PUMPKIN AND CORNMEAL CAKE WITH ORANGE SYRUP

Pumpkin And Cornmeal Cake With Orange Syrup image

From a cookbook.

Provided by Chrystal Cackler @journeyrock92

Categories Cakes

Number Of Ingredients 17

Ingredients

FOR THE CAKE
1 cup(s) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup(s) sugar
1 tablespoon(s) finely grated orange zest
1 - egg
2 - eggs, separated
1 cup(s) canned pure solid pack pumpkin
1 teaspoon(s) vanilla
1 1/2 cup(s) all purpose flour
2 teaspoon(s) baking powder
1/4 teaspoon(s) salt
1/2 cup(s) fine ground yellow cornmeal (not coarse)
- powdered sugar, for garnish (optional)
FOR THE SYRUP AND FOR SERVING
1/2 cup(s) fresh orange juice
1/2 cup(s) sugar
- vanilla yogurt or vanilla ice cream (optional)

Steps:

Make the cake: Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 350. Butter a 9 inch Bundt pan. In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or in a large bowl, using a handheld mixer), beat the butter, sugar, and orange zest until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. One at a time, add the egg and egg yolks (reserve the whites), beating well and scraping the sides of the bowl after each addition. Beat in the pumpkin and vanilla.
Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt; stir in the cornmeal. Add this mixture to the pumpkin batter in three stages, stirring gently but thoroughly with a rubber spatula after each addition; don't overwork the batter. In a clean bowl with a clean whisk or handheld mixer, whip the reserved egg whites until they hold soft peaks. Gently fold the whites into the batter with the spatula until you no longer see streaks of white.
Scrape the batter into the prepared pan; smooth the surface. Bake until the top of the cake is springy when lightly touched, the sides are beginning to pull away from the pan, and a wooden skewer inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, 40-50 minutes. Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes and then invert the cake onto a wire rack to cool completely. Dust the cake with powdered sugar, if you like.
Make the syrup and serve: In a small saucepan over low heat, combine the orange juice and sugar, stirring until the sugar has dissolved. Increase the heat to medium high. Boil without stirring for 2 minutes. (If you make the syrup ahead, be sure to warm it gently before serving.) Serve each slice of cake drizzled with syrup and, if you like, accompanied by a scoop of vanilla yogurt or vanilla ice cream.