Recipe: Pumpkin Spice Bundt Cake

 

It’s September which means two things. Firstly it’s now officially Autumn and secondly it’s Pumpkin Spice Season bitches! Now I know not all of you are basic bitches who lose their shit over Pumpkin Spice Lattes being back or obsessing over every PSL themed but I for one am a very proud basic bitch that loves a PSL and can’t wait to get my hands on my first of the season. So with all that comes my first pumpkin based recipe of the year. A cake shape I’ve always loved but never made enough of is Bundt cake. That traditional style cake with fluted edges and a hole in the center. I had a tin that was looking neglected in the cupboard so I decided my first autumnal recipe of the year just had to be a pumpkin spice flavoured Bundt cake. 

Ingredients 

- 250g Unsalted Butter, softened 

- 225g Light Brown Sugar 

- 250g Plain Flour 

- 1 1/2 Tsp Baking Powder 

- 1/4 Tsp Salt

- 2 Tsp Pumpkin Spice Mix 

- 4 Eggs 

 Method 

1- Pre heat oven to 180c. Grease your Bundt tin with butter or a cake release spray. 

2- In a bowl place your softened unsalted butter and sugar. Beat until pale in colour and fluffy in texture. I used light brown sugar as it gave the cake a warmer, spiced flavouring that works wonders with the pumpkin spice. 

3- Add your eggs one at a time, beating well to fully incorporate between each one. I advise using this time to scrape the edges and the bottom of your bowl so that there is nothing left sat unincorporated in the mixture that’s going to disrupt your cake as it cooks. 

5- Fold in your flour, baking powder, salt and pumpkin spice mix. Now this is when slow and steady is better than fast and rushed. Beat the mixture too hard and you’ll end up with a flat, chewy cake that isn’t that pleasant to eat. 

6- Spoon your mixture into your prepared tin, using the back of a spatula or a spoon to make sure the mixture is evenly distributed in the tin. 

7- Bake for 35-40 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean. If the skewer comes out with batter on it then just pop it back in for a few more minutes until a skewer comes out clean. 

8- Leave to cool in the tin and the flip out onto a wire cooling rack or plate. Then all that’s left is to enjoy it. It goes well with a cup of coffee or tea. 

Recipe: Pumpkin Spice Cookies

                                           

Tis the season for Pumpkin spice and everything nice. Yes I am that girl who enjoys nothing more than a pumpkin spice latte or six throughout it's limited run at Starbucks. And last year it got me thinking about how I could incorporate it into a cake or cookie of some sort. However the lovely Jane from Jane's Patisserie had already created the perfect pumpkin spice cupcake and I didn't think there would be any way to top it. But againt this year as I started to plan out my Autumn recipes, my thoughts turned back to how to incorporate my favourite autumnal drink into a baked good. 

And that's when today's recipe was born. These were literally an experiment, I didn't expect them to work or taste good but to my surprise they turned out brilliantly and have become a firm favourite within my family. In fact as you read this, I'm making another batch for my step-dad's mum as she adores them as well. 

Recipe 

150g Salted Butter, softened

80g Light Brown Muscavado Sugar

80g Granulated Sugar 

2Tsp Vanilla Extract 

1 Egg 

225g Plain Flour 

1/2 Tsp Bicarbonate Of Soda

1/4 Tsp Salt 

1Tsp Pumpkin Spice Mix 

Method 

1- Pre heat your oven to 180C. Line several baking trays with greaseproof paper/baking parchment. 

2- In a mixing bowl place the softened salted butter, granulated and muscavado sugar and beat until smooth and creamy. This may take a while as you don't want any lumps of sugar left in your mixture. 

3- Add the vanilla extract and the egg and beat again. This is where I take the opportunity to scrape around the sides of the bowl so that everything gets fully incorporated into the mixture. 

4- Sieve the salt, bicarbonate of soda and flour into the mixture. I advise either using a pre sieved flour to save time or if your using a stand mixture, taking the bowl off the base and sieving it that way. It's a lot less messy, something you'll be grateful for later. 

5- Beat until everything is combined and you have the makings of cookie dough in your bowl. It may take a few minutes to start looking like something but the patience is worth it. 

6- Add your pumpkin spice mix and beat again until combined. I usually start adding it to the mixture with my stand mixer then taking it off the base and giving it a final mix with a silicone spatula so that everything is combined and nothing is left sitting up the sides of the bowl. 

7- Now it comes to making your cookies. You can easily use your hands to roll little balls of dough together but it can be messy and more likely to make a smaller batch of cookies. I like to use a batter scoop to make my cookies, they just come out more even and you'll be able to create a larger batch of cookies as each ball of dough will be the same size. 

8- Bake in the oven for 10-15 mins or until the edges of the cookies are firm to the touch. Don't worry if the centres are still a little wobbly, they'll soon firm up once they're out of the oven. 

9- Leave to cool on the tray for a few minutes before transferring to a wire cooling rack to cool completely. Allowing them to firm up on the tray means that each cookie is less likely to break when you transfer them to the cooling rack. 

10- Then all that's left to do is enjoy them. I quite like a couple of these with a cuppa whilst I catch up on my social media.