pumpkin bundt cake

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Fall has officially set in at our house. The kids have been in full costume almost all week, with various school and community events celebrating Halloween. Over the weekend we had a little shindig of our own, and the kids were so excited to help me make an olive oil pumpkin bundt cake in preparation.

During the week, it’s hard to involve the kids on making dinner every night. Usually they help me “make salad,” which means practicing chopping vegetables and putting them into a bowl. Ge Ge got a set of these kid-friendly knives for his birthday last month. We’ve all been surprised to learn that these knives actually work for cutting veggies and fruit. The kids love to snack while they’re cutting, so much so that the salad bowl is usually empty before it even makes it to the dinner table. That’s fine by me, because it’s just another way that the kids feel like they’re “helping” while I get to sneak vegetables into them. Wins all around!

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Our succulents in pumpkin pots will live on our table as centerpieces through Thanksgiving – thanks, Trader Joe’s!

When we woke up last Saturday without needing to rush off to some play date or party, the kids were especially thrilled to have time to bake with me in the kitchen. Sure, it takes me longer to make whatever it is I’m baking, and sure, the mess is like, a thousand times worse when they help, but I think their faces say it all — it’s super fun.

As for the cake itself, the olive oil in this cake makes it super fragrant and moist without being oily. The kids loved the warm, spicy smell emanating from the oven while it baked, and I still love that our Heritage bundt pan that we got for our wedding is still popping out gorgeously shaped bundt cakes that look a lot fancier than the actual effort that went into making it. As always, my recipes contain much less sugar than called for in the original recipe that inspired my version – we love sweets in this house, but find that oftentimes recipe call for WAY more sugar than is required to give the cakes the structure it needs.

In sum – we love pumpkins, cake and Saturday mornings covered in flour.

To help save some money any time of the year, check out Raise.com. You can buy a gift card to get great deals when shopping for ingredients or sell gift cards for cash. This great new site lets users purchase gift cards for less than their value, helping to save you some extra money– be sure to check out this site when planning to make your Halloween treats.

pumpkin olive oil bundt cake

Time1 15

CourseDessert

CuisineAmerican

Servings12 -16

It doesn’t get more fall than this gorgeous pumpkin olive oil bundt cake

Ingredients

1-1/2 cups sugar
1 cup olive oil
3 eggs
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 can (15 ounces solid-pack pumpkin (or 2 cups freshly roasted sugar pumpkin))
Powdered sugar

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350°.Combine sugar and oil in a large bowl with a rubber spatula until blended.
Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
In a separate medium-sized bowl, stir together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and cloves.
Add flour mixture to egg mixture alternately with pumpkin in three batches, beating well after each addition.
Transfer to a greased bundt cake pan.
Bake 60-65 minutes or until toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.
Cool for approximately 10-15 minutes before inverting onto a wire rack.
Remove pan carefully from cake and cool completely.
Dust with powdered sugar.