Pumpkin Beer Bundt Cake With Maple Glaze

As I mentioned in the my last post I love pumpkin recipes. It wasn't my plan to post two in a row as my first two recipes on the site, but this cake is perfect on the chilly fall nights we've been having here in Oregon. The original recipe was for bread but I modified it slightly and also increased the measurements to make it in a bundt pan.  If you can't find pumpkin beer an amber ale should work well as a substitute.  The addition of a quick maple glaze pairs well with the moist and well spiced cake.

Pumpkin Beer Bundt Cake with Maple Glaze
Adapted from Slate Browbeat Blog

For Cake:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons white wheat flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
3 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 1/2 cups pumpkin puree
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
3 large eggs
12 ounces pumpkin ale

For Maple Glaze:
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 tsp maple extract
2-3 tablespoons milk

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and lightly flour a bundt pan. In a large bowl stir together flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt and pumpkin pie spice.
In a separate bowl whisk together melted butter, pumpkin, brown sugar, eggs and pumpkin ale. Stir the pumpkin mixture into the dry ingredients until combined. Pour batter into the prepared bundt pan.
Bake for approximately 55-65 minutes until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into center comes out clean. Let cool for 10 minutes in the pan then invert onto a wire rack and cool completely.
Once cake is cooled make the glaze by mixing together powdered sugar and maple extract. Whisk in the milk 1 tablespoon at a time until glaze is thick but pourable. Using a spoon drizzle glaze evenly around the cake.

Pumpkin Peanut Butter Cups

I love all things pumpkin and fall so I figured a pumpkin recipe would be a great place to start.  I've seen a couple of pumpkin peanut butter cup recipes on other blogs and tried one out, but the filling was simply pumpkin and peanut butter mixed together and wasn't really what I wanted.  That said, I'm spoiled when it comes to homemade peanut butter cups because for years my mom has been making a recipe that is pretty much spot on for those treats that come in the orange packages.  I figured that I'd get closer to the taste I was wanting if I modified that recipe.  It's also a cinch to make since it goes in a 9x13 pan rather than having to fill individual cups.  I used homemade pumpkin puree for this recipe, but canned should work just fine as well.  The result is still distinctly peanut butter cup but with a hint of pumpkin and spice. 

Pumpkin Peanut Butter Cups

14 tablespoons butter (1 stick + 6 tablespoons)
1 cup pumpkin puree
3 3/4 cups powdered sugar
1 1/4 cups peanut butter
1 1/4 cups graham cracker crumbs
1 1/4 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
12 ounce package semi-sweet chocolate chips

Melt the butter in a saucepan. Remove from heat and mix in powdered sugar, pumpkin, peanut butter, graham cracker crumbs and pumpkin pie spice. Press peanut butter mixture into an ungreased 9x13 pan. Melt chocolate chips in a double boiler or the microwave and spread over the top of the peanut butter mixture. Cool completely then cut into squares.