PORTERFIELD PUMPKIN BUNDT WITH SNOW WHITE GLAZE

Porterfield Pumpkin Bundt With Snow White Glaze image

Pumpkin and oil keep this cake fresh even in high, dry mountain air. Topped with a white icing glaze and walnuts, it makes a gala presentation, and at every altitude it won high praise from taste-testers of all ages.

Provided by Susan G. Purdy

Categories Dessert Fall Cake Pumpkin Milk/Cream Dairy Egg Vegetable Bake Squash Winter Kidney Friendly Vegetarian Pescatarian Peanut Free Soy Free Kosher

Yield Makes one 10-inch Bundt or tube cake; serves 10 to 14

Number Of Ingredients 27

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Ingredients

Pumpkin bundt:
3⅓ cups sifted all-purpose flour
1½ teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
¾ teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1½ teaspoons ground nutmeg
¾ teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon ground allspice or mace
⅛ teaspoon ground cloves
1½ cups granulated sugar
1¼ cups dark brown sugar, packed
1 cup canola or light olive oil
5 large eggs, at room temperature
2 cups canned unsweetened pumpkin
⅔ cup orange juice or milk (or buttermilk if using)
Glaze:
1½ cups sifted confectioners' sugar
2 tablespoons honey
Scant pinch of salt
2 to 3 drops fresh lemon juice
¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
2 to 3 tablespoons milk or cream, or as needed
Garnish:
¼ cups chopped walnuts, optional
Special Equipment
A 9½- to 10-inch (10- to 12-cup) Bundt or plain tube pan; baking parchment, wax paper, or aluminum foil; sifter; foil-covered 10-inch cardboard cake disk or flat plate; wooden skewer or cake tester

Steps:

Pan preparation:
Generously coat the pan with butter-flavor nonstick vegetable spray or solid shortening, dust with flour, and tap out the excess flour.
Make pumpkin bundt:
Position rack in lower third of oven. Preheat oven to 350°F.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the sifted flour, baking powder (if using), baking soda, salt and spices. Set aside.
Add the granulated sugar to the large bowl of an electric mixer and crumble in the dark brown sugar, breaking up any clumps with your fingers. Add the oil and 2 eggs and beat until blended, then beat in the remaining eggs and the pumpkin. Scrape down the bowl and beater.
With the mixer on the lowest speed, alternately add the juice or milk (or buttermilk if using) and the dry ingredients. When everything is blended, scrape down the bowl, then beat a few seconds longer until the batter is smooth and creamy.
Scoop the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 65 to 70 minutes (or for the time indicated for your altitude in the chart) or until the cake has risen, is springy to the touch and is cracked on top, and a cake tester inserted in the center comes out dry. Cool the cake in its pan on a rack for 20 to 25 minutes.
Slide a knife around the pan sides and the top of the tube to release the cake. Top the cake with a foil-covered cardboard cake disk or a flat plate, invert, and lift off the pan. Peel off the paper, if you used it. Cool the cake completely.
Make glaze:
Once the cake has cooled, whisk together all the ingredients for the glaze until smooth and creamy. Add a drop more of milk if necessary. The glaze should have a soft, just slightly runny (but not liquefied) consistency. Spread the glaze on the top of the cake, letting it drip down the sides. While the glaze is still soft, sprinkle on the nuts, if desired. The glaze hardens as it dries.
Cooks' Note
Quantities for the glaze remain the same at all altitudes, but if you are baking the cake at high elevation, follow the adjustments below.
If baking at 3,000 feet:
Increase flour to 3⅓ cups plus 1 tablespoon. Omit baking powder. Increase baking soda to 2 teaspoons minus ⅛ teaspoon. Increase salt to 1 teaspoon. Decrease cinnamon to 1½ teaspoons. Decrease nutmeg to 1 teaspoon. Decrease allspice or mace to ¼ teaspoon. Decrease granulated sugar to 1⅓ cups. Decrease brown sugar to 1 cup. Increase to 6 large eggs. Replace orange juice with ¾ cup buttermilk. Place rack in lower third of oven; bake at 375°F for 55 to 57 minutes.
If baking at 5,000 feet:
Increase flour to 3⅓ cups plus 2 tablespoons. Omit baking powder. Increase baking soda to 1¾ teaspoons. Increase salt to 1 teaspoon. Decrease cinnamon to 1½ teaspoons. Decrease nutmeg to 1 teaspoon. Decrease allspice or mace to ¼ teaspoon. Decrease granulated sugar to 1⅓ cups. Decrease brown sugar to 1 cup. Increase to 6 large eggs. Replace orange juice with 1 cup minus 2 tablespoons buttermilk. Place rack in lower third of oven; bake at 375°F for 50 to 55 minutes.
If baking at 7,000 feet:
Increase flour to 3½. Omit baking powder. Increase baking soda to 1½ teaspoons. Increase salt to 1 teaspoon. Decrease cinnamon to 1½ teaspoons. Decrease nutmeg to 1 teaspoon. Decrease allspice or mace to ¼ teaspoon. Decrease granulated sugar to 1⅓ cups. Decrease brown sugar to 1 cup. Increase to 6 large eggs. Replace orange juice with 1 cup buttermilk. Place rack in lower third of oven; bake at 375°F for 65 to 70 minutes.
If baking at 10,000 feet:
Increase flour to 3½ plus 1 tablespoon. Omit baking powder. Increase baking soda to 1⅛ teaspoons. Increase salt to 1 teaspoon. Increase cinnamon to 2½ teaspoons. Increase nutmeg to 2 teaspoons. Increase ground ginger to 2 teaspoons. Decrease allspice or mace to 1 teaspoon. Decrease cloves to ¼ teaspoon. Decrease granulated sugar to 1¼ cups. Decrease brown sugar to 1 cup. Decrease oil to ¾ cup. Increase to 6 large eggs. Replace orange juice with 1 cup minus 2 tablespoons buttermilk. Place rack in lower third of oven; bake at 375°F for 60 to 63 minutes.