Dana Eilers

Many years ago, I found this recipe in an edition of COUNTRY LIVING MAGAZINE.  I have been making it for over three decades.  It can be tweaked to be more pungent, more fruity, more nutty.  I have added cranberries to the cake, which gives it a real *kick.*  You can put icing on the cake or leave it bare.  Thin slices with coffee are the perfect holiday interlude.  Thicker slices with cream cheese in the morning are wonderful breakfast fare.  Baked in smaller loaves and wrapped festively, it makes a tremendous, thoughtful *fresh from the oven* Christmas gift for bosses, teachers, etc.  My bosses always loved it when I baked this cake at the holidays.  The cake is festive, bright, and very, very filling.

Ingredients

• 3 cups unsifted flour
• 2 cups sugar
• 4 tsp baking powder
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 16-ounce can pumpkin
• 3/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1/3 cup apple or orange juice
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• ½ coarsely chopped walnuts
• 4 large eggs
• ½ cup dark seedless raisins
• confectioners sugar

To Prepare
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Grease and flour a ten inch Bundt pan. In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. In a small bowl, beat pumpkin, oil, juice, eggs, and vanilla. Stir pumpkin mixture into flour mixture until well combined. Fold in nuts and raisins. Pour into prepared pan and bake 55 to 60 minutes. Take out of pan. Sprinkle with confectioner’s sugar before serving.