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Note: This makes a generous amount of glaze and the glaze contributes to the moist and flavorful cake. But if you like, spoon only half of the glaze over the cake and save the other half to reheat gently and spoon over the cake slices when serving them with ice cream.

PUMPKIN CRANBERRY CHRISTMAS CAKE

ONE OF MY VIVID CHILDHOOD Christmas memories is seeing rows of wrapped fruitcakes waiting on the dining room table. My mom would spend weeks baking fruitcakes then soaking them in bourbon before wrapping them in red cellophane with a big green bow. To be honest, the packaging was more interesting than the cake, for as a child I was not a big fruitcake fan. And even today I like it only when it is very moist and the dried fruit inside is interesting. When I baked this cake last Christmas all those memories came rushing back, except this time they were better! Here were the dried fruit and spices and bourbon I remembered, but this cake was more moist because of the addition of pumpkin and the bourbon that the raisins and cranberries soaked up. I put on the kettle for a cup of tea, then sat down with a slice and really savored it. Bake this for holiday brunches and parties and for gift giving.

serves:

12 to 16

prep:

30 minutes

bake:

50 to 55 minutes

cool:

40 to 45 minutes

Recipe Reminders

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For the cake

Vegetable oil spray, for misting the pan

Flour, for dusting the pan

¾ cup finely chopped pecans

½ cup golden raisins

½ cup dried sweetened cranberries

1 package (18.25 ounces) plain yellow or vanilla cake mix (see Note)

¼ cup packed light brown sugar

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon ground nutmeg

½ teaspoon ground allspice

1 can (15 ounces) pumpkin, about 2 cups

2/3 cup vegetable oil

1/3 cup bourbon or water

4 large eggs

For the glaze

4 tablespoons (½ stick) butter

½ cup packed light brown sugar

¼ cup bourbon or apple juice

1. Make the cake: Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 325°F. Place the pecans in a baking pan and toast them in the oven while it preheats until they are fragrant and deep brown, 4 to 5 minutes.

2. Lightly mist a 12-cup Bundt pan with vegetable oil spray, then dust it with flour. Shake out the excess flour and set the pan aside.

3. Remove the toasted pecans from the oven and let them cool, then set aside ½ cup of pecans for the cake batter and ¼ cup for the topping. Leave the oven on.

4. Place the raisins and cranberries on a cutting board and chop them in thirds (see sidebar, facing page).

Raise a Rack Up

Many cooling racks have little feet on them to raise the rack off the kitchen counter an inch or two. You need this airflow underneath the cooling cake to speed up the process. If your wire rack does not have feet, you can place two wooden spoons lying facedown underneath, one at each end. Or, there are other items from your kitchen drawer that would also work—upside-down measuring cups, little jars of sugar sprinkles, and so on.

5. Place the cake mix, ¼ cup of brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, pumpkin, oil, 1/3 cup of bourbon or water, and the eggs in a large mixing bowl. Beat with an electric mixer on low speed until the ingredients are combined, 30 seconds. Stop the machine and scrape down the side of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Increase the mixer speed to medium and