Samantha Seneviratne Has You Covered for Holiday Baking Season

Thanksgiving is coming sooner than you think, and now is a great time to begin planning what you're going to bake for the holiday season. Whether it's a classic recipe or a new twist, baker and cookbook author Samantha Seneviratne has you covered in her new cookbook, Bake Smart: Sweets and Secrets from My Oven to Yours, which is out tomorrow. Seneviratne joins to discuss her baking secrets and take your calls.   DOWNY PUMPKIN BUNDT WITH MAPLE CREAM / Serves 10 Confectioners’ sugar is pulverized granulated sugar. It’s about ten times finer than granulated sugar, which is why we call it 10X in the biz. Cornstarch is usually added to the sugar as an anti caking agent. In this recipe, it creates a soft and very finely textured cake. CAKE Ingredients: ● 32 tablespoons (4 sticks; 452 grams) butter, at room temperature, plus more for the pan ● 3 ¼ cups (442 grams) all-purpose flour ● 1 tablespoon (12 grams) baking powder ● 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon ● ½teaspoon ground ginger ● ¼ teaspoon ground allspice ● ¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg ● 1 teaspoon kosher salt ● 1 pound (453 grams) confectioners’ sugar ● 4 large (200 grams) eggs, at room temperature ● 1 tablespoon (14 grams) pure vanilla extract ● 1 15-ounce (425 gram) can pumpkin puree (about 2 cups)   MAPLE CREAM Ingredients: ● ½ cup (114 grams) mascarpone ● ¼ cup (78 grams) maple syrup ● ¼ cup (30 grams) confectioners’ sugar ● 1 tablespoon (15 grams) whole milk if necessary   DIRECTIONS: ● Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter a 12-cup ● Butter a 12-cup Bundt pan. o The best way to butter a Bundt pan is with a pastry brush and soft butter. Make sure to get into every ridge.   PREPARE THE CAKE In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, allspice, nutmeg, and salt. In a large bowl, with an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the butter and confectioners’ sugar until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Beat in the eggs one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary. Beat in the vanilla. Add the flour mixture and beat on low speed until just combined. Fold in the pumpkin. Tip the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Rap the pan on the counter to knock out any air bubbles. Bake until a skewer inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, 70 to 75 minutes. Transfer the cake to a rack and let cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then flip the cake out onto the rack and let cool completely.   PREPARE THE MAPLE CREAM In a small bowl, stir together the mascarpone, maple syrup, and confectioners’ sugar. Stir in a little milk if necessary to adjust the consistency; the cream should be thin enough for drizzling. Drizzle the cream over the top of the cake to serve.