Pumpkin Buttermilk Bundt Cake with Brown Butter Icing.

Thanksgiving is in two days. You're stressed, I'm stressed, there's just no time for lists and adjectives and real life. Let's get in and out with this one.

What: Moist, dense pumpkin cake. Brown butter icing. 

The plea: Please, please make this for Thanksgiving. Make it the day before, make it tonight, make it for breakfast.

Why: Because it's way too easy to skip. Three bowls: mix flour and spices, mix pumpkin and buttermilk, beat sugar and butter. Combine all three.

Pour.

Bake.

Wait. This is the holidays. Let's simplify this thing one step further.

I don't condone skipping the brown butter icing, but in a pinch, you can totally just dust this cake with powdered sugar.

Like I said. In and out. There's just no time.

The recipe: Scroll down or click here.

And... done. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving full of pumpkin pie cake, family, and laughter.

Pumpkin Spice Buttermilk Bundt Cake with Brown Butter Icing

Printable Recipe

Cake
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar 
3 large eggs
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground allspice
3/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspooon salt 
1 1/4 cups canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)
3/4 cup well-shaken buttermilk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Icing 

1/4 cup butter
1 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1-2 tablespoons milk

Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter (or spray with a nonstick baking spray) and flour a bundt pan.


In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves.

In another bowl, whisk together the pumpkin, buttermilk, and vanilla until smooth.

In the bowl of an electric mixer (or with a wooden spoon and sheer determination), beat the softened butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3-5 minutes. Add eggs and beat another minute until combined.

Reduce speed to low and add flour and pumpkin mixtures alternately in small batches, starting and ending with the flour mixture and mixing until the batter is smooth.

Spoon batter into prepared pan and bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, about 45-50 minutes. Cool cake in pan on a wire rack 15 minutes, then invert rack over cake and reinvert cake onto rake.

Allow cake to cool completely before icing. Or, if you want, you can skip the icing and just dust the cake when cooled with powdered sugar.

To make the icing, place butter in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally until golden brown (more info here on how to brown butter). Pour browned butter into a medium bowl and stir in powdered sugar, vanilla, and milk 1 tablespoon at a time until desired consistency. Let stand 1-2 minutes or until slightly cool. Drizzle over cake.

Source: Pumpkin cake from Collecting Memories and brown butter icing from Pillsbury.