Pumpkin Bundt Cake with Warm Vanilla Cinnamon Sauce

Thanksgiving. The first one without Babcia Rose. We kept every tradition: the table at Steve and Patty's, Patty's stuffing with the sage and celery, Ryan's turkey, my cranberry sauce with orange zest. Matt drove up from Springfield. Dziadek Wally came, brought by his daughter. We set the table the way it has always been set. Babcia Rose's chair was empty.

Dziadek Wally sat next to her chair. I watched him from across the table, not in a sad way, in the way I watch the people I love when they are inside something large, because I want to be present to it. He sat next to her chair and he ate and he looked at the twins and he did not say much and at one point he put his hand on the back of her empty chair, just for a moment, and then he put it back in his lap and picked up his fork.

Owen and Nora were at the table. Full table, real plates, small portions of everything: turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes. Owen ate his turkey and his cranberry sauce, which I thought would be too tart and which he apparently loved. Nora ate everything in approximately six minutes and then tried to eat Owen's mashed potatoes. We gave her more mashed potatoes. These are our children at their first real Thanksgiving table, and I looked at them and thought: this is what I was cooking toward, all those years ago in the NICU, this exact table, these exact faces.

After dinner I said a word. I said: I am grateful for every person at this table. I am grateful for the people who are not at this table and who are still here in everything we made and everything we did today. Ryan touched my hand. Wally touched the empty chair back again. Patty started talking about pie. We had pie.

We had pie that night—but the week before Thanksgiving, when I was thinking about what I could bring that would feel like something, I made this pumpkin bundt cake. I needed to be in the kitchen with my hands in something warm and spiced, something that smelled like every November I have ever loved. Owen helped me pour the batter. Nora tried to eat the cinnamon. The sauce is the thing—you pour it over warm and it pools in all the right places, and it tastes exactly like the kind of sweetness that belongs at a table full of people you’re grateful for.

Prep Time: 20 minutes | Cook Time: 55 minutes | Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes | Servings: 12

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 can (15 oz) pure pumpkin puree
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
3/4 cup vegetable oil
4 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the Warm Vanilla Cinnamon Sauce:
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 cup powdered sugar, sifted
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Instructions

Preheat and prepare. Preheat your oven to 350°F. Generously grease and flour a 10- to 12-cup bundt pan, making sure to coat all the ridges so the cake releases cleanly.
Whisk dry ingredients. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves, and salt until evenly combined. Set aside.
Mix wet ingredients. In a separate large bowl, whisk together the pumpkin puree, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and vegetable oil until smooth. Add the eggs one at a time, whisking well after each addition, then stir in the vanilla extract.
Combine and fill pan. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir with a spatula until just combined—do not overmix. Pour the batter evenly into the prepared bundt pan.
Bake. Bake for 50–55 minutes, or until a wooden skewer inserted into the thickest part of the cake comes out clean. The top should feel firm and spring back lightly when pressed.
Cool and unmold. Let the cake cool in the pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Then invert onto the rack and let cool for at least 20 more minutes before adding the sauce.
Make the warm vanilla cinnamon sauce. In a small saucepan over medium-low heat, melt the butter. Whisk in the powdered sugar, heavy cream, vanilla, and cinnamon. Stir continuously for 2–3 minutes until the sauce is smooth, glossy, and just beginning to bubble. Remove from heat.
Sauce and serve. Transfer the cake to a serving platter. Drizzle the warm sauce generously over the top, letting it run down the sides and pool in the ridges. Serve additional sauce on the side for guests who want more.

Nutrition (per serving)

Pumpkin Bundt Cake with Warm Vanilla Cinnamon Sauce — The Dessert That Carried Us Through