Chocolate-Pumpkin Marble Cake
INGREDIENTS
- Cooking Time: 55 to 60
- 1 1/2 cups (3/4 lb.) butter, at room temperature
- 3 cups sugar
- 6 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 1 1/4 cups canned pumpkin
- 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
- 3/4 cup Dutch-processed unsweetened cocoa
- 2/3 cup buttermilk
- Chocolate glaze: (recipe follows)
- 4 ounces chopped semisweet chocolate
- 1/2 cup whipping cream
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 teaspoon corn syrup
- 1/2 cup chopped roasted, unsalted peanuts (optional)
DIRECTIONS
- In a large bowl, with a mixer on medium speed, beat butter and sugar until well blended.
- Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla.
- Scrape half the mixture into another bowl.
- To make pumpkin batter:
- Beat pumpkin into half the butter mixture until well blended.
- In another bowl, stir together 1 3/4 cups flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves.
- Add flour mixture to pumpkin mixture and beat on low speed or fold in with a flexible spatula just until blended.
- To make chocolate batter:
- In another bowl, mix remaining 1 cup flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and the cocoa.
- Add flour mixture alternately with the buttermilk to the other half of the butter mixture (starting and ending with flour mixture), beating after each addition just until blended.
- Spoon half the pumpkin batter into a buttered and floured 12-cup bundt-cake pan.
- Drop half the chocolate batter by spoonfuls over (but not entirely covering) the pumpkin batter.
- Repeat to spoon remaining pumpkin and chocolate batters into pan.
- Gently run the blade of a butter knife around the center of the pan several times, then draw the knife across the width of the pan in 10 to 12 places to swirl batters.
- Bake in a 350° regular or 325° convection oven until a wood skewer inserted into center of cake comes out with a few moist crumbs attached, 55 to 60 minutes.
- Let cake cool 10 minutes in pan, then invert onto a rack, lift off pan, and cool cake completely.
- Pour warm chocolate glaze over the top of the cake, letting it drip down the sides.
- Sprinkle glaze with peanuts if desired.
- Let stand until glaze is set, about 2 hours, or chill about 30 minutes.
- Chocolate Glaze:
- In a heatproof bowl or the top of a double boiler, combine chopped semisweet chocolate, whipping cream, butter, and corn syrup.
- Bring an inch or two of water to a boil in a pan that the bowl can nest in or in bottom of double boiler, then remove from heat.
- Place chocolate mixture over water and let stand, stirring occasionally, until melted and smooth, about 10 minutes.


