cloves
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1 can (15 oz) pumpkin puree (reserve 2 tbsp for icing)
- ¾ cup dark brown sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 egg white
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- ¼ cup light corn syrup
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
Browned Butter Pumpkin Glaze
- 2 tbsp butter
- 2 tbsp pumpkin puree
- 1 tbsp heavy cream
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- ¼ tsp nutmeg
- 2 cups icing sugar
Instructions
Bake the Cake:
- Preheat oven to 350F. Generously butter a bundt pan, then lightly dust with flour, tapping to shake out the excess.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, spices, and salt.
- In a second bowl, whisk together buttermilk, pumpkin and brown sugar until smooth. Add the whole egg and egg white, and mix until smooth. Add oil, corn syrup, and vanilla. and whisk until smooth.
- Gently fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, being careful not to overmix (it's okay if there are still a few floury streaks in the batter). Pour into the prepared bundt pan, and smooth out into an even layer.
- Bake in preheated oven for 1 to 1 ¼ hours, or until a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out with a moist crumb. Let cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then gently remove the cake from the pan and let cool completely on a wire rack, about 2 hours.
Make the Glaze:
- In a small saucepan set over medium-high heat, melt the butter and cook until golden brown. Remove from heat immediately.
- In a small mixing bowl, whisk together browned butter, pumpkin puree, cream, vanilla and nutmeg. Sift in the icing sugar, and whisk until smooth. The glaze should be fairly thick, but still pourable. (If it's too thick, add more cream by the teaspoon until it loosens up. If it's too runny, add more icing sugar by the tablespoon until it thickens up.)
- Immediately pour the warm glaze onto the cooled cake, letting it drape softly over the sides. Let stand for 30 minutes to allow the glaze to set, then serve.
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 1 hour 15 mins
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: American
linda L burris says
Hi, Ya'll. I think I will make this for Halloween this year. I might even put a face on it.
★★★★★
Isabelle Boucher says
That's such a fun idea, Linda! Please let me know how it turns out.
Javelin Warrior says
Wow, this bundt cake is beautiful and I love the combo of chocolate with pumpkin. And the pumpkin icing has me drooling... I'm featuring this post in today's Food Fetish Friday (with a link-back and attribution as always). Thanks for continuing to inspire me with your creations...
Barbara @ Barbara Bakes says
What a beautiful fall cake!
kita says
I can see why you chose this. It may not be the healthiest choice on Kates blog, but it looks fall bakin perfect!
Kimberly says
Oh my goodness ... I can see why your recipe was chosen as Editor's Choice ... it looks amazing! And your photos are gorgeous too! Nice job!
★★★★★
Peggy says
You've got some pretty mad photography skillz yourself, Isabelle! This cake is absolutely stunning and perfect for fall =)
cookingrookie says
wow, this cake looks gorgeous! Great pick for SRC and for the season :-)
Lisa @ Sweet as Sugar Cookies says
Mmm, you're ready for Thanksgiving with this cake!
Kirstin says
YUM! This looks so good and your pictures are amazing! I'm also an sRC member! Group d
Cheria says
Wow, this looks amazing! Definitely bookmarking it, thanks for sharing!
Trisha says
The cake looks absolutely divine. I have this on my "Must try" list.
Margaret says
That is one luscious looking cake. YAY for fall finally being here so we can enjoy pumpkin and all the fall spices.
Debra says
I saw your recipe title in the comment section of "Savory Simples" blog and to pop over to check out a favorite and unusual combo: chocolate and pumpkin. Yum! Thank you very much! :-)
Chelsea says
This cake is absolutely gorgeous! I also have a soft spot for pumpkin- this is a must make!
Barbara Bamber | justasmidgen says
I can see why you chose this recipe.. it would be my pick as well. It must have tasted so wonderful!
Tessa says
I think the pumpkin craze has hit many of us hard. I just picked up a package of pumpkin spice coffee tonight :)
This cake looks great. Perfect for the season, and I'm sure it went great with your dinner (I'm thinking even if it was just 3 of us here there may not have been much cake left!).
Kim Bee says
I like the way you think girl. Rationalize away. My bestie says I do the same thing. Lol.
You need help eating leftovers, I got a hungry hubby cuz I stiffed these guys this year. No Thanksgiving dinner for them. He'd gladly take this off your hands.
Pretend Chef says
This looks so delicious. I need to make this for dessert for my family. Great SRC pick.
bellini says
It is definitely pumpkin season and I am always looking for that one recipe.
Aly ~ Cooking In Stilettos says
Technically, I can see your argument winning with a jury taht this pumpkin bundt is clearly healthy and a veggie :) Seriously - it looks delish and you have some mad photography skillz of your own :)
sara says
Beautiful cake...absolutely perfect for fall! :)
Lisa~~ says
I'd skip the healthy and make this cake too, looks amazing!
If you haven't already, I'd love for you to check out my SRC entry Baked Buffalo Chicken Wings.
Lisa~~
Noelle (@singerinkitchen) says
YUM!!! Anything with pumpkin but this glaze looks so good.!
Nicole @ Daily Dish Recipes says
I have to admit, I'm sorta glad you didn't go with anything healthy, because this cake looks to die for... I want some. Immediately. What a perfect pick for this time of year and for SRC!
melissa@IWasBornToCook says
Bring on the pumpkin! Love this cake!
Jane Bonacci, The Heritage Cook says
This is gorgeous and will definitely be showing up on my dinner table soon! The weather is finally cooling off so I am more than ready for Autumn foods. Great choice!
★★★★★
Katrina says
Mmm, that looks good, while I want autumn chill and not cold to stay longer, I'm happy to see/have/eat the things with the new flavors of the season!