Tuesday, November 10, 2009

TWD: All-in-One Holiday Bundt Cake



I really need a new bundt pan. First, my devil's food cake got stuck, and now this one... The cake came out came out of the pan easily, but it was so ugly! The ridges on my bundt pan aren't very deep, and it gave me a cake that just looked lumpy. I was going to get a new pan and then bake this cake again for next week, which would mean I would have had to wake up early this morning to make, bake and shoot the molasses cookies before work. Well, thinking a little harder about this plan, it didn't seem very sound. I realized I could just slice my bundt and shoot the slices, and that seemed much easier so I went with it.

Unfortunately, it is a dark and rainy morning here in Asheville...

I made this cake yesterday to take to a family lunch. I didn't make too many changes; I didn't have 1 1/4 cups of pumpkin puree in the can I had opened, so I added some mashed banana to make up the difference - it was less than 1 banana, and the flavor didn't come through, which is what I was hoping for. I used 2 medium sized apples, and I used palm sugar instead of refined & brown. I actually didn't have enough palm sugar, either, so I just used what I had - which was a little less than a cup. The cake was plenty sweet.

I was a little nervous about this one when I read the recipe, it just seemed like too many things thrown in together. However, it worked really well. It was a moist, spicy cake, and I loved all of the add-ins. The cake had so many different textures from the pecans, cranberries and apples making it very satisfying to eat.

The pumpkin flavor was not terribly dominant, though that was probably because I used less than a cup of it. I actually liked it that way. It was more of a background hint of pumpkin.

Thanks to Britin of The Nitty Britty for picking this recipe. We're allowed to bake & post all TWD selections out of order this week, so Britin won't have the recipe posted on her blog until later this month.




16 comments:

  1. Beautiful colors! I love the subs you made. I bet it tasted great with the banana and less sugar. Lovely.

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  2. I need a new bundt pan as well as everything sticks in mine, too. Your cake looks so great with all the little goodies peeking out...I think that slice was supposed to be for me!

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  3. It looks beautiful! Mine stuck too, I also need a new bundt pan :) I made mine last week and did the cookies this week. So good!

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  4. Your cake looks just great. I thought there would be too many flavors going on too, but in the end it was very tasty.

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  5. All those chunks of fruit and nut make that a beautiful bundt. I like the denseness of it. Good to know about the bananas.

    I subbed out some white for WWF and was pleased with the flavor. Another keeper.

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  6. I think your photo is moody in a wonderful autumnal way. When I opened your page I thought "sigh, she is such a great photographer, I'll never get a shot like that..." - really!! I was worried that the cake would be a hodge-podge, but ended up liking it a lot (although I can't say I made it "exactly as written" either!)

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  7. It looks wonderful. I bought a nonstick nordic ware bundt pan and have had no sticking issues. I would recommend it. It also came with a little bundt carrying case. I think I got it at Bed Bath & Beyond or Macys. I thought this cake was super tasty and even with the full amount of pumpkin it wasn't super pumpkiny.

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  8. I think the cake looks so pretty. The cranberries and the nuts are so vibrant in the cake. Nice job!

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  9. This cake really is beautiful - so colorful! I was also a bit worried when I saw this recipe and how much "stuff" was in the cake so I'm glad it worked out. I'm going to save this one for Thanksgiving I think - hopefully the family will like it!

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  10. Working can be such a bother when you are trying to cook and take pictures. I was also concerned about the kitchen sink that seemed to be thrown into this recipe but it worked.

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  11. I'll go bundt pan shopping with you. Mine doesn't stick, but it's an intricate design and very deep, I find myself wishing I just had a traditional bundt pan.
    Your cake look lovely -- the bits of cranberry scattered about are so pretty.

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  12. Ya know you said it wasn't especially bright light but I kinda like your low light photos. Your slice is loaded with yumminess. I really need to try some different kinds of sweeteners. Just not sure how the measurements relate. I'll have to figure that out. I'm looking forward to making this.
    AmyRuth

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  13. The cake looks fantastic, I'm glad you enjoyed it. I have the Nordic Ware Anniversary Bundt pan and also one of their smaller pans for halvsies, neither of which have ever had a problem sticking. I definitely recommend that brand.

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  14. looks great- I can't wait to make this one!

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  15. Sarah, it looks delicious! Love that you used banana-what a great idea. I second margot's recommendation on the Nordic Anniversary pan. This was the first cake I made using that pan--was perfect--no sticking issues.

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  16. You cake looks great--I like how the slices show off all the stuff inside. I'm looking forward to making this one. I'm glad to know that all the flavors work well together. I was a bit worried about that too.

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