Hey for Beth and anyone else: Glazed Orange Pumpkin Bundt Cake

[ljt2r]

This one is tried and true, I used to make it with a hot orange syrup but this time I did a glaze. I am having trouble getting very enthusiastic about pumpkin baked goods this year, I think I am just tired of them. The texture of this one is especially nice though, from the whipped egg whites.

Pics through link in title.

Glazed Orange Pumpkin Bundt Cake
Closely adapted from Regan Daley, In The Sweet Kitchen*

For the cake:
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
2 T orange zest (I used zest of 1 orange plus some orange oil)
3 egg yolks
5 egg whites
1 cup pumpkin puree (canned is fine; do not use pumpkin pie filling)
1 1/2 cups AP flour, fluffed, scooped and leveled
1/2 cup cake flour, fluffed, scooped and leveled
2 t baking powder
1/4 t salt

For the glaze:
juice of one large orange
1 T fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Grease a 9 or 10 inch bundt pan–this cake domes nicely, so one thing I learned is that a tube pan might have been nicer (so that it did not have to be turned upside down).

Whisk together the flours, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

Cream the butter and orange zest (or oil) until fluffy. Slowly add the sugar, creaming until light and fluffy again. Add the egg yolks, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Be sure to scrape down the sides of the pan as needed. Beat in the pumpkin puree.

Gently stir the dry ingredients into the wet, in 3-4 additions. Set aside.

Whip the egg whites until they hold soft peaks. Fold 1/4 of them into the cake batter. Then gently fold the remaining egg whites into the cake batter. Scrape into the prepared pan and smooth the top.

Bake for 50-60 minutes, or until a tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean and the sides of the cake are pulling away from the sides of the pan. Let cool for 10 minutes.

Invert the cake onto parchment paper on a cooling rack. Flip a second time if you are using a tube shaped pan, but leave upside down if you used a bundt pan. Let cool completely before glazing.

Whisk the glaze ingredients together. Place wax paper under the bundt cake and cooling rack (remove the parchment paper but leave the cake on the cooling rack). Pour the glaze over the cake–when it stops dripping, place a new piece of wax paper under the cake and squeeze the dripped glaze out of the wax paper onto the cake in a second layer. Repeat until you are happy with the cake or have used up the glaze. Let the glaze set before slicing.

[1grl1by]

This sounds great. I need to bring a dessert to a pot luck this weekend, and I think this will be perfect.

[LaurenP]

How did you make the Hot Orange syrup? Sounds good to me

[Beth]

I, on the other hand, have been craving pumpkin. Maybe it is the spices you are tired of -- I notice this one doesn't have any, just pumpkin and orange. Interesting.

I am baking cookies for a care package and a hospitality room today, but the time seems right to start baking with pumpkin here. More of my pumpkin has gone into soup, so I'm ready for some fall baking. The lack of the traditional pumpkin spices, plus orange and added egg whites sounds interesting. Do you have a preference between the syrup and the glaze?

ETA: Are you bored with the spice combination that typically accompanies pumpkin (this one doesn't have that)? Are you using canned pumpkin in everything? My fresh pumpkin puree tends to be a bit wetter than canned, but I cooked a Cinderella and a Fairytale pumpkin last year. They were so good -- brighter color and such flavor! My lab was in the kitchen begging for any leftovers and hoping I would spill (she got some). Maybe you need some variety in your pumpkin. Makes beautiful soup too.

[ljt2r]

It was canned pumpkin. And actually the spices sound better to me lol but I figured everyone and their brother would have a spiced pumpkin cake.

The syrup is what Regan Daley called for with the cake, served additionally with vanilla yogurt (for breakfast) or whipped cream (for dessert). It is less sweet and more orange, maybe 1/2 cup granulated sugar in the orange juice, no lemon juice. But on the other hand, I really love the texture of a glaze on bundt cakes, that crispy donut like feel.