donut nostalgia … Pumpkin Bundt Cake

Pumpkin.  Oh pumpkin.  It’s inevitable this time of year.  Is it possible to make it through these few months without seeing pumpkin in everything?  I doubt it.  Pumpkin pie, cheesecake, pot de crème. Pumpkin soup, ravioli.  You find it bruléed and puréed.  See it roasted and toasted.   (I’m on a roll here.)  And the thing is … I’m kind of indifferent to it all.  Pumpkin schmumpkin.  That said, it’s odd that to this day I still crave one particular thing that I haven’t had in easily 20 years.  Smitty’s pumpkin spice donuts.  My kingdom for one of those donuts.

Smitty’s was a local Phoenix grocery chain that sold everything you could possibly need.  It was a Southwestern WalMart without the dominating business practices.  They sold groceries, certainly, but also clothes, jewelry, appliances, sporting goods, gardening stuff and albums (as in music.  This was the 70’s people.) There was a great candy counter by the entrance where I spent an inordinate amount of time with my nose pressed against the glass wondering what “bridge mix” was.  Once, I tried to run away from home and my plan and was to live in Smitty’s furniture department.  Plenty of food, a bathroom and a place to sleep.  What else did a kindergartener need?

Shopping at Smitty’s was my favorite summer activity.  In fact, many of my strongest food memories are tied somehow to this store.  My favorite – big surprise! – was the bakery.  Oh those wonderful bakery ladies!  Kids always got a free cookie and they made the best meringue-y coconut macaroons that I’m still trying to duplicate.  And oh man, those donuts.  I’ve searched and tested yet nothing quite fit the bill.

Then several years ago a recipe for a pumpkin bundt cake in one of the food mags caught my attention.  It looked promising but was hard to tell if it would live up to my expectations.  There was buttermilk – always a good sign – as well as enough spices to give it a kick.  Looking good but I tried to keep my nostalgic twinges in check because most recipes rarely deliver upon the memories of tastings past.  It’s just an unfair expectation.

But I made it anyway because how else could I know for sure and the damn thing delivered.  It was moist and spicy and reminded me a lot of those donuts.  I made it a few times just to make sure.  Then I did something kind of stupid that made it even better.  Have you shopped at Whole Foods?  Their packaging really pisses me off sometimes.  More than any other store, I have frequently purchased one item thinking it was something else.  Oatmeal.  Rice.  Pumpkin puree.  Because the Holy Foods doesn’t carry the familiar Libby’s stuff, I grabbed what I thought was a can of plain pumpkin puree.  Turns out it was a can of pumpkin pie filling – puree with additional sugar and spices.  Argh.  Who buys this crap when it’s so easy to add your own fresh cream, eggs and spices to the plain puree?  The fact that it was organic didn’t change my mind the least bit.  Big whoop.

Having neither the time nor the inclination to run back to the store, I used it anyway.  It would either work or it wouldn’t.  Well, all that extra stuff – cane syrup and lots of spices – did something wonderful to my cake.  It was moister, darker with a little bit more spice and sweetness than the many I’d made with the regular stuff.  I liked it.  Really liked it.  Go figure.

If I have time or remember, I’ll zip over to WF to pick up the mix otherwise I’ll use the regular plain puree, usually Libby’s.  It works great.  I’ve never tried the Libby’s pumpkin pie mix so don’t know if it will work the same as the WF brand but it probably does.

STRESS BAKING THERAPY FACTOR:  SKY HIGH. C’mon it’s my own Proustian delight.  Of course it would be high.  What did you expect?

PUMPKIN BUNDT CAKE (adapted from somewhere.  I wrote the recipe on the back of an envelope and cannot remember from whence it came.)
Makes one 9” bundt cake

for the cake:
2 ¼ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
¾ teaspoon allspice
½ teaspoon kosher salt
one 15oz can organic pumpkin pie puree mix (or one 15oz plain pumpkin puree)
¾ cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla
¾ cup unsalted butter, softened (1 ½ sticks)
1 ½ cups sugar
3 large eggs
½ cup chopped pecans

for the glaze:
1 ½ Tablespoons buttermilk
¾ cup powdered sugar
2 Tablespoons chopped pecans

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F and spray a 9” bundt pan well with cooking spray.
2. Combine the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, allspice and salt) in a bowl and set aside until needed.
3. In another small bowl, combine the pumpkin puree, buttermilk and vanilla.  Set aside.
4. In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar on medium-high until light and fluffy.
5. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well between each addition.  Scrape the bowl.
6. With the mixer on low, alternately add the dry and wet ingredients, starting and finishing with the dry.
7. Scrape the bowl and mix until just combined.
8. Fold in the chopped pecans.
9. Pour batter into the prepared pan, smooth the top and bake for 40-50 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
10. Let cool on a wire rack for 1 hour then turn out from the pan.  Cool completely.
11. For the icing, whisk together the buttermilk and powdered sugar until mixture is thick but pourable.  Thin with a little more buttermilk to get the right consistency if needed.
12. Drizzle icing thickly on the bundt and sprinkle with chopped pecans.  Let dry completely before wrapping.
13. Bundt cake keeps, tightly wrapped, for several days at room temperature.