Pumpkin Tres Leches Bundt Cake for #BundtaMonth

After 10 years near the equator, I am finally living in a place with seasons.  I am not sure exactly that there are four seasons in Cairo because, for me, one of the signs of autumn is leaves that turn lovely yellow, orangey, brown colors and then fall from the trees.  The nights and even days are getting cooler but the trees stay steadfastly green and the flowers are still blooming.  But since I have become part of the blogging community, I can’t ignore the most definitive sign of autumn:  All the pumpkin recipes that are flooding the internets.   This month, I am joining a group of bloggers dedicated to Bundt cake, large and mini.  Because I love a Bundt cake.  With a nod to My Big Fat Greek Wedding, I have to ask, Who can resist a cake with an hole in it?  And the theme for October is, you guessed it, pumpkin.  And since October sits nicely between Mexican Independence Day in September and American Thanksgiving in November, I decided to make a pumpkin tres leches Bundt cake.  If you are not a fan of saturated cake, by all means, just make the pumpkin Bundt and forget drenching it in the sweet milk mixture.  But I can tell you that I took this out to a dinner party for dessert and people were swooning over it in a most dramatic fashion.  It is that good.

Ingredients 
For the Bundt cake:
1/2 cup canola oil
1/2 cup milk
3 eggs
1 (15 oz) can pumpkin puree
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups sugar
3 cups flour plus extra for preparing the Bundt pan
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1⁄2 teaspoon salt



For the milk mixture:
1/4 cup evaporated milk
1 cup sweetened condensed milk
1/4 cup milk

For serving:
Unsweetened whipped cream (optional but highly recommended)

Method
Preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C and butter or non-stick spray your Bundt pan extremely well.  Sprinkle in a generous amount of flour and make sure it covers all the way up the middle part of the pan.  Set aside.

Heap all of the ingredients for the Bundt cake in your mixing bowl.  I measured out the dry ingredients first and then topped them with the wet.

Mix until well combined.  Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula and make sure there isn’t any still dry flour at the bottom of the bowl.

Mix on medium for at least three minutes.

Pour the batter into your prepared Bundt pan and bake in your preheated oven for 50-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

While your Bundt is baking, whisk together the ingredients for your sweet milk mixture.  Set aside.

When your Bundt comes out of the oven, allow to cool for about five minutes and then run a knife gently around the inside of the top and middle of the cake to loosen it.  Place a plate over the top of the pan and invert to remove the cake.

Poke the cake all over with a wooden skewer or satay stick.  The little holes will allow the milk mixture to seep into the cake.

Pour about half of the sweet milk mixture into the Bundt pan and gently ease the cake back into the pan so it doesn’t splash out.

Poke holes in the bottom of the cake.

Slowly drizzle the balance of the milk mixture over it.  Cover with cling film and put the whole thing in the refrigerator until you are ready to serve.

To remove from the pan when you are ready to serve, invert a cake plate with a slope or sides on top of the Bundt pan and turn the cake over quickly.  Remove the pan.  Some sweet milk mixture will seep out of the cake.  Scrape out any sweet milk that is left behind in the pan and drizzle it over the cake.

Cut slices of cake and top with unsweetened whipped cream, if desired.  And drizzle on some of the sweet milk mixture.

Enjoy!

To learn more about BundtaMonth or to join the fabulous group of bakers for next month's challenge, head on over to Baker Street and Cake Duchess, the hosts of this Bundt-loving group.

After you have drooled over their lovely creations, scroll down to see the rest of the participating bloggers' beautiful Bundts.