Years ago, I participated in a bake-along using recipes from a Dorie Greenspan book titled, Baking from My Home to Yours. Her Thanksgiving Bundt cake, is really outstanding and always a hit on the holiday dessert table.
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Editor’s note: This is an updated version of an article originally posted November 2009 with better photos and additional information.
All the flavors of Thanksgiving Bundt cake includes pumpkin, cranberries, apples, pecans, cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger with a finish of maple syrup in the glaze. They all blend together creating a moist and delicious cake. A perfect ending to a Thanksgiving feast.
Here is the recipe for making all-the-flavors Thanksgiving Bundt cake
After setting the oven to preheat to 350 degrees, butter or spray a 9- to 10-inch (about 12-cup) Bundt pan.
Put the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ground ginger, nutmeg, cloves and salt in a large bowl.
Whisk well to combine all of the dry ingredients.
Coarsely chop 1 cup of pecans.
Halve or coarsely chop 1 cup fresh cranberries.
Peel, core and finely chop 1 large apple.
Working with a stand mixer (using a paddle attachment, if you have one), beat the butter and both sugars together at medium speed until light and fluffy.
Add the eggs, one at a time, and beat for 1 minute after each addition; beat in the vanilla.
Be sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl as you proceed through the recipe so everything is evenly incorporated.
Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the pumpkin and apples. Don’t be concerned if the mixture looks curdled. It will all come together as you continue.
Still on low speed, add the dry ingredients, mixing only until the flour is just barely incorporated.
Add the cranberries and the nuts to the batter.
Working with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon, stir until incorporated.
Scrape the batter into the pan and smooth the top with the spatula. Bake the cake for 60 to 70 minutes at 350F, or until a knife inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
Transfer the cake to a rack and cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan. Cool to room temperature.
Making the maple syrup glaze for Thanksgiving Bundt cake
Sift 6 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar into a bowl and pour in 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup.
Add additional syrup, a little at a time, until you have an icing that runs nicely off the tip of a spoon.
Spread or drizzle the cooled Bundt cake with maple syrup icing. If you prefer, skip the maple syrup glaze and just dust the cake with confectioners’ sugar.
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All The Flavors of Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving Bundt Cake
source Baking From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan
INGREDIENTS:
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- Pinch of ground cloves (optional)
- Pinch of salt
- 1 1/4 sticks (10 tablespoon) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 1/4 cups canned unsweetened pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie mix)
- 1 large apple, peeled, cored and finely chopped
- 1 cup fresh cranberries, halved or coarsely chopped
- 1 cup pecans, coarsely chopped
- Optional: Maple syrup icing (recipe below)
DIRECTIONS:
To make the cake: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350F. Butter a 9- to 10-inch (about 12-cup) Bundt pan. Do not place the pan on a baking sheet – you want the oven’s heat to come up through the Bundt pan’s open core.
Put the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ground ginger, nutmeg, cloves (if using) and salt in a bowl and whisk to combine. Set aside dry ingredients.
Working with a stand mixer (using a paddle attachment, if you have one), beat the butter and both sugars together at medium speed until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, and beat for 1 minute after each addition; beat in the vanilla.
Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the pumpkin and apples – don’t be concerned if the mixture looks curdled. Still on low speed, add the dry ingredients, mixing only until the flour is just barely incorporated. Working with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon, stir in the cranberries and pecans.
Scrape the batter into the pan and smooth the top with the spatula. Slide the pan into the oven and bake 60 to 70 minutes at 350F, or until a knife inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
Transfer the cake to a rack and cool for 10 minutes before unmolding. Cool to room temperature on the rack.
Drizzle with maple syrup icing (if using) or simply dust the top lightly with confectioners’ sugar.
Maple syrup icing:
Sift 6 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar into a bowl. Stir in 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup. Add more maple syrup little by little, until you have an icing that runs nicely off the tip of a spoon – you might need another 1/2 tablespoon to get the right consistency. Put the cooled cake on a sheet of parchment or waxed paper and drizzle the icing over the cake. Let the icing set for a few minutes before serving.
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One of the best recipe I have tried. Using fresh cranberries and pecans made a huge difference. Turned to be very moist, but was very crumbly. Had hard time cutting into pieces (not an issue since everyone at my office Christmas party liked it a lot). What did I miss? What should I have done to make it slightly harder?
Hello Rajeev,
So happy to hear you and your coworkers enjoyed the cake! Cutting the cake cleanly is difficult because of all of the pieces studded throughout the batter. Here is what Dorie says about the recipe in her book:
“Because of the apples, cranberries and nuts, this cake doesn’t lend itself to be cut into dainty slices – and that’s just as well: you really want to get a mouthful, the better to appreciate the cake’s many flavors.”
So, don’t think you did something wrong in your preparation. 🙂
Thanks so mush for your comment!
Kindly, Lorraine
I brought this to our Thanksgiving dinner today. It was amazing. The only change I made was to add some fresh orange zest to the batter. I will definitely be making this over and over again. So yummy. Thank you for sharing the recipe.
I made this last night for our early Thanksgiving meal today. It was fantastic! So many fall flavors in one cake, it’s a must try. The only change that I had to make was a substitute for the fresh cranberries. I forgot to buy fresh and had to used dried. I know the fresh would have given the cake that wonderful tartness, but dried did very well (I used 3/4 cup). I made the maple syrup glaze which held the pecan half’s nicely. I also gave a dusting of powdered sugar. Everyone loved it and it turned out beautiful! Thank you for this wonderful recipe, it’s a keeper!
Awesome, Cathy! So happy to hear that the cake worked so well and everyone loved it 🙂
Thanks for sharing that the dried cranberries are a great substitute. Good to know!
Thanks a bunch!, Lorraine
What kind of Apple did you use?
Hi Debbie,
I have used Rome, Macintosh and Granny Smith but other apples would be good too.
Can we use dry cranberries?
Hello Komal,
I don’t think substituting dried cranberries for fresh would work in this recipe. Dried cranberries are sweeter, have a concentrated flavor and therefore you would need to adjust the quantity changing the volume. The fresh cranberries add a wonderful tartness that is balanced by the other ingredients in the recipe. I suppose if you tweaked the recipe you might be able to make it work. Please, let me know if you do and how the cake turns out! I’d love to hear and share with our readers.
Thank you for your comment!
Kindly, Lorraine
What type of texture does this cake have? Do you think this would work well as a thinner type sheet cake ex: 1 in high?
Hi Cindy,
All the Flavors of Thanksgiving Bundt Cake has a moist, dense texture.
To answer your question about using a different size pan, I did a little research. I have not tried baking the cake in anything other than a Bundt pan, so I am not writing by experience.
Also, because of the pieces of apple, cranberries and nuts in this recipe, it won’t cut well into small slices. To enjoy the flavor combinations, it is best in a larger bite anyway.
But, it sounds like a pan size change will work. Here is what I came up with:
All-the-Flavors of Thanksgiving Bundt Cake recipe is baked in a 12-cup size Bundt pan. That is a pan about 10-inches in diameter and 3-inches deep.
If you want to bake the recipe in a 9×13-inch pan it should not be a problem since its capacity is 14 cups.
A 12 x 17 by 1-inch jelly roll pan has a capacity of 12 cups which is the same size as the Bundt pan, so it should work.
A 10 1/2 x 15 1/2 x 1 jelly roll pan has a 10-cup capacity, so it would be too small for this recipe.
Baking time:
Remember that changing the size of the pan will affect the baking time so stay close by and check doneness as you near the end of recipe bake time.
Cake Density:
The density of the cake will also influence the baking time. All-the-flavors of Thanksgiving is a dense, moist cake so take that into account. I read that with a shallower pan, you might want to raise the temperature and shorten the baking time.
I hope this is helpful to you and please, drop me a note should you make adjustments and how it all worked out.
Thanks for stopping by!
Kindly, Lorraine
Looks yummy, can’t wait to make it…all my favorite things in 1 cake!
Hi Lynn,
Yes, all of those seasonal tastes in one yummy dessert. I think you will like it!
Thank you for your visit and for leaving your comment 🙂
Kindly, Lorraine
Whoo hoo, that looks yummy!
I think I might call round for some of that cake! Oh if it was only that easy, looks delicious and I'm sure your Thanksgiving dinner will be equally delicious.
This turned out so beautifully!!
I'm not the biggest fan of pumpkin but you've made it LOOK so delicious :o)
That does look yummy! I'm going to look for the recipe. Enjoy your day!
Your cake looks like a holiday waiting to be celebrated. Happy Thanksgiving!
Oh my word!!!!! I am going to link this over to my blog so I will be able to find the recipe later. I am so making this!
thanks for sharing.
Oh yes! I'm definitely making this one! Yum!
Your food always looks so wonderful over here! Thanks for sharing !! Cute pictures with your sister also in the other post ~Blessings Heather 😀
Mrs.H~
This looks AMAZING!!! 🙂
Thank you for sharing…
what beautiful pictures too!
*hugs*
Love~ Jen