Pumpkin-Clove Recipe

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I originally baked this cake for a close friend of mine who wanted something special for Thanksgiving. He's the first person I knew who proved that leaving the law was possible. We went to law school together and both had a blast in the law-school follies where we mocked our own lifestyles as law students. It wasn't all studying, but there sure was a lot of it. He is an inspiration to me because he took a sabbatical from practicing law to develop his passion for theater and acting.

The one thing I wanted out of a pumpkin cake was to avoid the wet, oily mess that is so common with pumpkin breads and muffins. It's all about the ingredients and the basics. Using butter and cutting back on the WET ingredients to accommodate the heavy and super moist canned pumpkin did the trick. This cake is a seasonal favorite at CakeLove and one of the most popular year-round.

Sidebar

This is a very wet, heavy batter so aerating the cake well is extremely important. This recipe also produces a lot of batter so stop and scrape the sides of the bowl down to the bottom as needed to mix well. Baking presents an unusual visual cue—the testing skewer will remain very wet until it ready for removal from the oven.

equipment: standing mixer, mixing bowls, one 12 cup bundt or brioche pans as selected
yield: one bundt or 32 Crunchy Feet

Ingredients	Sea Level	High Altitude
DRY ingredients unbleached all-purpose flour turbinado sugar baking powder vanilla powder salt cloves (freshly ground) allspice WET ingredients canned pumpkin heavy cream dark rum raw honey vanilla extract CREAMING ingredients unsalted butter at room temp extra-fine granulated sugar eggs (large) yolks (large)	14 oz (2 ¾ cups) ¼ cup 1 tablespoon 1 ½ teaspoons ½ teaspoon 1 ¼ teaspoons 1/8 teaspoon   15 ounces (1 can) 5 tablespoons 1 tablespoon 1 tablespoon 1 tablespoon   6 ounces (1 ½ sticks) 21 ounces (2 ½ cups + 2 tbs) 2 4	14 ½ ounces (2 ¾ + 1 ½ tbs) 3 tablespoons 2 teaspoons 1 ½ teaspoons ½ teaspoon 1 ¼ teaspoons 1/8 teaspoon   15 ounces (1 can) 6 tablespoons 1 tablespoon 1 tablespoon 1 tablespoon   8 ounces (2 sticks) 19 ¾ ounces (2 ¼ cups + 3 tbs + 1 tsp) 3 4

           

Directions

• Preheat the oven to 350°F (conventional) or 335°F (convection). Set the rack in the middle of oven for bundt or round layer cakes. Place the racks in the upper-middle and lower-middle positions for the Crunchy Feet.
• Set out the ingredients and equipment.
• Sift the flour directly into a bowl on a scale for accurate measuring. Next, combine it with the other DRY ingredients in a mixing bowl and gently whisk for 10 seconds to blend them together. Set aside.
• Combine the WET ingredients in a separate bowl and set aside – do not break up the lime segments.
• Measure out the butter and sugar into separate bowls and set aside. Crack the eggs and yolks into separate bowls and set aside. Crack the eggs and yolks into separate bowls and set aside.
• Cream the butter and sugar. Combine each in the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on the lowest speed for about 3 minutes. The paddle pushes sugar and air into the soft butter with each turn so going slowly is essential. This is a very dense, heavy cake so aerating the cake well is extremely important.
• Continuing on the lowest speed, add the eggs one at a time followed by the yolks. Let each fully incorporate into the mixture before adding the next.
• Continuing on the lowest speed, alternately add the DRY and WET mixtures in 3 to 5 additions each, beginning and ending with the DRY. Avoid overworking the batter which could make the final product chewy. Don't wait for the DRY or WET mixtures to be fully incorporated before adding the next one. This step should take a total of about 60 seconds.
• Stop the mixer, scrape down the sides of the bowl all the way to the bottom. Raise the paddle from the batter to release any lime segments stuck to it – add them back into the batter. Don't miss the other clumps of ingredients hiding in the bottom of the bowl. Mix on medium speed for 15 to 20 seconds to develop the batter's structure.
• For Crunchy Feet, place the brioche pans on sheet pans  (16 per half-sheet pan is a snug fit) and spray them liberally with an oil/starch pan spray. Use a 2-ounce trigger-release ice-cream scooper to deposit the batter into the brioche pans so they're ¾ full.
• For a bundt cake, spray it well with an oil and starch non-stick spray. Fill the bundt pan by depositing the batter with the rubber spatula in small clumps around the bundt pan instead of pouring it into one spot. Fill the pan about ¾ of the way and level it with the rubber spatula. Bake any leftover batter as Crunchy Feet or cupcakes.
• For layered cakes, line the bottom with a pre-cut parchment round but do not spray the sides.
• Follow the approximate bake times listed below.

item	quantity	sea level recipe	high altitude recipe
Crunchy Feet	32	15 minutes	30 minutes
12 cup bundt	1	45 minutes	65-70 minutes
9x2-inch	2	30 minutes	55 minutes

• Test for doneness with a bamboo skewer once the batter doesn't look wet or jiggle in the center. The color will be even and a deep orange. Insert the skewer into the center and remove. When the skewer shows just a touch of crumbs or is clean, the cake is done. Remove from the oven and place the pan(s) on a flat, heat-resistant surface or wire rack.
• For Crunchy Feet, carefullyinvert the brioche pans to release the cake within 3 to 4 minutes after removing them from the oven—well BEFORE they cool completely. You may have to firmly tap, even slam, each pan against the sheet pan to release the cake. All Crunchy Feet are fragile when they're warm so be careful not to break off any toes! Immediately soak the pans to make cleaning easier.  
• Remove the bundt cake from the pan once the cake has cooled for 5 to 10 minutes by inverting onto a flat surface. Proceed to glaze, serve or store for later use.
• Let the layer cake cool to room temperature for 25 to 30 minutes before removing from the pan. Use a small offset spatula to release the cake from the pan rim. Carefully turn the cake onto plastic film and wrap in plastic. Label, date and store in the fridge for up to 1 week.

Serving and Decoration

Serve either naked or with a dusting of confectioner's sugar.
The spiced glaze works very well for a basic but slightly dressed up presentation.
For maximum decadence, pair the bundt or layered cake with a vanilla-mace buttercream—it's incredible! See the Italian Meringue buttercream recipe and add 2 teaspoons of mace (ground) and 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract. It creates an instant sensation of eggnog and the holidays.