Chocolate Pumpkin Mini-Bundt Cakes
Celebrate Thanksgiving with spiced pumpkin mini-bundt cakes which are layered with chocolate and topped with Caramel Glaze. Mini-bundts are the perfect individual size and make serving your Thanksgiving feast just that much easier. Cakelet size makes a great finger food dessert on a buffet table. Your family and guests will love the autumn flavors and cakes can be made a day ahead for convenience.
Prep batter: 35 minutes
Bake: mini-bundts 21 to 24 minutes and cakelets 12 to 14 minutes
Bake at: 350°F
Prep glaze: 20 minutes
Yield: 8 mini-bundts or 16 cakelets
Pan: mini-bundt or cakelet
Special equipment: candy thermometer
Difficulty: intermediate
Ingredients:
Cake Batter:
1 ounce Baker's semi-sweet chocolate squares, finely chopped
1 1/3 cups (183g) cake flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice (see "tips")
7 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
2/3 cup (133g) granulated sugar
2 tablespoons (26g) dark brown sugar
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or extract
1 1/4 cups pure pumpkin puree
Baker's Joy
Caramel Glaze (see "tips"):
6 tablespoons heavy cream
3 tablespoons (39g) dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon molasses (see "tips")
1/2 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or extract
Small pinch salt
Directions:
Bring cake batter ingredients to room temperature. Chill semi-sweet chocolate squares.
To make cake batter: In the small work bowl of a food processor, finely chop the semi-sweet chocolate. If you prefer, shave the chocolate instead. Chill until needed.
Sift cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and pumpkin pie spice into a medium bowl and set aside.
Pre-heat the oven to 350°.
In a large bowl, cream butter with an electric mixer at medium speed for 30 seconds-1 minute until whipped. Gradually add sugar and light brown sugar and continue beating until light and fluffy, about 5 to 6 minutes. Add eggs one at a time and beat until the yolk just disappears. Add vanilla and beat to just combine.
Starting and ending with dry ingredients, alternate stirring in flour mixture and pumpkin by hand until each addition is half incorporated. Fully incorporate the final flour addition.
Prepare mini-bundt or cakelet pan with Baker's Joy. Spoon or pipe a layer of batter into each mold (1/4 cup in mini-bundt mold). Evenly divide chocolate and sprinkle over the top. Spoon or pipe remaining batter over chocolate (another 1/4 cup in mini-bundt mold) . Molds will be three-quarters full.
Bake mini-bundt cakes for 21 to 24 minutes or cakelets for 12 to 14 minutes at 350°F until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove pan to a wire rack. Immediately loosen cakes in pan with a knife, taking care not to damage cakes. Let cakes cool in pan for 10 minutes. Shake pan before inverting over a wire rack. Leave pan over cakes for 15 minutes before lifting. Cool cakes completely before topping with Caramel Glaze.
To make Caramel Glaze: Place cream, light brown sugar, and molasses in a small, heavy-bottomed saucepan and adjust heat to medium. Insert a candy thermometer and cook until temperature reaches 220°, stirring constantly.
Remove pan from heat and stir in vanilla and salt.
Stir glaze until caramel has cooled slightly and thickened to drizzle consistency. Spoon over cakes and let set. Glaze will remain somewhat soft.
Store cakes in an airtight container for 3 days and freeze for up to 2 weeks.
Tips:
- If you don't keep pumpkin pie spice on hand, you can substitute 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger, 1/8 teaspoon ground allspice, 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg, and a small pinch of ground cloves.
- You can substitute light or dark corn syrup, sorghum, or maple syrup, for molasses in Caramel Glaze.
- You can subtitute cooked Caramel Glaze in this recipe with simple Molasses Glaze in my Cranberry Gingerbread Loaf recipe.