I was greeted this morning with wind, rain and a good opportunity to stay inside & bake! I decided to whip-up some pumpkin spice bundt cake, which is one of my favorites. Besides a delicious cake to have with coffee, the pumpkin delivers some strong health benefits. Chew on this list:  high in anti-oxidants like lutein, xanthines & carotenes; vitamins A, C & E; rich in B-complex vitamins like folate, niacin, B-6, thiamin & pantothenic acid. Whewww, I feel great already! Let’s get one in the oven, shall we? We will be compiling our dry & wet ingredients separately, as with most cakes.

Pumpkin Spice Bundt Cake

Dry Ingredients: 3 cups flour 2 tsp baking soda 1/2 tsp salt ½ tsp baking powder 2 tsp ground, golden flax seeds 1.5 tsp cinnamon Dash both nutmeg & cloves	Wet Ingredients: 3 eggs 1 cup canola oil or EVOO 1 tsp vanilla 1 cup brown sugar 1 cup sugar 2 cups (16oz) canned pumpkin 2 tsp fresh orange zest

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees
2. Grease & flour your bundt pan (I use shortening, but you can use butter)
3. Combine dry ingredients in a bowl (I sift the flour also)
4. Beat the eggs lightly in mixing bowl (I add them one at a time to avoid shells!)
5. To the eggs add the sugar, oil, & vanilla. Beat until creamy
6. Stir-in canned pumpkin & orange zest
7. Slowly add dry mixture to the wet ingredients in mixer
8. Spoon batter into bundt pan, bake about 1 hour on 300
9. Check if done with toothpick & cool in pan for 10 min, then remove from pan

 And we now have a delicious pumpkin cake to enjoy plain, or with a little butter & honey!

However, my slices today are destined for more!! I am turning them into French toast, with a browned banana topping. Mmm, let’s give it a go!

Pumpkin Bundt Cake French Toast

(with Banana & Golden Raisin Compote)

1.  Whisk together egg wash ingredients
2. In a sauce pan start fruit compote by melting 1 T butter
3. To pan add banana slices, raisins, pommier, and salt.
4. Heat on medium-low until bananas are significantly softened and a syrup begins to form, set aside (bananas will brown slightly).
5. Remove compote from heat, set aside
6. Drench pumpkin cake slices well, in egg wash until soaked
7. Cook drenched slices on hot, non-stick skillet
8. It’s finished when slices are crisp at edges, but still soft in center
9. Top with warm compote
10. Drizzle with syrup & dust with powdered sugar

It’s awesome, enjoy!!