Nigella Lawson Pumpkin Bundt Cake

Nigella Lawson’s pumpkin bundt cake is a moist, warmly spiced cake made with pumpkin purée, brown sugar, orange and cinnamon, baked in a bundt tin and finished with orange glacé icing and grated chocolate. It cuts into 10 to 14 slices, from her book Simply Nigella.

She makes no secret of loving a bundt cake: it just looks instantly celebratory. She’s fond of a tin that makes the cake look like a cross between an old-fashioned mother-of-the-bride hat and a Catherine wheel, though no bundt tin? A 20cm square tin works too.

The clever, thrifty link is the pumpkin. A 425g can gives 300g for the cake, and Nigella suggests saving the rest for her No-Churn Brandied Pumpkin Ice Cream to serve alongside, so nothing goes to waste.

Nigella Lawson Pumpkin Bundt Cake

Recipe by Pinch Perfect

5.0 from 1 vote

Course: DessertCuisine: BritishDifficulty: Easy

Servings

10-14

servings

Prep time

20

minutes

Cooking time

45

minutes

Calories

410

kcal

Total time

1

hour 

15

minutes

Nigella’s celebratory cake from Simply Nigella: a moist, spiced pumpkin-and-orange bundt finished with orange glacé icing and grated chocolate. Cuts into 10 to 14.

Ingredients

• For the bundt cake:

• 300g soft light brown sugar

• 250ml sunflower oil

• zest and juice of 1 orange (preferably unwaxed)

• 3 large eggs

• 400g plain flour

• 2 teaspoons bicarbonate of soda

• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

• ½ teaspoon ground allspice

• 300g pumpkin purée (from a 425g can; save the rest for the pumpkin ice cream)

• nonstick spray (or sunflower oil and plain flour) for greasing

• For the icing:

• 200g icing sugar

• 2½ to 3 x 15ml tablespoons fresh orange juice (from the orange above)

• 1 small square of dark chocolate, for grating

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Directions

• Grease the tin: Preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan/350°F. You’ll need a 10-cup (2.5 litre) bundt tin or a 20cm square tin. Spray the bundt tin, or brush with a paste of 2 teaspoons oil and 2 teaspoons flour, getting into all the crevices. Leave upside down to drain excess.
• Mix the wet: In a mixer (or by hand), beat the sugar, oil, finely grated zest of half the orange and 2 tablespoons of its juice until smooth, scraping down. Beat in the eggs.
• Mix the dry: Fork together the flour, bicarbonate of soda and spices in another bowl.
• Combine: Beat the pumpkin purée into the cake mixture, then add the flour and spices and fold to a smooth batter. Fill the oiled tin.
• Bake: Bake for 45 to 55 minutes (start checking at 40), until the cake comes away from the edges and a tester comes out clean. Cool in the tin on a rack for 15 minutes, then gently prise it away (especially around the funnel), turn out and cool completely.
• Ice: Sieve the icing sugar into a bowl and gradually whisk in the orange juice, slowing after the second tablespoon, until smooth, thick enough to stick but runny enough to drip. Spoon over the top, letting it run down the grooves naturally. Grate the chocolate over to finish.

Notes

• (no bundt tin): Bake in a 20cm square tin (about 5.5cm deep) instead. Any bundt shape works as long as it’s a 10-cup one.
• (grease it well): Get the nonstick spray or oil-and-flour paste into every crevice of the bundt tin, so the cake turns out cleanly.
• (leave it un-iced): You can skip the icing and just dust with icing sugar, or drizzle with salted caramel sauce instead.
• (store): Store in an airtight container in a cool place for up to 1 week.
• (freeze): Freeze un-iced for up to 3 months, double-wrapped in cling film and foil. Defrost on a wire rack at room temperature for about 5 hours.

FAQs

What does the pumpkin do in the cake?

The pumpkin purée is what makes this cake so wonderfully moist, tender and long-keeping, much as grated carrot does in a carrot cake. It adds moisture and a gentle, earthy sweetness and that autumnal colour, without tasting strongly “of pumpkin”, especially alongside the warm cinnamon and allspice and the bright orange.

Use pure pumpkin purée (canned is easiest and what Nigella specifies), not sweetened pumpkin pie filling. A 425g can gives you the 300g you need, and Nigella cleverly has you save the leftover purée for her pumpkin ice cream to serve with the cake, so nothing is wasted.

Do I need a bundt tin?

No, though Nigella loves one for how celebratory it looks. If you don’t have a bundt tin, she says you can bake this in a 20cm square tin (about 5.5cm deep) instead, adjusting your eye on the timing. Any bundt shape works, as long as it’s a 10-cup (2.5 litre) capacity tin, so the batter fits.

If you do use a bundt tin, the key is greasing it really thoroughly, into every crevice, with nonstick spray or Nigella’s oil-and-flour paste, so the intricately shaped cake releases cleanly. Leave the tin upside down to drain excess grease first. Cooling in the tin for 15 minutes, then prising gently around the funnel, also helps it turn out intact.

Why oil instead of butter?

Using sunflower oil rather than butter keeps the crumb exceptionally moist and tender, and means it stays soft for days, which is partly why this cake keeps so well for up to a week. Oil-based cakes don’t firm up in the fridge the way butter cakes can, so every slice stays soft.

A happy bonus is that the cake itself (before icing) is dairy-free, since there’s no butter or milk. The warm spices and orange carry all the flavour. It’s a similar moist, oil-based method to Nigella’s chocolate cake, which also uses oil for a tender crumb.

How do I get the orange icing right?

The glacé icing is simple but worth getting to the right consistency. Sieve the icing sugar, then whisk in the orange juice gradually, slowing right down after the second tablespoon, since you want it thick enough to cling to the cake but just runny enough to drip a little down the architectural grooves of the bundt.

Spoon it over the top and let it find its own way down the ridges, which looks beautiful naturally, don’t worry if it drips onto the plate. Nigella admits to sometimes doing “a frenzied Jackson Pollock” with any leftover icing. Finish with a little grated dark chocolate, which flatters the pumpkin and orange. You can skip the icing and just dust with icing sugar, or use salted caramel sauce.

What do I serve it with?

It’s lovely on its own with a cup of tea or coffee, but Nigella’s own suggestion is to serve it with her No-Churn Brandied Pumpkin Ice Cream, made with the leftover pumpkin from this very cake, for a joined-up autumn pudding. A drizzle of salted caramel sauce is another option she gives.

A dollop of whipped cream, crème fraîche or custard turns a slice into a proper dessert. It’s a brilliant autumn and Halloween bake, and festive enough for a Christmas or Thanksgiving table. There are more Nigella bakes on the Nigella Lawson recipes page.

Can I make it ahead, store or freeze it?

Yes, it’s a great keeper. Thanks to the oil and pumpkin, it stays moist stored in an airtight container in a cool place for up to a week, and like many spiced cakes it’s arguably even better a day or two after baking, once the flavours settle.

It also freezes well, un-iced, for up to 3 months: wrap the cooled cake in a double layer of cling film and a layer of foil, then defrost on a wire rack at room temperature for about 5 hours before icing and serving. So you can bake it well ahead and ice it fresh on the day. Ice only once fully defrosted.