.pumpkin pound cake with cinnamon glaze.

a new and sensational concept for me when we moved to tennessee was the invention of fall break. in florida, we had no such reason to celebrate, i suppose, the beauty of fall. here, though, we bask in the glory of cool breezes and vibrant foliage.

for my fall break this year, my husband and i decided to travel east to knoxville, tennessee where the leaves were surely breathtaking, football was on the agenda and a little escape to easier times awaited. we are so lucky to have family friends of my husband's in knoxville who open their warm home to us. they are the kind of family that fills a room with their humor and love for each other.

to show a fraction of our gratitude for staying with them, i knew i wanted to bring the kind of baked good that could live on their kitchen counter for nibbling throughout the weekend. in walks the the pumpkin pound cake with cinnamon glaze.

nothing says fall like the the flavor of pumpkin to match the color of changing seasons. by skipping the obvious pumpkin pie and jumping in to something more subtle and yet substantial, this pound cake was anxious to come to life on my kitchen counters.

one of the unique ingredients to this recipe is vanilla pudding. seriously, look.

after stretching my wrist for all the upcoming whisking, i got to it. this is definitely the type of recipe that calls for a lot of exercise of the wrist, but the great news is that you won't have to wash your stand-up mixer.

once the pumpkin batter was ready to bake, i put it in the pre-heated oven and got started on the glaze. while the recipe for glaze called for one cup of confectionery sugar, i ended up adding more to thicken mine up a little. i felt like it was too thin without doing so. while i did not use all the glaze i made, it did make the parts i used a little richer.

after the cake cooled in the bundt pan, i held my breath and turned it upside down. there's a baker's joy that moment after the cake perfectly slides out of the pan to form a hearty wreath of cakey goodness on a plate. don't even ask me what it feels like when it breaks and crumbles coming out. shutter.

i'm not going to pretend that the cake didn't get a little messy on the six hour drive east that fall weekend, but it held it's ground in the taste department. even though it was a gift, i had to sneak a little sliver at their house to ensure it didn't taste gross. it tasted so ungross in fact that i believe i'll make it again soon.

pumpkin pound cake with cinnamon glaze
from the creative mama
ingredients
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
3 eggs
3 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 (3.3 ounce) package vanilla pudding mix
1 (15-ounce) pumpkin puree
For the glaze:
1 cup confectioners sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3-4 Tablespoons water
directions
Whisk together both sugar and vegetable oil. Whisk in the eggs one at a time.
In another bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, salt and pudding mix. Set aside.
Whisk in the pumpkin, alternating with the flour mixture in three additions.
Pour the batter into a greased Bundt pan and bake in a preheated 350 degree oven. Bake for 60 to 65 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes and then turn out onto cooling rack to cool completely.
When the cake has cooled, whisk together the powdered sugar, cinnamon, and water. Start slowly with the water, if it too thick, add a few dropfuls until the glaze is the right consistency. Drizzle over the cake.