Author Notes
So it's probably a cliche, but for a dinner party the night after Halloween, I wanted to make a cake with pumpkin. I was inspired by a Bundt cake on the King Arthur website that had an espresso glaze, and made some changes including using chocolate instead of coffee, and making a spicy ganache to use as frosting. The cake was not too sweet, moist and spicy, and the ganache made it a fancy dessert (which I served with chocolate ice cream). I was thinking that this would make a great Thanksgiving dessert for those who don't like pie. —drbabs
Ingredients
- For the cake
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2 cups pumpkin puree
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3 large eggs, room temperature
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2/3 cup vegetable oil
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3/4 cup brown sugar
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3/4 cup granulated sugar
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1 teaspoon vanilla extract
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3 cups all purpose flour
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2 teaspoons baking powder
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1 teaspoon baking soda
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1 teaspoon cinnamon
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1/2 teaspoon ginger
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1/2 teaspoon fresh ground nutmeg
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1/4 teaspoon clove
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1 teaspoon kosher salt
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-For the filling-
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1/3 cup brown sugar
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1/4 cup cocoa powder (natural or Dutch process is OK)
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1/2 teaspoon vanilla
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pinch of kosher salt
- For the Ganache
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1/2 cup heavy cream
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5 ounces bittersweet chocolate
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1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
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1/4 teaspoon fresh ground nutmeg
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1/4 teaspoon ginger
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pinch of cloves
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pinch of kosher salt
Directions
- For the cake
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Heat oven to 350. Butter or spray a Bundt pan. (I've been using a flour based oil spray. I spray it around the pan, and then use a paper towel to rub it into every crack and crevice in a very thin barely visible layer. The cake pops right out every time.)
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In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, spices, and salt until smooth and uniform in appearance. Set aside.
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In a small bowl, whisk together the brown sugar, cocoa powder, vanilla and salt. Set aside.
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In a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, beat together the pumpkin, oil, brown sugar, granulated sugar, and vanilla extract until well blended Add eggs one at a time till well blended, then beat entire mixture on medium high speed for 2 minutes. Gently fold in the flour mixture till just blended.
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Spoon about 1/3 of the pumpkin cake batter evenly into the bottom of the Bundt pan. Sprinkle half the cocoa mixture on top. Spoon another 1/3 of the cake batter into the pan and sprinkle with the remaining chocolate mixture. Layer the remaining cake batter on top and smooth with an off-set spatula. If there is dry cocoa mixture sitting on top of the batter, gently mix it into the batter with the spatula.
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Bake for 60-70 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow cake to cool in pan for 15 minutes before transferring to cooling rack. Let the cake cool completely, and move it to your serving plate.
- For the Ganache
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Bring the heavy cream to a strong simmer. Remove from heat and whisk in chocolate and spices until smooth. Drizzle the ganache onto the cake till it is covered as much as you like.
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