Pumpkin-Ginger Pound Cake Bundt with Maple Cream Cheese Glaze

Have you guys seen that commercial with the camel who walks around saying “Guess what day it is?” to everyone in the office? At first I thought it was pretty annoying, but it’s totally grown on me. Honestly, all of the Geico animal commercials are kind of a guilty pleasure for me. The antelopes with the night-vision goggles? I can’t get enough.

Anyway, I kind of felt like that camel when I opened my first can of pumpkin this season. I was so excited! I wanted to take the month of September to enjoy apples, and I did, but I can’t lie – I was itching for all things pumpkin. And now that October is here I can go pumpkin crazy 🙂 The blog may well become one string of pumpkin goodness after another this month. Something tells me you guys won’t mind…

The first two things I always want to make when pumpkin season arrives are pumpkin whoopie pies and pumpkin cupcakes. Oldies but goodies, as they say. I had opened one of those giant warehouse-sized cans of pumpkin though, so there was enough puree for several recipes beyond those. Given my obsession with bundt cakes, it was kind of a no-brainer that I’d bake one of those as well.

This Pumpkin-Ginger Pound Cake turned out to be pretty fantastic. It’s much less dense than many pound cakes I’ve made, but still has that classic tight crumb. The recipe uses both ground ginger and fresh ginger for a pop of flavor and it pairs perfectly with the pumpkin. If you’re not a huge fan of ginger, you could definitely still make the cake, but I might suggest skipping the fresh ginger and just using the ground. You could keep things simple here and dust the cake with confectioners’ sugar, but I never pass up an excuse to make a glaze. I went with maple cream cheese here and oh man, was it ever good. I couldn’t have chosen a better recipe to kick off the pumpkin baking season!

{PS – We got home from Mexico late last night and I’ll be slowly catching up on emails/comments in the next few days. Hang tight if you’re waiting on a response :)}

Pumpkin-Ginger Pound Cake Bundt with Maple Cream Cheese Glaze
cake adapted from Fine Cooking, glaze from Tracey’s Culinary Adventures

{Note: this recipe can be halved and baked in a 6-cup bundt pan instead. See instructions for cooking time.}

Cake
2 1/2 cups (9.5 oz) cake flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
4 large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 cups packed light brown sugar
1 cup pumpkin puree
1/4 cup canola oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 teaspoons minced fresh ginger

Glaze
3 oz cream cheese (light is fine)
4 teaspoons milk
2 teaspoons maple syrup
3/4 cup confectioner’s sugar

toasted and chopped pecans (optional garnish)

Preheat oven to 350 F. Spray a 12-cup bundt pan with nonstick cooking spray with flour.

In a medium bowl, sift the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ground ginger, nutmeg, and cloves together. Separate the eggs, adding the yolks to a small bowl and the whites to a medium bowl. Set both aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and brown sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes (stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl as necessary). Break up the yolks with a fork, then, with the mixer on low, gradually add them to the bowl. Once incorporated, increase the mixer to medium speed and beat for about 1 minute, until well combined. Add the pumpkin, oil, vanilla, and fresh ginger to the bowl and beat until they are incorporated and the batter is smooth. With the mixer on low, add the dry ingredients in three additions, beating until just incorporated.

Add a pinch of salt to the egg whites and beat with a hand mixer just until they hold soft peaks. Add to the mixer bowl, and use a rubber spatula to gently fold them into the batter. Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and spread in an even layer. Bake for 45-50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean (the baking time for a 6-cup bundt will be about 30-35 minutes). Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let the cake cool for 10 minutes, then turn it out of the pan and allow to cool completely on the rack.

To make the glaze: In a medium bowl, whisk the cream cheese, milk, and maple syrup until smooth and fluffy. Gradually add the confectioners’ sugar until completely incorporated. The glaze should be thick, but you can adjust the consistency as desired – thin with milk and thicken by adding additional sugar. Drizzle the glaze over the cooled cake, allowing it to drip down the sides. Garnish with chopped pecans, if using. Let the glaze set before serving the cake.