Friday, November 27, 2009

All In One Holiday Bundt (TWD)


So, we had to cope with our derailed Thanksgiving travel plans. The hubs and I went through a momentary (okay, it was a bit more like a few hours) whiny, pity party phase, and now we've moved on. We decided to make the proverbial lemons into lemonade, and are making good use of our new found time.

The hubs has been a whirling dervish as he's already cleaned the garage, dug out the Christmas boxes, and hung the holiday lights. WooHoo hubs!!! I've been organizing paperwork for next year's tax returns, decking the house with holiday stuff, scouring cookbooks for this year's holiday treat boxes, and taking inventory of the gifts that we've been stockpiling throughout the year. I hope I'm not jinxing ourselves by saying this, but I think we're actually ready for the holidays!

BTW, Siena is doing much better. The first 24 hours was tough on the little girl, but she pulled through just fine (and the vet confirmed that she didn't ingest anything poisonous). She's back to her old exuberant self!
With this gift of time, I took the opportunity to catch up on some baking that I've been postponing. This is a late TWD post for All-In-One Holiday Bundt. I almost skipped this recipe due to lack of time, and I am so glad that I didn't pass this recipe.

The list of ingredients is definitely representative of the holidays: pumpkin, apple, cranberry, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg.
I halved the recipe, which yielded the perfect amount for a six cup bundt pan. The original recipe calls for a cup of chopped pecans, which I decided to omit. Instead, I substituted the nuts with an additional 1/4 cup each of cranberries and apple (I used granny smith). I was too lazy to dice, so I shredded the apple instead (just watch your fingers!).
The baking time for this smaller bundt was approximately 40-45 minutes. The smell of this cake baking in the oven was heavenly!
Once out of the oven and cooled, I opted to drizzle maple icing to finish the cake.
When I first read through the recipe, I thought this could be a case of "too much of a good thing" with all of these ingredients competing with each other. Instead, I was really pleased by the flavors: the tartness of the cranberry and apple was nicely balanced by the sweetness of the pumpkin and maple icing. The spices are definitely present, but doesn't overwhelm the fruit flavors in the cake.
Aside from the delicious flavor, this cake is super moist and will keep for a few days (if it isn't gobbled up before then).
Thank you Britin of The Nitty Britty for this delicious Tuesdays With Dorie selection. For the complete recipe, you can find it either at Dorie Greenspan's column at Serious Eats or at Britin's blog.

11 comments:

Steph said...

So pretty! That glaze just makes it perfect.

Unknown said...

Wow, great looking bundt! It's absolutely perfect.

It really sounds like you guys made the best of your situation with the last minute change of plans. Glad Siena is feeling better :)

chocolatechic said...

Beautiful bundt cake.

Natalie said...

wow you re pretty sorted out for the holidays it seems. Wish I was too. This cake looks delicious especially that finishing drizzle. yummy !

Megan said...

Glad to hear the pup is doing better. And the cake looks great too!

Congrats on getting a head start on the holidays - nothing like being super organized!

Mary Jo said...

glad siena is feeling better! wish i was on top of the holdays like you guys. was at surfas today and thought of you when i had a ham biscuit :)

Ingrid_3Bs said...

I think that was a great idea shredding the apples. I'm not crazy about baked apple chunks.
~ingrid

Ingrid_3Bs said...

Love, Love, LOVE the mini pie plate! How adorable. And yes, there is a difference between the two pies. Hands down I much prefer sweet potato but if there isn't any it's pumpkin all the way.

Sorry about Siena but I'm glad it wasn't anything too serious!
~ingrid

Maria said...

Love this cake! Great photos too!

steph- whisk/spoon said...

sorry to hear about your thanksgiving, but glad that pups is ok! lovely bundt!!

TeaLady said...

Your cake looks lovely. This was a really good cake and a definite keeper. Lov the pic of the drizzle going onto the cake. And those cranberry pieces. Perfect!!

Glad you liked it.

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