iced pumpkin chocolate spice bundt cake

in the last couple years, more than ever, my mom goes all out for halloween. which is somewhat surprising, since my dad is a self proclaimed "never liker" of halloween and my sister and i were never all that into it growing up. but mom, somehow she has halloween fever.

and every year it's something new. usually based off the martha stewart living halloween issue - so much so that jason jokes when we're in the checkout at the grocery store that we should look through it to see a preview of their house.

and each year there's something equally as odd as the year before. this year, i got the request early in late september, so early i hadn't even thought about halloween yet. black snakes. black plastic snakes. or green ones she could spray paint black. to make a wreath.

needless to say the black snake wreath was missing from the party last night. but that rat, that fake rat grandma wasn't supposed to tell me about, was staring back at me in the bathroom. had i not known, it would have gotten me. good.

almost as good as it got jason last night, before he went to bed.

iced pumpkin chocolate spice bundt cake
cake adapted from eatingwell
1 hr 30 min, serves 16

for the cake:
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk
15 ounces unsweetened pumpkin puree
3/4 cup dark brown sugar (or 1 cup granulated sugar + 2 tablespoons molasses)
1 egg
1 egg white
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup light corn syrup
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

for the pumpkin buttercream:
1/4 cup unsweetened pumpkin puree
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 cups powdered sugar

1. to make the cake, preheat your oven to 350F. spray a bundt pan with nonstick spray.
2. whisk together the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, spices, and salt in a medium bowl. set aside.
3. in a separate bowl, whisk the buttermilk, pumpkin, and brown sugar until smooth. add the whole egg and egg white and mix until smooth. add oil, corn syrup, and vanilla and mix until smooth.
4. add the wet ingredients to the dry, and fold until combined, be careful not to overmix. transfer batter to the bundt pan and spread out evenly.
5. bake 1 to 1 1/4 hours or until a skewer comes out almost clean. let cool in the pan about 15 minutes. remove the cake from the pan and let cool completely, about 2 hours.
6. while the cake cools, make the buttercream. whisk the pumpkin, butter, and cinnamon together. add the powdered sugar 1/2 cup at a time, mixing until smooth after each addition, until all three cups of sugar have been added. the buttercream will be relatively thick, but still somewhat thin and spreadable.
7. when the cake is cool, use a spoon to add dollops of buttercream evenly around the top of the cake. tap the buttercream with the back of the spoon until it starts to slide down the side of the cake. 

2012.10.08 this is crumb blog's pick for the secret recipe club!