Hello Fall

It finally felt like fall to me this week for two reasons: 1) I made pumpkin cake, and 2) we took Miles to the pumpkin patch this morning.

He was pretty excited by our load of pumpkins. I can't wait to carve one with him on Halloween. He's been into all things Halloween this year, happily pointing out our neighbors' ghosts or pumpkins when we drive by their houses.

Now, back to the cake. I adapted the cake from an old recipe in Gourmet magazine, and I was really happy with how it turned out. It was exactly what I wanted - very moist and pumpkiny and perfumed with fall spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves, and allspice.

Miles has also been into taking pictures latey, now that I sometimes let him press the button on the camera. He really wanted to take a picture of this little ghost candle, and I like how it turned out. So, enjoy his first "published" photo and the recipe below, and happy fall!

Pumpkin Spice Cake with Vanilla Glaze

Cake:
1½ sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
1¼ cups granulated sugar
3 eggs
2¼ cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
½  teaspoon salt
1¼ teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon allspice
½  teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg (grate it fresh yourself if possible)
15 oz can pumpkin (not pie filling)
¾ cup buttermilk
2 teaspoons vanilla

Glaze:
1 cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons milk (any kind is fine)
¼ teaspoon vanilla extract

Make the cake: Spray a 10 inch Bundt pan with cooking spray. Set oven rack to middle position and preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, allspice, ginger, cloves, and nutmeg in large bowl. Set aside. Whisk together pumpkin, buttermilk and vanilla in another bowl. Set aside.

In a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment (or use a hand mixer) beat the butter and granulated sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3-5 minutes. On low, add the eggs one at a time until incorporated. Still on low, add the flour and pumpkin mixtures in alternating batches, beginning and ending with the flour, mixing just until the batter is smooth.

Pour batter into prepared pan, smooth the top and bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 45 to 50 minutes.

Cool cake in pan on rack for 15 minutes. Then invert cake out onto rack and cool completely.

Make the glaze: Once cake is completely cool, whisk together glaze ingredients. Place cake on platter. Tuck in small strips of waxed paper around the cake to catch excess glaze. Using the whisk or a spoon drizzle the glaze all over the cake. Allow to set for 15 minutes. Then remove waxed paper strips.

Serves 12.