All in One Holiday Bundt Cake

My turn is coming up next month to choose the recipe for Tuesday's with Dorie. Let me say, that it is really hard. There are so many great recipes I want to pick, so I am trying some of them to get them out of the running. I wanted to try this cake, because it contains a couple of my fave things- fresh cranberries, pumpkin, and pecans. I made it for Thanksgiving and thought it was really a pretty cake that would give people another dessert option, alongside all the pie. I made it the day before and actually thought it tasted better, the day after Thanksgiving, after the flavors had a chance to meld together and become stronger.
My younger brother really wanted to cut into it the day I made it and I actually had a nightmare that he ate the whole thing before any of our guests arrived! Pretty funny.
This was a great cake for this time of year, easy to throw together and very tasty.

All-In-One Holiday Bundt Cake from Dorie Greenspan's Baking From My Home to Yours--(makes one 9- to 10-inch Bundt cake)

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

Pinch of ground cloves (optional)

Pinch of salt

1 1/4 sticks (10 tablespoon/5 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup (packed) light brown sugar

2 large eggs, at room temperature

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 1/4 cups canned unsweetened pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie mix)

1 large apple, peeled, cored and finely chopped

1 cup fresh cranberries, halved or coarsely chopped

1 cup pecans, coarsely chopped

Optional: Maple syrup icing (see recipe below)

To make the cake:Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350F. Butter a 9- to 10-inch (about 12-cup) Bundt pan. Do not place the pan on a baking sheet - you want the oven's heat to come up through the Bundt pan's open core. Put the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ground ginger, nutmeg, cloves (if using) and salt in a bowl and whisk to combine. Set aside dry ingredients.

Working with a stand mixer (using a paddle attachment, if you have one), beat the butter and both sugars together at medium speed until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, and beat for 1 minute after each addition; beat in the vanilla. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the pumpkin and apples - don't be concerned if the mixture looks curdled. Still on low speed, add the dry ingredients, mixing only until the flour is just barely incorporated. Working with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon, stir in the cranberries and pecans. Scrape the batter into the pan and smooth the top with the spatula.

Slide the pan into the oven and bake 60 to 70 minutes at 350F, or until a knife inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Transfer the cake to a rack and cool for 10 minutes before unmolding. Cool to room temperature on the rack. Drizzle with maple syrup icing (if using) or simply dust the top lightly with confectioners' sugar.
Maple syrup icing: Sift 6 tablespoons confectioners' sugar into a bowl. Stir in 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup. Add more maple syrup little by little, until you have an icing that runs nicely off the tip of a spoon - you might need another 1/2 tablespoon to get the right consistency. Put the cooled on a sheet of parchment or waxed paper and drizzle the icing over the cake. Let the icing set for a few minutes before serving.

Up next- Chicken Fried Rice