All-in-One Holiday Bundt Cake

All-in-One Holiday Bundt Cake
Rikki Snyder for The New York Times
Total Time
1½ hours, plus cooling
Rating
5(770)
Comments
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This holiday recipe comes from the baking expert Dorie Greenspan. She calls it "all-in-one" because it includes elements from both Thanksgiving and Christmas: pumpkin, nutmeg, cranberries and ginger. It's really the perfect dessert for either feast, or any occasion in between. If you like, half a cup of bittersweet chocolate chips make an unexpected but delicious addition. —Julia Moskin

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Ingredients

Yield:12 or more servings
  • sticks (10 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus more for the pan
  • 2cups all-purpose flour
  • 2teaspoons baking powder
  • ½teaspoon baking soda
  • 2teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • ¼teaspoon grated nutmeg
  • Pinch salt
  • teaspoons grated fresh ginger (or 1 teaspoon ginger powder)
  • 1cup granulated sugar
  • ½cup packed light brown sugar
  • 2large eggs, at room temperature
  • 1teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • cups canned unsweetened pumpkin purée
  • 1large apple, peeled, cored and finely chopped
  • 1cup cranberries, halved or coarsely chopped
  • 1cup pecans, coarsely chopped
  • Maple icing (optional; see Note)
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (12 servings)

360 calories; 17 grams fat; 7 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 7 grams monounsaturated fat; 3 grams polyunsaturated fat; 49 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams dietary fiber; 29 grams sugars; 5 grams protein; 143 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Heat oven to 350 degrees with a rack in the center. Butter a 9- to 10-inch (12-cup) Bundt pan.

  2. Step 2

    Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and ginger powder, if you’re using it instead of the grated ginger.

  3. Step 3

    Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat together the remaining butter and both sugars at medium speed until light and fluffy, 2 or 3 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, and beat for 1 minute after each addition. Beat in the vanilla.

  4. Step 4

    Reduce the speed to low and add the pumpkin, apple and grated ginger, if using it. Don’t be concerned if the batter looks curdled. Add the dry ingredients, mixing only until they are incorporated. With a rubber spatula, stir in the cranberries and pecans. Scrape the batter into the pan and smooth the top.

  5. Step 5

    Bake directly on the oven rack for 60 to 70 minutes, or until a thin knife inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Transfer to a rack and cool for 10 minutes before unmolding, then cool to room temperature on the rack. Serve in thick slices.

Tips
  • For maple icing, sift 6 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar into a bowl. Stir in 2 tablespoons maple syrup. Add syrup little by little, until you have an icing that runs nicely off the tip of the spoon. Put the cooled cake on wax paper and drizzle the icing from the tip of the spoon over it. Let the icing set for a few minutes.
  • Wrapped well, the cake will keep at room temperature for up to 5 days, at which point it’s good for toasting; or freeze for up to 2 months.

Ratings

5 out of 5
770 user ratings
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Comments

Definitely use raw, fresh cranberries, and I happened to have a quarter of a bag of dark chocolate Ghiradelli chips left over from another recipe so I threw those in too. The tart cranberries and the chocolate together is delicious. My bundt pan is teflon, but I still buttered as directed and had no problem with sticking.

I buttered the heck out of my bundt pan (and floured it) - no stick. Had frozen cranberries that I chopped up, and minced crystallized ginger. I decreased the white sugar to 3/4 C and might go to 2/3 C next time. Love the idea of bittersweet choc that someone else did. I'll be sure to make again.

Baking directly on the oven rack (no tray under the pan) allows for the flow of hot air through the tube avoiding undercooked cake around the ring

My first Bundt that didn’t stick! Really tasty but agree with another comment that the ingredients make for a slightly chunky consistency. Agree with adding more cranberries. I also added a cup of choc chips. For high altitude (Denver) I added about 1/8 C flour and probably should have added a little more pumpkin puree. Lowered white sugar a bit as well. This would be great as Christmas morning muffins. Will give that a try next year.

I made these as 12 individual mini bundt cakes and they were perfect. Added the chocolate chips as suggested. Bake time was 30 minutes.

I've been making this tender and delicious cake from Dorie Greenspan's "Baking: From My Home to Yours" for years. It is always well received, with or without the maple icing. This year I made 6 Bundt-lettes (1-cup individual cakes in a single Nordic Ware pan), which I gave to service people along with cookies, nuts, and candy, and a pan of mini-Bundts (even smaller), which went onto cookie plates for others. You just have to prep the pans properly and adjust baking time appropriately.

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Credits

Adapted from "Baking With Dorie" by Dorie Greenspan (CulinApp, 2011)

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