Pumpkin Bundt Cake

• For cake
  • 1 1/2 sticks (3/4 cup) unsalted butter, softened, plus additional for greasing bundt pan
  • 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour plus additional for dusting pan
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 3/4 teaspoon ground allspice
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 1/4 cups canned solid-pack pumpkin (from a 15-ounce can; not pie filling)
  • 3/4 cup well-shaken buttermilk
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
  • 3 large eggs
  
  For icing
  • 2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons well-shaken buttermilk
  • 1 1/2 cups confectioners sugar
  
  
  Make cake:
  Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350°F. Butter bundt pan generously, then dust with flour, knocking out excess.
  Whisk together flour (2 1/4 cups), baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, allspice, and salt in a bowl. Whisk together pumpkin, 3/4 cup buttermilk, and vanilla in another bowl.
  Beat butter (1 1/2 sticks) and granulated sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes, then add eggs and beat 1 minute. Reduce speed to low and add flour and pumpkin mixtures alternately in batches, beginning and ending with flour mixture and mixing until batter is just smooth.
  Spoon batter into pan, smoothing top, then bake until a wooden pick or skewer inserted in center of cake comes out clean, 45 to 50 minutes. Cool cake in pan on a rack 15 minutes, then invert rack over cake and reinvert cake onto rack. Cool 10 minutes more.
  Make icing:
  While cake is cooling, whisk together buttermilk and confectioners sugar until smooth. Drizzle icing over warm cake, then cool cake completely. Icing will harden slightly.

Chocolate mini bundt cakes

For the cake
1 c all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 stick (8 tbsp) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/3 c sugar
1 large egg
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 c whole milk
7 oz premium quality milk chocolate, melted and cooled

For the glaze
2 oz bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
2 tsp light corn syrup

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and butter a 6-mold mini Bundt pan.
Toss together the walnuts, cocoa powder and sugar for the swirl.

Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.
Beat butter and sugar on medium in a large bowl until smooth, about 3 minutes, scraping the bowl as needed. Add the egg and beat 1 minute more, then beat in the vanilla. Reduce speed to low and add half the flour mixture, mixing only until its incorporated. Add the milk, and when it's blended into the batter add the remaining flour mixture, again mixing just until it's incorporated. Finally, add the melted chocolate and mix to blend.

Fill each of the mini Bundt molds with a little batter, then divide the swirl ingredients evenly among the molds and top off the Bundts with the remaining batter.
Bake for 20 to 22 minutes, or until a thin knife inserted into the centers of the cakes comes out clean. Transfer the pan to a rack and allow the cakes to rest for 5 minutes, then invert them onto the rack and let them cool to room temperature.

To make the glaze:
Melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of water or in a microwave oven. stir in the corn syrup. Using a small offset metal spatula or a table knife, spread the shiny glaze over the tops of the Bundts.