I can’t believe next week is Thanksgiving! This year is FLYING by. We’re about to start traveling like crazy, seeing friends and family and I don’t even have a Christmas card photo yet! YIKES.

Annnnd now I’m running through all the holiday events coming up that I’m pretty sure I haven’t even added to the calendar yet. Oh, and I definitely don’t have a dress for a party I’m going to next week. Yay, it feels like the holidays are officially here! Haha.

But you know what I do have, despite all that disorganization? Recipes. Thank goodness (and that’s a first! haha). Because if the food is planned, everything else will fall into place. And let’s be real, I have some great dresses in my closet and can probably figure things out.

I’m usually not much of a cake person. But when we made this cake, we ate for breakfast for a week. It’s that good! It helps that it’s pumpkin, one of my favorite foods. (Side note about that: Pumpkin haters to the left. More cake for me.)

Also: that maple glaze! I’m a fan! Edible flowers are optional, but encouraged!

Unlike many cakes and bundt cakes, it retains an incredible amount of moisture. I’m guessing that’s the pumpkin purée’s doing. I recommend storing this cake loosely covered in foil (on a plate) on the countertop. I recommend enjoying it with coffee. Or bourbon, if it’s dessert. 🙂 This recipe is lightly adapted from the New York Times.

Ingredients

• For the cake:
• 3 cups AP flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 ¼ tsp kosher salt
• 2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1 ½ tsp ground cardamom (fresh, if you can!)
• ¼ tsp. ground allspice
• ¼ tsp. ground black pepper
• 2 cups dark brown sugar, packed
• ½ cup unsalted butter, softened
• ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin purée
• ½ cup sour cream
• For the glaze:
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 cup confectioners’ sugar
• ¼ cup maple syrup
• 2 Tbsp. cream
• Pinch of salt
• 1 to 2 tablespoons lightly toasted pepitas
• Edible flower petals

Instructions

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees, and grease and flour a standard-size bundt pan.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk the dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, cardamom, allspice and black pepper until well combined.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine brown sugar, butter and olive oil. Beat on medium-high until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time. Finally, add the pumpkin purée and sour cream. Mix until completely combined.
4. Take the bowl out of the mixer, and gently fold in the dry ingredients using a rubber spatula.
5. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, smooth the top and tap on the counter a couple of times to level and release air. Bake the cake until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean, 50-60 minutes.
6. Cool for 20 minutes before attempting to remove the cake from the pan. You may wish to gently loosen it with a butter knife. I like to use a wire rack against the open side of the pan when I flip the cake over to make sure it doesn’t go anywhere mid-flip.
7. Once the cake is COMPLETELY!!! 🙂 cool, melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Cook the butter, occasionally scraping the bottom and sides of the pan with a rubber spatula until it turns a deep golden brown and smells nutty. Don’t walk away from the pan during this process – you might burn it!
8. Transfer butter and all the brown bits from the pan to a heat-safe bowl, and let it cool slightly. Whisk in the confectioners’ sugar, cream, maple syrup and salt until smooth. If you think it’s too thin, add more sugar – and if it’s too thick, add a little more cream until you are happy.
9. Transfer the cake to a serving platter and drizzle the top with glaze, letting it run down the sides.. Sprinkle with pepitas if desired.