Pumpkin Bundt Cake

Since most people know that I love to bake I've become some sort of clearinghouse for their unused/unwanted bakeware type stuff. While cleaning the garage the other day I came across a bundt pan that I didn't know I had. It seems like a nice quality pan, heavy with a nonstick finish and a simple but pretty design.

Funny, I've often thought it would be nice to have one!

Well of course after finding the pan I was dying to bake something in it and this being fall it was a given that it would be something pumpkin. I searched around a little bit and found a recipe but the pan sat on the counter for a few days before I finally got to it.

Since I didn't go to Tae Kwon Do tonight (shin splints, ouch!) I took the opportunity to bake one up and bless my sweet husband. The whole family loved it judging by all the "mmmmmm's" going on around the table. And the bonus was, my house smells great!

Here's the recipe in case you want to give it a try. If you don't have a bundt pan you can do the recipe in a 9x13 but you will need to reduce the baking time quite a bit. I would start checking at about 20-25 minutes depending on how hot your oven runs. The recipe is for a 12 cup bundt pan. A 9x13 pan will hold 14 and a 9x9 pan will hold ten. The other option is two 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 x 2 1/2 loaf pans. They each hold six cups so you will get two loaves.

Pumpkin Bundt Cake
3 large eggs
1 15-oz can pumpkin (not pie filling)
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup water
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/4 cups sugar
1 1/4 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp allspice
1 cup raisins*
1/2 - 1 cup chopped toasted nuts*

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour or spray a Bundt pan.

In a large bowl, whisk together the 3 eggs,pumpkin, oil and water until smooth.

Add flour, sugar, salt, baking soda and spices. Mix well. Stir in raisins and nuts, if using.

Pour into pan, bake 65 - 75 minutes or until a cake tester inserted near the center comes out clean. Let cool on a rack for 10 minutes. Remove from pan, let cool completely.

Dust with powdered sugar before serving.

*Now you know I always toast the nuts before I put them into anything! You don't have to but it's my preference. I skipped the raisins but you may like them. (Another little tip for you; when you're using raisins in a recipe soak them in the egg mixture for about an hour before you mix up your batter. This makes the raisins beautifully soft in your baked item. Once you try this you will never make an oatmeal cookie without soaking the raisins first! )

I actually made a powdered sugar glaze but I stirred in about 1/3 cup melted cinnamon chips. I found it got a bit coagulated because the glaze cooled the cinnamon chips before it could come together. Since I have my handy, dandy Vitamix blender I threw it in there and it was smooth as silk when it was done. I poured it right out of the blender onto the cake. Mmmmmmm....

Everybody was Kungfu Fighting...

Okay, so they're not KungFu, they're actually TaeKwonDo cookies. Or TaeKwoncookies as my kids were calling them. Baking is like therapy for me and I needed some but I didn't want to eat them all so we took them to our TaeKwonDo class tonight. They were very appreciated. :D In fact, our teacher said they were the coolest cookies he's ever seen (and he didn't kill me with the workout so buttering him up seemed to work! lol)

I went online and found two pictures I liked of guys doing TKD and printed them out. Then Jon shaped copper ribbon using two nails pounded into a board. He used the pictures as his guide (and did a fabulous job I must say! :D ) You can't see it because I've only posted two pictures but I did some with a yellow belt, some blue, some brown and some black. I skipped purple because no one in our class has a purple belt at the moment but all the other colors are represented. Mines a boring old white belt since I've just started but at least I got to eat a cookie without guilt!

Who would like a cookie?

Well, since I love baking so much (it's kind of like therapy for me) this blog will probably be more than just cake. Here is a recipe for my favorite fall cookies. They are the first pumpking cookie I've actually liked. I wish I didn't like them so much because cookie therapy is very expensive for your waistline!

Harvest Pumpkin Cookies

Pumpkin cookies with toasted walnuts and white chocolate

2 cups flour

1 cup sugar

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp allspice

1 cup butter, softened

1 cup canned pumpkin

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup toasted walnuts*

1 cup white chocolate chips

*I toast my walnuts in a cast iron pan on my stovetop. It's not necessary to toast the nuts first but the flavor is so exceptional that I take the time to do the extra step. If you toast them first they will cool by the time you're ready to add them. *

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Sift flour, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, salt and allspice together in a large bowl; set aside. In a mixing bowl cream together butter and sugar on medium speed until fluffy. Add the egg, pumpkin and vanilla and continue beating until creamy. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the pumpkin mixture and beat on medium until all ingredients are incorporated. Stir in walnuts and chips.

Drop by teaspoonfuls onto a cookie sheet spaced about 2" apart. Bake for 10-12 minutes and allow to cool on the cookie sheet for one minute before removing.

I really like spicy cookies so I always add a bit extra cinnamon and allspice. I also use a heavy hand on the chips and nuts because I like a lot of texture to my cookies. These are also good made with whole wheat flour. A variation is toasted pecans with dried cranberries.

Happy Birthday Cora!!

Well as usual I got to make Cora's birthday cake and as usual she wanted a chocolate cake with raspberry filling. Her cake was Chocolate with raspberry moistening syrup, bittersweet chocolate ganache, raspberry preserves and milk chocolate IMBC frosting.


Being that this is Cora a flowery, girly cake just wasn't going to do. Since she's such a baseball fanatic I decided to go with a baseball theme. Especially since the season is almost over and she'll be in mourning (well, at least until she puts the football game on! :) )


Here's her cake: Play Ball!

Hawley-Cox Wedding Cake

I finished the last one for this summer! This one is very similar to the very first cake I did and I still like it! :) Chocolate cake with white chocolate filling and creme de cocoa flavored moistening syrup.

Karissa's Cake

Well, here's the latest. Krystina did the flowers and they were gorgeous! (I just stuck them on the cake.) Buttercream frosting with fondant accents. This thing took forever and I almost decided I was done with making cakes! Of course I couldn't quit because I have another one at the end of the month but the thought did cross my mind! :D

Cake Flavors

This is going to be a running list of cake flavor combinations. I'm going to add to it as I do different combo's and I'll try to keep it somewhere near the top (in case you care!) :)

I will list them out as cake flavor/syrup (this is a flavored moistening syrup)/filling/frosting

If there are other things going on (more than one flavor of frosting for example) I will explain that too. This is for my own info because my brain won't keep all of this stuff for very long. If you want to know what the acronyms mean they will be listed at the bottom.

Cakes are typically four layers of cake with three layers of filling (as with the pictured "Carmel Apple Cake" which is number 4 in the list below.) When an item says "Filling layer 1:xxxxx; layer 2:xxxxx" it means that layer 1 is the used on the first and third layer of filling while layer 2 is the middle filling flavor. Confusing? :D Yeah, and a lot of work but it tastes really good!

1. White cake/raspberry syrup/seedless raspberry preserves/basic buttercream

2. Butter pecan cake/peach syrup/sliced nectarines/carmel buttercream

3. Darn Good Chocolate cake (that's the name of the recipe!)/creme de cocoa syrup/bittersweet chocolate ganache topped with seedless raspberry preserves/milk chocolate IMBC

4. White cake/apple cider syrup/Filling layer 1: butterscotch carmel; layer 2: apples sauteed in butter and brown sugar/vanilla buttercream

5. White cake/rum syrup/white chocolate IMBC with toffee pieces/milk chocolate IMBC

6. White cake/creme de cocoa syrup/chocolate IMBC/basic buttercream

7. Yellow cake/strawberry or vanilla syrup/Filling layer 1: buttercream and sliced strawberries; layer 2: vanilla meringue disks/vanilla or strawberry buttercream

8. Chocolate cake/creme de cocoa or Kahlua syrup/bittersweet chocolate ganache/milk or dark chocolate buttercream

9. White cake/creme de cocoa syrup/chocolate mousse filling/basic buttercream

10. White cake/lemon syrup/blackberry preserves/vanilla buttercream


IMBC: Italian Meringue Buttercream (very rich but not very sweet)
MMF: Marshmallow Fondant

***All syrups are non-alcoholic*** The seemingly alcoholic syrups are actually DaVinci's coffee syrups so you don't need to worry about feeding this stuff to your kids! :)

Hexagon

This one I did when we had friends over for dinner. The top tier was chocolate with chocolate filling. The bottom tier was butter pecan cake, peach moistening syrup, sliced nectarines and caramel buttercream for the filling and frosted with caramel buttercream. It was pretty tasty.

I used the hexagon pans because I got a good deal on a lot of cake stuff on Craigslist. I wanted to play with my new pans so I did! :) I decided I need a whole lot more practice on corners though!

Silver Bridal Shower

I was asked to make this one for a bride and groom whose colors were silver and an opaque irridescant color. I had no clue what to do! I did figure something out (obviously) but if I were to do it again I know how to do different effects now that I didn't know then.

It's one of those, "just wishing for someone to ask for it again" things! lol

Bridal Shower Cake

This one tasted sooooo good! It was vanilla cake with rum flavored moistening syrup, white chocolate Italian Meringue buttercream with toffee pieces folded in for the filling and milk chocolate frosting on the sides.

Willow Tree Wedding

This wedding cake was very time consuming but it turned out beautifully. The bride was pleased so "mission accomplished!"

Chocolate cake, creme de cocoa flavored moistening syrup, bittersweet ganache filling. Milk chocolate Italian Meringue butter cream on the sides and dark chocolate on the tops of each tier. The rope around the edges is a combination of the milk and dark chocolates (piped alternately) and those are chocolate truffles around the base of each tier.

Jon (my awesome husband!) made the cake stand specifically for this cake but maybe someday I'll get to use it for another.

Audrey Hepburn Wedding

This is the one that came together in two weeks! The bride's wedding was based around Audrey Hepburn. The cake itself incorporates the colors she used and I tried to mimic the dress Audrey wore in one of her movies. It turned out cute but every time I look at it I think "I should have piped the flowers tighter to the base of the cake." I don't like how spread out they are but you live and learn, right? :)

White cake with raspberry filling and regular buttercream frosting.

First Wedding Cake

This was my very first wedding cake and is probably still my favorite. It was white cake with chocolate filling. I used a buttercream that can stand up to an outdoor July wedding and the heat that would melt a frosting like the Italian Meringue buttercream. (That stuff would have slid right off the cake!)

It was so well recieved that I did the cake for friends of the Bride and Groom two weeks later. They cancelled their original order so they could have my cake. You don't get a better compliment than that! :)

Aloha!

A cake I made for a friend. Chocolate cake, chocolate ganache and raspberry preserve filling, creme de cocoa moistening syrup and Italian Meringue buttercream frosting.

Calvary Dove Cupcakes

I made little royal icing doves for the top of the cupcakes. Vanilla cupcakes with chocolate ganache filling and buttercream frosting.

Independance Day Cake

I needed something to bring to a potluck so I made this. Chocolate cake, creme de cocoa flavored moistening syrup, bittersweet ganache filling and italian meringue buttercream frosting.

Arielle's Birthday Cake

Arielle wanted a big extravagent cake with basket weave and flowers so this is what I came up with. It's vanilla cake with strawberries, buttercream and vanilla moistening syrup on the first and third layer of each cake. The center layers have a vanilla meringue disk and sliced strawberries. Those disks are why it looks a little bit wonky. I tried spreading the meringue out with a spatula and didn't get even layers. The next time I tried it (different cake) I piped it and they came out perfect. Live and learn!

I did get creative with this one because she wanted a three tiered cake but we weren't having 150 people over! I used smaller pans than normal but to get the top tier a small enough size and make it look okay I used very clean tuna fish cans!!

Baby Shower Cake

This was my first stacked cake and I was a nervous wreck driving it to the shower! I did get it there safely and in one piece. I was happy with how it turned out and I got to play with a whole bunch of different techniques with the patch work quilt thing I was going for.

The cake was chocolate with bittersweet ganache filling and creme de cocoa flavored moistening syrup (DaVinci's coffee syrups). The frosting was Italian Meringue buttercream.

More Roses...

I actually did this one first I think in my attempt to learn roses. The heart shaped cake was the second one. I let the kids pick out the color. :)

First Roses and Basket Weave

I missed the class that covered roses so I decided to try them on my own. I thought they turned out okay for a first attempt! The basket weave didn't come out too badly either considering I just followed the instructions in the book.

My Very First Class Cake...

Do I really need to say anything else about it? ;P

First Figure Piping

This was from one of my cake classes where we learned figure piping and I learned that my writing on cakes is terrible! :D I suppose if I were to practice it would get better. Silly little cake but you have to start somewhere!

Spaghetti and Meatballs

These are chocolate cupcakes with little rolled ganache "meatballs." They are rolled in crushed graham crackers. The sauce is red decorating gel and the noodles are just buttercream drizzled over the top. They were cute and silly. :)

Castle Cake

Well, for Josh's 8th birthday we did a "Knight" party. You can read all the details on my other blog if you want to know but for here, this is the cake he just knew I could make! I stayed up until 1:00 AM putting those jelly beans on the "turrets!" I don't have a square cake pan so my layers were a wee bit wonky. At some point I hope to get square pans but for now I had to cut apart a 9x13 cake and it just didn't come out very crisp!

Josh didn't even notice. He thought it was great. Later I put the little red "flags" on those naked toothpicks you see on the turrets. I just didn't think to take another picture of it after I did that. :)

Christmas Cookies

The kids and I did these over Christmas. We do it every year (although sometimes if it's super busy we end up making valentine cookies but we prefer doing Christmas ones!) This is the BEST sugar cookie recipe I've ever made. They're soft and yummy and when you pair them with a good frosting....mmmmmm....I eat way too many! :)

(If you'd like the recipe, e-mail me or post a comment asking for it. I'm happy to share.)

Tinkerbell!

This is the birthday cake I made for Gracie's birthday. She wanted white cake with strawberries so I did strawberry moistening syrup, a layer of buttercream and sliced strawberries on the first and third layers. And I did buttercream with a vanilla meringue disk in the center layer on each cake. They were frosted with vanilla buttercream and decorated along the lines of a cake in a book that she saw. We just changed the colors a little bit. She loved it. :)

BabyCakes!

These were done for my SIL's baby shower. They are chocolate cupcakes with chocolate ganache filling, buttercream frosting and the decorations are all white chocolate fondant. They took hours!!! But they were fun to do.

First Fondant Cake

This is the first fondant covered cake I've done (from my latest cake class)...