Chocolate pumpkin bundt cake changes up the standard holiday dessert offerings.

My pants think I’ve been making too many cakes lately. Technically, it’s only the jeans that are about to stage a protest, but in a few more cakes I’m sure my leggings and pajama pants will be going into a sit-down as well.

Chocolate pumpkin bundt cake is a chocolatey alternative to pumpkin pie. It's so moist and delicious!

It doesn’t actually feel like I’ve been doing all the baked goods, all the time lately, especially as I’ve been parceling out cake to my friends in an effort to get it out of the house.

But the workouts my cake pans and spatulas are getting are putting my own supposedly-training-for-a-half-marathon workouts to the deepest of shames.

The weather just makes me itchy for creating in the kitchen, so I really can’t help it. Because I’m already creating dinners for the family, a lot of my creativity lately ends up in dessert form, as dinner is focused on just getting the veggies I know my kids will eat worked into a dish that isn’t spaghetti or pizza.

As a result, I seem to have created a constant rotation of treats taking up too much space on the countertop.

Chocolate pumpkin bundt cake is a crowd-pleasing dessert with a hint of fall flavor. Your guests might not even realize it has pumpkin!

But really, I can’t be helped much when it comes to some things. Bundt cake is one of life’s greatest things, in my opinion.

Without having to fuss with even layers and creating a filling, bundt cakes shine through the cake itself, perfectly molded by the pan. They only need a little bit of dressing up to make them special, and sometimes, nothing at all.

This one is full of pumpkin, but you wouldn’t know it from the flavor. All the pumpkin does here is add wonderful richness to the cake, making it perfectly moist without a ton of fat.

Plus, hey, Vitamin A! So really, you’re taking care of your vitamin needs here.

Chocolate Pumpkin Bundt Cake

Name: Chocolate Pumpkin Bundt Cake
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 1 h 15 min
Total time: 1 h 45 min
Yield: 16
Ingredients: 1 cup all-purpose flour; 3/4 cup whole-wheat pastry flour; 1 cup granulated sugar; 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder; 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder; 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda; 1 teaspoon cinnamon; 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger; 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom; 1/8 teaspoon grated nutmeg; 1/8 teaspoon allspice; 1/4 teaspoon salt; 1 cup milk; 1 15-ounce can pumpkin purée, or 1 3/4 cup fresh pumpkin purée; 3/4 cup brown sugar; 2 large eggs; 1/4 cup applesauce; 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract; 1/2 cup packed powdered sugar; 1 tablespoon milk

Yield: 16 servings

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour 15 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 45 minutes

This simple bundt cake is full of fall flavor. It features a secret ingredient to keep it moist: applesauce!

Ingredients

1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup whole-wheat pastry flour
1 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/8 teaspoon grated nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon allspice
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
1 15-ounce can pumpkin purée, or 1 3/4 cup fresh pumpkin purée
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 large eggs
1/4 cup applesauce
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

For the glaze

1/2 cup packed powdered sugar
1 tablespoon milk

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350°F. Coat a bundt pan with cooking spray.
In a medium bowl, whisk together all-purpose flour, whole-wheat flour, granulated sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, nutmeg, allspice, and salt.
In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, blend 1 cup milk, pumpkin, and brown sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer on low speed. Beat in eggs. Stir in applesauce and vanilla. Gradually add the dry ingredients, stirring until just combined. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.
Bake the cake for 60-75 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the cake comes out with only a few moist crumbs attached. Let cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Remove from the pan and let cool completely on the rack, about 2 hours.
To glaze cake: Combine powdered sugar and 1 tablespoon milk in a small bowl, stirring until completely smooth. Place the cake on a serving plate and drizzle the glaze over the top. Let harden before serving.