Sunday, February 28, 2010

All-In-One Holiday Bundt Cake


As I'm sure many of you know, I cannot say enough good things about Dorie Greenspan's Baking: From My Home To Yours. A recent favourite of mine from her cookbook is the all-in-one holiday bundt cake - spices, pumpkin, apple, cranberry and pecans. I wasn't sure how they would all work together, but trusted Dorie and of course it was delicious. The cake is so yummy, moist, and flavourful. I've made it a couple of times and would say that adults love it, but kids/teenagers might not feel the same - maybe it's the spice and/or the lack of chocolate? I know I'll be making this cake many more times, and I want to try modifying it a bit to make it healthier so I can eat it more often.


If this sounds good, you might also like:
Orange Chocolate Chunk Cake
Cinnamon Swirl Buttermilk Pound Cake
Maple-Walnut Cake
Plum Sour Cream Kuchen

All-In-One Holiday Bundt Cake
Adapted from Baking: From My Home To Yours

1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp cloves
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp ground ginger
1 1/4 sticks (10 tbsp) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup (packed) light brown sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups canned unsweetened pumpkin puree
1 large apple, peeled, cored and finely chopped
3/4 cup dried cranberries
1 cup pecans, coarsely chopped

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350F. Butter a 9 to 10 inch (12 cup) Bundt pan. Don't place the pan on a baking sheet - you want the oven's heat to circulate freely through the Bundt's inner tube.

Whisk together the flours, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, salt, and ground ginger.

Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the butter and both sugars together at medium speed until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, and beat for 1 minute after each addition. Beat int he vanilla. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the pumpkin and chopped apple - don't be concerned if the mixture looks curdled. Still on low speed, add the dry ingredients, mixing only until they are incorporated. With a rubber spatula, stir in the cranberries and pecans. Scrape the batter into the pan and smooth the top with the rubber spatula.

Bake for 60 to 70 minutes (mine took 50 minutes), or until a thin knife inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Transfer the cake to a rack and cool for 10 minutes before unmolding, then cool to room temperature on the rack.

15 comments:

Snooky doodle said...

I love spicy cakes. this looks so nice and tempting :)

Chef Aimee said...

Wow this cake definitely has it all in terms of spices and warmth! Just wonderful!

Katrina said...

We made this one for TWD last fall/winter and I thought it was a GREAT cake! I'm pretty sure I slather mine with cream cheese frosting, which wouldn't help you "healthify" it. ;)

saveur said...

Sounds delicious! :D
Please let us know how your healthier variations turn out. :)

Tia said...

wow - flashbacks to november 2009! we baked this for Tuesdays with Dorie, lol. I loved it too.

grace said...

if only pumpkin weren't involved. other than that, it has everything i could ever want in a bundt cake, all the way down to the spices. lovely!

kimberleyblue said...

Ooh, I really like this cake - I've made it twice so far and will definitely make it again.

It's especially delicious with a maple glaze drizzled all over it...

Teanna said...

I never got to make this when we baked it in December, but I need to put it on my list of things to bake! It looks delicious!

Hannah said...

I'm leery of anything fruit cake-esque, but this sounds like it's got potential... One to remember for future parties!

Homemade Heaven said...

I have never made a Bundt Cake, I am going to have to put in on my list of things to do. Thanks for the recipe, will try it when it cools down a little - still too hot here for baking cakes.

rpggrl said...

This just sounds (and looks) totally delicious. We don't tend to have a lot of bundt cakes over here (I'd never heard of them until Monica talked about them on Friends!) but I can see that the pan would stop that horrible soggy-in-the-middle thing that denser cakes sometimes get.

I wonder how it would be cooked in two smaller, regular pans. I might have to try it!

kickpleat said...

I love spice cakes and always love bundt cakes. Yum!

Steph said...

I really liked this cake too, minus the apples.

Xiaolu @ 6 Bittersweets said...

Oh what a treat! I can understand the sentiment about wanting to make it healthier, but must say that the amount of butter is on the low end for a bundt cake hehe.

Pam Walter said...

This sounds fabulous! It's now in my cookbook and on the list for the next time I need to bake something. http://blog.sweetservices.com/sweetscandyblog/