I’ve been waiting for fall, to introduce this pumpkin bundt cake my Mom used to make. As with many of her desserts, this one was always quite plain in it’s presentation. No glaze or decoration, just CAKE. That is certainly not to take away from the delicious taste, texture, and the smell of fall that it brought to our home as it baked in the oven! The cake itself, was undeniably one of my favorites growing up. The plainer, the better to my Dad! I wanted to share the recipe, and definitely wanted to increase the eye appeal of this amazing cake. My Mom would have loved to see this! I followed the recipe EXACTLY as she wrote it – but for me – it needed a luscious maple glaze, and some chopped pecans to take it over the top, and bring it into the 21st century!
Pumpkin Bundt Cake recipe:
2 3/4 c sugar
3 eggs (separated yolks and whites)
1 c shortening
2 c canned pumpkin puree
3 c flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp allspice
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla
1 c chopped pecans
Glaze:
2 c powdered sugar
3 Tbsp milk
1/4 to 1/2 tsp maple flavoring (taste the icing, then decide how much maple you like)
Preheat oven to 350. Prepare bundt pan by spraying with cooking spray. Set aside.
Beat together in a stand mixer, using a whisk attachment, sugar, egg yolks, shortening, vanilla, and pumpkin. Blend til well mixed.
In another bowl, combine rest of dry ingredients. Stir with a whisk to blend. Pour slowly into pumpkin mixture. Blend between additions.
Whisk remaining egg whites until very light and fluffy, like an egg white cloud! Fold egg whites gently into the batter, til well blended. Fold in chopped pecans.
Pour mixture into prepared bundt pan.
Bake at 350 for 1 hour. Start checking for doneness at 50 min – using a thin wooden skewer inserted into center of the cake. It will come out clean when done. Remove from oven immediately when done. Don’t over-bake. Cool in pan for about 20 min – then turn cake out onto a plate, or cooling rack to cool completely.
Prepare glaze. Combine all 3 glaze ingredients into a med bowl, and stir to combine. Add more or less milk, depending on how thin or thick you want the glaze. Drizzle over the cooled cake. Top with additional chopped pecans.
This cake can be kept in the frig for 1 week, covered. I like to finish it within 3 days, left at room temp. The texture is the best at room temp. You can also take the cake out of the frig for about 30 min, then serve. Yes, you can turn this recipe into muffins as well! Enjoy this fall favorite!
