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Pumpkin Orange Cardamom Bundt Cake with Cream Cheese Maple Syrup Frosting & Candied Orange Peels

This moist bundt cake is the perfect blend of pumpkin, orange, and fall spices. Stack them together to make the perfect pumpkin shaped cake! The sweet crunch of the candied orange peels elevates it to the next level. It works at any size!

Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Keyword bundt, cake, pumpkin

Ingredients

Bundt Cake

  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 1/4 tsp kosher salt
  • 2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 tsp ground ginger
  • 1 1/2 tsp ground cardamom
  • 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
  • 1/4 tsp ground cloves
  • 1 1/2 cups brown sugar, packed
  • 1/2 cup white sugar
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
  • 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 full orange zest grated on microplane
  • 2 large eggs, room temperature
  • 1 (15 oz) can pumpkin purée
  • 1/2 cup sour cream

Cream Cheese Frosting

  • 8 oz full-fat cream cheese, softened to room temperature
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
  • 1/4 cup maple syrup
  • 3 1/4 cups powdered sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/8 tsp salt

Candied Orange Peels

  • 2 large organic (unwaxed) oranges you can do this with lemon, lime, or grapefruit too
  • sugar
  • water

Instructions

Bundt Cake

  1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour a large 12-cup capacity bundt pan.

  2. In a medium bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, nutmeg, and cloves until well combined. Set aside.

  3. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine sugars, butter, vanilla extract, orange zest, and oil. Beat on medium-high until light and fluffy for about 3 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing for about 20 seconds in between each egg. Add the pumpkin purée and sour cream, and mix until well combined, scraping the bottom and sides of the bowl as necessary.

  4. Remove the bowl from the mixer, and use a rubber spatula to fold in the dry ingredients until well combined. Make sure to scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl to ensure an evenly mixed batter.

  5. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake the cake until golden and puffed, and a tester inserted into the center comes out clean, 55-60 minutes.

  6. Set the cake, still in its pan, on a rack to cool for 20 minutes, then use the tip of a knife to loosen the edges and invert the cake onto the rack to cool completely before glazing.

Cream Cheese Maple Syrup Frosting

  1. In a large bowl using a handheld of stand mixer fitted with a paddle or whisk attachment, beat the cream cheese and butter together on high speed until smooth and creamy.

  2. Add the sifted powdered sugar, the vanilla, and salt and beat on low speed for 30 seconds. Then switch to high speed and beat for 2 minutes.

  3. Cover and store leftover frosting for up to 5 days in the fridge or up to 3 months in the freezer. After freezing, thaw in the fridge then beat the frosting for a few seconds so it's creamy again.

Candied Orange Peels

  1. Cut each piece of fruit into 8 wedges, then remove the flesh from the skin. Cut each peel into small strips.

  2. Put the strips into a small pan and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 5 minutes. Drain the liquid then repeat with fresh water, however this time, bring to a boil and simmer for 30 minutes. (The second time make sure to add enough water so that it all doesn't steam out.)

  3. Now drain and reserve the liquid into a measuring jug. Put the strips of peel in a bowl. Add 100g (1/2 cup) sugar to each 100 ml (3.5 oz) of water, then pour into a pan over low heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Add the strips and simmer for 30 minutes until the peel is translucent and soft. You can go longer if they don't look translucent enough, but make sure they don't start breaking down.

  4. Alow to cool in syrup, then remove with fork and arrange in a single layer on a wire rack or parchment paper to dry. Let dry for about 3 hours or you can place the rack in a warm oven for a half hour.

  5. Lastly, dip the strips of peeled into a bowl of sugar, a few at a time, then place on parchment or waxed paper to allow to dry for at least an hour. I left mine overnight.

  6. Keep the candied peel in an airtight container lined with baking parchment. It will keep for 6-8 weeks in a cool, dry place.

Recipe Notes

I made the candied orange peels 2 days before the event and put them in a Ziploc bag. I made the bundt cake 2 days before as well and froze it. I took it out the morning of the event and it thawed beautifully.