Week 39: Pumpkin-Chocolate Swirl Cake

Once again I found this week's cake from the magazine I mentioned in last week's post.  I took part of this cake to our church's Women's Fellowship.  My friend, Ana, said she couldn't imagine that chocolate and pumpkin would taste good together; but she had two pieces and asked for the recipe. We also included two pieces with a meal we took to a couple in our church who just had a new baby last week.  The rest of the cake is in our kitchen for my sweetheart to enjoy.


Recently I bought a new bundt pan at Wal-Mart.  It is a Nordic Ware Bundt pan and is actually the original Bundt pan created before 1950.  I love baking cakes in this wonderful, heavy pan.  I let the cakes cool 15-20 minutes and then turn the cake onto a cake plate.  With previous bundt pans I never knew if the cake would turn out whole or break; but with this pan I am 4 for 4 with every cake turning out perfectly.  I highly recommend this Bundt pan!

If you are looking for a delicious cake to make for a crowd this fall; I hope you will give this cake a try.
I wanted a more substantial chocolate icing than the recipe had so I used the chocolate icing from the Mississippi Mud Cake I made for week 3  (I will include both).

Pumpkin-Chocolate Swirl Cake
(Source: Better Homes and Gardens)

2 eggs (room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup shortening
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking sode
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 15 ounce can pumpkin
1/3 cup milk

Directions

1. Allow eggs to stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, grease and flour a 10-inch fluted tube pan; set aside. In a medium bowl stir together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and cloves. In a small bowl combine pumpkin and milk. Set bowls aside.

2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In an extra-large mixing bowl beat eggs, granulated sugar, brown sugar, 3/4 cup shortening, and vanilla with an electric mixer on medium speed for 2 minutes, scraping sides of bowl occasionally. Alternately add flour mixture and pumpkin mixture to egg mixture, beating on low speed after each addition just until combined. Divide batter in half.

3. In a small microwave-safe bowl microwave 1 cup of the chocolate pieces on 100 percent power (high) for 1 to 2 minutes or until melted, stirring every 30 seconds. Stir melted chocolate into one-half of the batter. Spoon half of the plain pumpkin batter into the prepared pan. Gently spoon the chocolate batter over pumpkin batter in pan. Top with the remaining plain pumpkin batter. Using a table knife, swirl batters together to marble.

4. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. If necessary to prevent overbrowning, cover cake loosely with foil for the last 10 minutes of baking. Cool cake in pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove cake from pan; cool completely on wire rack. 

Icing used in the magazine's recipe:

In a small microwave-safe bowl microwave the remaining 1/2 cup chocolate pieces and 1-1/2 teaspoons shortening on 100 percent power (high) for 1 to 2 minutes or until melted, stirring every 30 seconds. Drizzle melted chocolate over cake.

Icing I used:

 1 (16 ounce) box powdered sugar
1/2 cup milk
1/3 cup cocoa
4 tablespoons butter, softened

Combine all ingredients and mix until smooth. Spread over the cake. Frosting will harden as it cools.

Enjoy!

Happy Baking!

Julie