Yes, the title is a mouthful… But wait till you get a mouthful of this Pumpkin Bundt Cake.
Oh no… Where is it?! My bookmark-saved recipe for the Pumpkin Bundt Cake that I make every Thanksgiving had vanished.
When I find a reaalllyyy irresistible recipe, I bookmark it and add it to my phone’s home screen until I get the time to transcribe it. This hasn’t let me down in the past, but it did this year. I took a deep breath, crossed my fingers, and pulled my recipe book down from the shelf. Had I already written this one down?
As luck would have it, I did! What a relief! But it occurred to me…
Yes, this was a good Pumpkin Bundt Cake. But I could make it the BEST Pumpkin Bundt Cake with some personal tweaks and revisions. It was worth a shot.
Just a Touch
A shot! That’s a good addition… Maybe some Bourbon in the glaze. Just enough to feel a nice, subtle burn, to enhance the other flavors. Not enough to be an issue for Orson and Nova. A little extra brown butter, pecans instead of pepitas, extra spices, and dark brown sugar instead of light…
The original recipe had some great bones, to be sure. That’s why I kept making it year after year. But I like to break from the expected from time to time. I like to take things up a level, to improve upon what’s been done. And with this recipe, I’ve successfully done that.
Everyone agreed. This Thanksgiving, this Pumpkin Bundt Cake was the very best version of it that I’ve made so far. High praise after making it my own.
Lesson Learned
I may not have stuck to the original recipe that I was so desperate to find, but I’m certainly grateful to have found it. I consider this a lesson learned. It’s easy to be complacent with technology. If it exists on the internet now, it will always exist on the internet, right?. Apparently, not so.
Maybe I could’ve started from scratch, created a recipe from the ground up, but I wanted to enhance flavors that I had already grown to love so much.
I say all that to say: take it from me. Don’t just bookmark this recipe. Screenshot it, write it down, whatever you have to do. It is SO GOOD you’re going to want to have a back-up.
Try it, and see for yourself. You’re welcome.
Spiced Pumpkin Bundt Cake with Maple Bourbon Brown Butter Glaze
Equipment
- Stand mixer with Paddle Attachment
- 12-cup Bundt Pan
- Small Sauce Pan
- Whisk
- Medium Mixing Bowls
Ingredients
For the Cake
- 3 cups Unbleached All Purpose Flour
- 2 tsp Baking Powder
- 1 tsp Baking Soda
- 1¼ tsp Kosher Salt
- 2 tsp Ground Cinnamon
- 1½ tsp Ground Cardamom
- ½ tsp Allspice
- ¼ tsp Black Pepper
- 2 cups Dark Brown Sugar
- ½ cup Unsalted Butter Softened
- ½ cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 2 Large Eggs
- ½ cup Sour Cream
- 1 can Pureed Pumpkin (15 oz.)
For the Glaze
- 3 tbsp Unsalted Butter
- 1 tbsp Bourbon Bahnbrecker Slow River Blend
- 1 cup Confectioner's Sugar
- ¼ cup Maple Syrup
- 1 tsp Vanilla Bean Paste
- Pinch of Kosher Salt
- ¼ cup Chopped Pecans
Instructions
Making the Cake
- Preheat oven to 350℉.
- Grease 12-cup Bundt pan. I like to use Baker's Joy for best results.
- Whisk flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, cardamom, allspice, and black pepper in a medium bowl. Set aside.3 cups Unbleached All Purpose Flour, 2 tsp Baking Powder, 1 tsp Baking Soda, 1¼ tsp Kosher Salt, 2 tsp Ground Cinnamon, 1½ tsp Ground Cardamom, ½ tsp Allspice, ¼ tsp Black Pepper
- Using the stand mixer (with paddle attachment), combine brown sugar, butter, and olive oil. Beat on med-high until light and fluffy (about 3 minutes).2 cups Dark Brown Sugar, ½ cup Unsalted Butter, ½ cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- Add eggs, 1 at a time, mixing for 20 seconds between each egg until well incorporated into cake batter.2 Large Eggs
- Add pumpkin puree and sour cream. Mix until well combined. Scrape sides and bottom of bowl as necessary.½ cup Sour Cream, 1 can Pureed Pumpkin
- Add dry ingredients and mix.
- Pour batter into Bundt pan, smooth the top with a spatula, and firmly tap the pan on the countertop a few times to release any large air bubbles.
- Bake cake until golden and puffed, about 60 minutes. When checking doneness, listen for bubbling. I used an internal thermometer to check doneness, and pulled the cake from the oven when it read 200℉. Anywhere between 200-210℉ is ideal.
- Set cake, still in pan, on a cooling rack for 20 minutes. Then release the cake out the Bundt pan to finish cooling before glazing. If you try to glaze too soon, it will all melt off.
Making the Glaze
- Melt butter in a small sauce pan over medium heat. Cook the butter, occasionally scraping the sides and bottom of your pan with a rubber spatula, until it turns deep golden brown and smells nutty.Caution: It can burn SO FAST if you aren't paying attention. You want to take it just to the brink for the most flavor.3 tbsp Unsalted Butter
- Transfer the browned butter to a medium, heat-safe mixing bowl. Add the bourbon and allow to cool slightly. Whisk in confectioner's sugar, maple syrup, vanilla bean paste, and pinch of salt until smooth. Glaze should be thick, but pourable. Add a splash of milk if necessary to thin glaze out.1 tbsp Bourbon, 1 cup Confectioner's Sugar, ¼ cup Maple Syrup, 1 tsp Vanilla Bean Paste, Pinch of Kosher Salt
- Move cooled Bundt to a serving platter, pour the glaze evenly over the top, and sprinkle with chopped pecans before glaze fully sets.¼ cup Chopped Pecans
- Enjoy!
