Spicy Pumpkin Bundt Cake

This past weekend, I finally broke out the pumpkin. I bought a cute, little sugar pumpkin a few weeks ago, and I had a can of pumpkin puree in the pantry, but I have been forcing myself to leave them on the shelf until Fall was in full swing. Well, this weekend just felt like fall if you ask me! We went to a high school football game on Friday, hung out with good friends for the Husker game and food on Saturday, and went to one of the last farmer's markets in the crisp Sunday morning before church. Yes, fall is officially here.

As I mentioned here, I love everything pumpkin and apple this time of year, and my pumpkin goal for this season is to make a few things that I don't usually. Otherwise, I would just be content to make these pumpkin muffins about every three days (which is about what I did last year). They are amazing, and I highly recommend them.

I love bundt cakes because it's normal if they're lacking a thick covering of frosting. My favorite way to eat cake is just cake. I do like frosting, but few things are better than warm cake fresh from the oven without anything on it.

It's about as good as freshly baked bread. Mmm. Almost.

However, a pumpkin cake just needs a cream cheese frosting. I solved this problem by making frosting, but serving it to the side of the cake. As people dished up a slice, they could put a dollop of the honey cream cheese frosting right on top of their own piece, if they wished. It made me think of scooping whipped cream on slices of pumpkin pie.

Spicy Pumpkin Bundt Cake

For the cake:
4 cups cake flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon ground ginger
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
2 sticks butter, at room temperature
2 1/2 cups brown sugar
4 eggs
1 cup buttermilk
1 1/2 cups canned pumpkin puree
Powdered sugar, for dusting

For the Honey Cream Cheese Frosting:
1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
1/4 cup honey
1/2 cup powdered sugar.

1. For the cake, preheat your oven to 350°. Grease and flour a 14-cup bundt cake pan. Shake out the excess flour and set aside.

2. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices. Whisk them together, then set aside.

3. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and the brown sugar on medium speed with an electric mixer for 2 to 3 minutes, or until the mixture is pale and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

4. With the mixer on low speed, add the flour in three additions, alternating with the buttermilk until just combined. Make sure that each addition is incorporated before adding the next. Do not overmix the batter.
Add the pumpkin puree and fold it into the batter with a large spoon until it is fully incorporated and there are not streaks remaining in the batter. Pour the batter into the prepared.

5. Bake the cake for 50 to 55 minutes, until the cake in golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool in the pan for 20 to 30 minutes, then carefully turn the cake out onto a cooling rack to cool completely. Dust with powdered sugar before serving.

6. To make the frosting, combine all the frosting ingredients in a medium bowl. Beat on medium to medium-high speed for 3 to 5 minutes until very creamy and fluffy. Scoop a small dollop of frosting on each slice of the cake. Enjoy!

Recipe adapted from Martha Stewart.