I was telling someone the other day that the 2013 CrossHatch “Depth” is so good on its own, that I sometimes drink it as dessert. Which got me thinking – you know what would be better than drinking it for dessert? Drinking it with dessert! And since pumpkin spice everything is all the rage right now, why not keep it seasonal and pair it with this incredible pumpkin cake, smothered in spicy chocolate sauce? And that, my friends, is how this pairing came to be.
Pumpkin Spice Bundt Cake
with Chocolate Cayenne Ganache
Ingredients:
Cake
- 2 c. sugar
- 1 c. vegetable oil
- 4 eggs
- 1 (16 oz.) can pumpkin puree
- 3 c. all purpose flour
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 1½ tsp. baking powder
- 2 tsp. ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp. ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg
Ganache
- 1 12-oz. pack of milk chocolate morsels
- 1½ c. heavy whipping cream
- 3 tbsp. butter
- ¼ tsp. vanilla
- ½ tsp. cayenne pepper
Directions
Cake
1. Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Spray a Bundt pan with nonstick spray. In a bowl, cream together sugar and oil with an electric mixer. Add eggs one at a time, mixing well in between. Add the can of pumpkin and mix well.
2. In a bowl, whisk together flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients while mixing.
3. Spoon the batter evenly into the Bundt pan, and smooth out the top. Bake cake for 48-55 minutes.
4. Remove the cake from the oven, and let it cool in the pan for 15 minutes. Turn the cake onto a cooling rack.
Ganache
1. Microwave chocolate morsels and whipping cream in a microwave safe bowl, in 10 second increments, until the chocolate starts to melt. Remove bowl carefully. Stir the mixture until smooth.
2. Whisk in butter, cayenne and vanilla. Let stand 15 minutes.
3. Beat at medium speed with electric mixer until soft peaks form (2 to 3 minutes).
4. Pour the ganache over the cake. Enjoy!
Serves 8
recipe adapted from Lovely Little Kitchen