PUMPKIN SPICE CAKE WITH MAPLE SYRUP GLAZE

Pumpkin Spice Cake is a taste of fall! And this delicious cake is super easy to make because it is made with a box cake mix! I call it “doctor the box”! And it is just so delicious because it is infused with real pumpkin and wonderful warm spices! Let’s make an easy pumpkin spice bundt cake with maple syrup glaze!

For more than a decade I was a state fair judge. On a rare occasion I was asked to be judge cakes. And one of the cake categories I judged was a doctor the box cakes.

They were every bit as good as “from scratch” cakes!

So today I want to share a delicious way to turn a yellow cake mix into the most wonderful fall-inspired dessert!

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SO WHAT IS DOCTOR THE BOX

Doctor the box is a shortcut way to make a really tasty cake using a boxed cake mix.

It makes the prep portion of making a cake a little easier!

I just dumped the cake mix into a bowl, added all the extra ingredients, mixed them up, and baked it in a bundt pan. Voila, a beautiful Pumpkin Spice Cake!

Sounds easy because it is. Doctor The Box is a genius way to make a cake!

My cake is a little unusual because I baked it in an angel food bundt pan. I like the bottom (which is the part of the cake you can see when you bake the bundt) for the top of my cake. I love that pretty dome. For all my other bundt pans I use the bottom as the top. I talk about this later in the post.

MY BAKING HISTORY MAY BE YOURS TOO!

I’ve never been a confident baker. And until a few years ago I had way more baking fails than successes!

I did not grow up with bakers. Cooks yes, but I had no bakers to pass on their baking knowledge.

However, I learned a lot of head knowledge about baking as a judge!

But I was not confident in MY baking skills! I knew about crumb and moistness, and flavors but I just did not know how to produce delicious and positive effects in my baked goods.

Recipes like Pumpkin Spice Cake have really helped me up my baking wins and confidence.

I’ve always admired bakers and the works of culinary art they create. But for some reason, I just could not make anything that looked amazing and tasted scrumptious too!

It was not until I got hooked on YouTube channels where great bakers explained the SCIENCE of baking that I began to understand that baking was more than an art. It is science!

I’m addicted to The Great British Baking Show and watch the seasons over and over again. I am totally amazed by these home baker’s skills! I love watching their hands.

I’ve come to also realize that a calm confidence and a well-executed plan go a long way when it comes to a successful bake.

So I started to bake with a plan, followed baker’s step-by-step videos and one success followed another. I read baking books like romance novels (and still do) and I began to learn the science behind baking.

Now I love baking and continue to learn the best techniques. And I am now producing more delicious baked goods than baked fails.

THINGS TO MAKE PUMPKIN SPICE CAKE MORE SUCCESSFUL

Here are a few helpful tips for making Pumpkin Spice cake a baking win for you too!

I think a box cake has a distinctive fake vanilla flavor. Remember to add real vanilla or vanilla paste to the recipes. Don’t skip this step. Real vanilla makes a huge difference.

Box cakes tend to be a bit lumpy when mixed. So don’t overmix the batter. You will probably see small clumps and that’s totally okay!

This recipe is really a dump and mix recipe. You do not have to mix any ingredients separately.

If you use a bundt cake pan grease it well! Bundt pans are notorious for wanting to hold onto the cakes baked inside them! I like to use butter or Baker’s Joy.

If you don’t use Baker’s Joy, melt some butter and using a pastry brush, brush every bit of the bundt pan with butter and then dust it with flour.

Put the Pumpkin Spice Cake on a raised wire rack to cool after it comes out of the oven. It need air to circulate around it.

Bobby washed and dried and put my wire rack away and I could not find it to cool this cake. So a couple of tomato soup can were called into service to get air flow under my cake! Necessity is the mother of invention, for sure!

Completely cool the cake before you glaze it with the thick Maple Syrup glaze.

I also cool the glaze just a bit so it thickens up but can still be drizzled on the cake easily.

This cake freezes well. After baking and cooling the cake it can be wrapped in plastic wrap and in heavy duty aluminum foil and frozen. Take it out and bring it to room temperature before adding the glaze.

ABOUT BUNDT PANS AND BUNDT CAKES

I’ve started to collect bundt pans because I think they make the prettiest cakes and quick breads and are so easy to glaze!

Here are a few things I’m learning about using bundt pans when I bake…

Bundt pans (10 to 12 cups) are perfect for a cake mix or most double layer cake recipes.

For smaller bundt pans (6-9 cups) only use a recipe for a one-layer cake or use the extra 2 layer batter to make cupcakes.

Cool a cake completely before taking them out of a bundt pan.

To remove a bundt cake from a bundt pan put a plate larger than the bundt pan over the pan and invert the plate and the pan together. The cake should slide out of the pan and land on the plate.

The bottom of the pan will be the top of the bundt cake. So things like streusel or fruit that goes on the top of the cake should be added to the bottom of the pan. Except for my Pumpkin Spice Bundt Cake. I used the bottom (part of the cake that can be seen) as the top of my cake. I liked the rounded look.

The more intricate the bundt cake design the less icing/glaze should be added to the top. Just a dusting of confectioner’s sugar will do!

If you are using a cake mix in a bundt pan, it’s best to use a plain bundt pan (like mine). Cake mix sponges are too light to work well in intricately designed pans.

GET THE RECIPE

This recipe is such a successful one, and so delicious too!

I hope you will try this beautiful fall cake!

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