Browned Butter Pumpkin Caramel Bundt Cake

Lightly spiced, with a tender crumb and caramel drizzle, this Browned Butter Pumpkin Caramel Bundt Cake is bursting with the flavours of fall. A perfect addition to your Thanksgiving table!

This Browned Butter Pumpkin Caramel Bundt Cake needs to make its way onto your dessert table and into your tummy for Thanksgiving this weekend! With ingredients like browned butter, ginger red sugar and fresh roasted pumpkin, why wouldn't you?

Last week, we had ourselves a bit of an impromptu vacation and the timing couldn't be better. We left fall weather behind us, only to return to beautiful, summer-like weather this week. I am talking sandals and outdoor grilling weather, folks! Just when I'd resolved to embrace fall, too. Go figure!

Everything about this post screams fall, though. Don't you think? I was reorganizing my prop shelves (ok, room ☺️) and stumbled across this Ralph Lauren tablecloth. Now, we aren't tablecloth kinda folks, so I was a little puzzled at first. Then I remembered I picked it up at HomeSense a long while back, when I thought we might convert to tablecloth wielding folk.

Being the naked wood loving folk that we are, I added the tablecloth to the Value Village pile. The Dude quickly pulled it out (a bit of a pack-rat, that one) and declared I should use it for photos (which is probably why I bought it in the first place). I figured I never would, but here we are...

And you know what - I love the fall bohemian vibe it lends the photos. Also, it turns out I used it at least once before in this Mad About You Butter Pecan Cake post! So there, not a completely wasted purchase.

But enough about that. This Browned Butter Pumpkin Caramel Bundt Cake is all that and a bag of decorative gourds. 😬 It's a remodelled version of a recipe I've used over the years and I think this is the way to go, going forward.

The ginger red sugar, traditionally used in asian cooking (soups, stews and the like), adds a hint of spicy aroma and flavour. With the addition of browned butter and roasted pumpkin, the resulting flavour is deep, rich and comforting. Everything a fall dessert should be.

An optional pumpkin simple syrup soak and pumpkin caramel drizzle (from an earlier post) and resistance is futile. Don't let the dark exterior fool you - the cake isn't overcooked or burnt. The colour darkened when I added the simple syrup soak. I quite like how that translated in the photos.

So, how about this art piece of a Bundt pan, huh!?! It's called the Crown Bundt Pan and it's really something special - so special, it took me like forever to unpack and use it. I've only used it a couple other times, both were for recipe testing. Not sure why, but I wanted to keep it shiny and new like the ridiculous pile of bundt pans I own and hardly ever use. Serious issues. 🙄

The pans won't retain their newness forever, but here are a few tips for use and care of your Bundt pans:

• Just like new clothing, I always wash everything before I use them. Give your new pans an initial wash with a little soapy, warm water and a non-abrasive sponge or cloth. This gets rid of any production residue. The manufacturer does not recommend dishwasher use.
• If you want your cake to exit the pan in one piece, you're going to have to get a little greasy. Ok, not you (unless that's your thing...), but the pan. I use cake release - I make it, but you can also buy it. Or you can go old school with grease and flour. If I'm baking a chocolate cake, I replace the flour with cocoa powder, to avoid a white residue on the finished cake.
• When using a pan with an intricate design, before adding all the batter, use an off-set silicone spatula to smear a layer of the batter in the pan, so that it gets into the crevices. This provides a smoother finish and minimal air bubbles.
• For this recipe, I filled the pan almost all the way to the top with batter. How much you fill the pan will depend on the recipe you use and the amount of leavening agents it contains. A good rule of thumb for most cakes is about ¾ full.
• The first time I used a bundt pan years ago, I inverted the pan too soon and the entire top of the cake clung to the inside of the pan for dear life. Allow your cakes to cool before trying to remove them. If I'm in a rush, I let it chill in the fridge to speed up cooling, before turning out the cake.
• I have said this many times on here, but it's worth repeating, bake your cakes, pies etc. on a baking sheet. It will save you having to clean up spills, drips and full on overflows. This is especially useful when recipe testing. Even with a self-clean oven, I'm all about that extra protection.😏

Now that I've talked your heads off about tablecloths and bundt pans , head to the kitchen and bake up this Browned Butter Pumpkin Caramel Bundt Cake for the family.

Wishing you all a Thanksgiving filled with loved ones and lots of delish bites! Happy Thanksgiving!

Browned Butter Pumpkin Caramel Bundt Cake

Lightly spiced, with a tender crumb and caramel drizzle, this Browned Butter Pumpkin Caramel Bundt Cake is bursting with the flavours of fall. A perfect addition to your Thanksgiving table!

Print Recipe

Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 55 minutes minutes

Total Time: 1 hour hour 10 minutes minutes

Course: Dessert

Servings: 1

Author: I Sugar Coat It

Ingredients

Bundt:

• 195 grams browned butter liquid
• 384 grams granulated sugar
• 36 grams ginger red sugar or brown sugar, unpacked
• 4 large eggs
• 6 grams vanilla bean paste
• 425 grams pumpkin puree fresh or canned, but not pumpkin pie filling
• 298 grams unbleached all-purpose flour
• 8.5 grams baking soda
• 7.5 grams pumpkin spice
• 5 grams salt

Caramel:

• 240 g pumpkin puree
• 340 g 35% coconut milk
• 450 g brown sugar
• 1.5 g pure vanilla extract
• 7.5 g ground cinnamon
• 2.5 g ground ginger
• 1 g freshly grated nutmeg
• 0.5 g ground clove
• 1.5 g sea salt

Simple syrup:

• 118 grams water
• 96 grams sugar
• 2 grams pumpkin spice extract
• 5-10 grams bourbon

Instructions

To make the Bundt:

• Preheat oven to 350º F. Use a pastry brush to apply a generous coating of cake release to the Bundt pan, paying attention to the crevices. Place the pan on a sheet pan and set aside.
• In a medium bowl, sift or whisk together the flour, baking soda, pumpkin spice and salt. Set aside.
• Add the butter, granulated sugar and ginger sugar to the bowl of your stand mixer. Use the paddle attachment to beat the butter and sugar together on medium speed, until it lightens in colour and looks fluffy in appearance.
• Stop the mixer and add the eggs and vanilla, then beat on medium speed until incorporated. Stop and add the pumpkin puree and beat to incorporate. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
• Turn the mixer down to low and add the flour mixture. Mix until fully incorporated, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
• Using a small offset spatula, press some of the batter into the design of the Bundt pan - this helps prevent gaps in the finished cake. Add the remaining batter to the pan and tap the pan on the counter a couple times so that the batter settles in.
• Place on the sheet pan and bake on the middle rack for 55-60 minutes. When ready, remove from the oven and allow to cool in the pan for approximately 15 minutes. Invert onto a cooling rack and allow to cool completely.

To make the caramel:

• In a large, heavy saucepan over medium heat, melt the sugar. Continue to heat until it becomes amber gold in colour.
• Remove the saucepan from the heat and slowly pour half the cream into the melted sugar. Stir using a wooden spoon. (Use extra care to avoid burns)
• Using a hand whisk, whisk the mixture until combined and smooth.
• Whisk in the remainder of the cream along with the pumpkin puree and vanilla extract. Add the spices and salt and leave to cool.
• Once cooled, pour over cake and store any leftover in a sealed jar in the fridge.

To make the simple syrup:

• Add the water and sugar to a small saucepan and bring to a boil.
• Remove from heat and allow to cool a little, then stir in the pumpkin extract and bourbon.
• Allow to cool completely. You may transfer to a squeeze bottle to soak the cake, or use a pastry brush.

Tried this recipe?Mention @isugarcoatit or tag #isugarcoatit !