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Now that it almost October, I’m starting to go pumpkin crazy again. This month’s issue of Fine Cooking features Holiday Pumpkin Desserts on the cover, and I was inspired by a Bundt cake featured inside. I adapted this recipe from that one, pumping up the spice a bit and making other little tweaks. The result is a moist flavorful pumpkin cake that was a hit at the church coffee hour this morning. Bundt cakes are so rewarding because they always come out looking great and aren’t that difficult to pull off. Powdered sugar is the perfect finish and a lot easier than frosting!
The filling includes crystallized ginger mixed in with the cream cheese and sour cream. Don’t skip it. It makes it have real zing. To finely chop it, I just dumped it in this MiniPrep:
And to grind the nutmeg, I used a microplane grater, like this one:
- 12 oz. cream cheese, softened (1.5 packages of Philadelphia)
- ½ cup sour cream
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ tsp. ground ginger
- ¼ tsp. salt
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
- ½ cup finely chopped crystallized ginger (I used a Cuisinart Mini Prep to chop mine)
- 2¼ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp. salt
- 2 tsp. baking powder
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 1 Tbsp. ground ginger
- 1 Tbsp. ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp. freshl ground nutmeg (I use a microplane grater)
- ½ tsp. ground cloves
- 1 15-oz. can pure pumpkin purée
- 1½ cups granulated sugar
- ¾ cup vegetable oil
- 4 large eggs
- 2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
- Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting
- For the cream cheese filling:
- In a stand mixer beat the cream cheese, sour cream, sugar, ginger, and salt on medium speed until well combined.
- Add each egg, one at a time, beating after each addition until mixed thoroughly.
- Chop the crystallized ginger in a Cuisinart MiniPrep. It will glom together because it's sticky, but don't worry. Once added to the cream cheese mixture, it will distribute.
- Add the vanilla and the crystallized ginger to the cream cheese mixture and blend. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.
- For the cake:
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray a Bundt pan generously with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a separate bowl, mix the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves.
- In the bowl of the stand mixer, blend the pumpkin, sugar, oil, eggs, and vanilla until smooth.
- Add the ⅓ of the dry ingredients, and whisk until well blended. Then add another third and blend and repeat.
- Fill the prepared Bundt pan with about half of the cake batter.
- Stir the filling to distribute the chopped ginger.
- Create a trough in the batter with the back of a large spoon and then try to pour the cream cheese filling into the trough. Don't worry if it spills over.
- Spoon the remaining batter on top and spread to evenly over the top.
- Bake until a sharp knife inserted to the bottom comes out clean, about 50 to 60 minutes.
- Cool on a rack for 10 to 15 minutes and then invert onto a serving plate and remove the cake pan.
- Cool completely.
- You can refrigerate the plastic-wrap covered cake for up to 2 days.
- When ready to serve, dust the cake with confectioners’ sugar.
and the other was a pre-packaged brownie mix batter to which I added an extra egg. The extra egg in the brownie batter made it light enough to co-exist with cake batter in a cupcake. I spooned the golden batter into the cups first then added a large dollop of chocolate brownie batter. Then I simply swirled a knife through with a circular and upwards motion. Once baked and cooled, I iced them with a basic butter cream frosting and added some sprinkles. I don’t have any cake decorating tools, so my icing job looks pretty amateur (at best), but I’m learning. 
