Pumpkin Cake

I made this last week for welcome breakfast we had for my department director who was coming back from medical leave. She had ovarian cancer and had been on chemo for the past 6 months. She looks great now (even though she lost all her hair, she’s jazzing it up with fancy bandanas). She has a very positive attitude and I think that is what made her fight cancer successfully. So to celebrate her return all of us brought goodies for breakfast.

I made this pumpkin bundt cake from vegetarian times magazine. It’s a little healthy with whole wheat flour and soy milk, but not so healthy with butter. But why to count calories and fat when you are celebrating. This is the exact recipe from Vegetarian times.

Ingredients:
All-purpose flour – 2 cups
Whole wheat flour – 1 cup
Baking powder – 2tsp
Baking Soda- 1 tsp
Salt – ¼ tsp
Ground Cinnamon – 4tsp (I used only 2.5tsp)
Ground Nutmeg – 1 tsp
Canned Pumpkin puree – 1 cup
Buttermilk – 1cup (I used soy milk instead)
Oil – ½ cup (I used melted butter)
Vanilla essence – 2tbsp
Eggs- 2
Sugar – ½ cup
Brown Sugar – 1 cup

Orange Glaze:
Orange juice – 2tbsp
Confectioner’s sugar – 1cup
Vanilla essence – ½ tsp

Method:

• Pre-heat oven to 350°F. Grease a bundt pan (I used 9”x11” baking pan instead).
• In a bowl, mix flours, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg.
  
• In a small bowl, mix pumpkin puree, buttermilk, oil and vanilla essence.
  
• In a large bowl, beat eggs and sugars till the mixture turns light and thick, about 3-5 minutes.
  
• With a rubber spatula, alternatively fold in flour and pumpkin mixtures, making 3 flour additions and 2 pumpkin additions.
• Pour into prepared pan and bake for 35-45 minutes or until the cake springs back when touched and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Remove onto a wire rack to completely cool.
  
• For the glaze: Sift confectioners’ sugar into medium bowl. Add vanilla and 1 tablespoon orange juice; whisk to blend. Gradually add just enough additional orange juice until glaze is smooth and thick yet pourable. Slowly spoon glaze over cake, letting it drip down sides. Glaze was so yummy; I was licking the bowl like a little kid. Hehehehe.