Faeries may not so much dance as galumph around under the moon after a slice of this rich moist cake laden with fruit and nuts. The directions assume an electric mixer, but you can also beat it together with a wooden spoon.
Bonac Pumpkin Cake
2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups cooked pumpkin puree
4 large eggs
3 cups unbleached flour
2 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. salt
1/2 cup seedless black raisins
1/2 cup golden sultanas
1 1/4 cups chopped walnuts or mix of walnuts, pecans, and almonds
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit
Put the sugar, oil and pumpkin into the large bowl of the mixer. Beat well on medium speed. Add the eggs one at a time. Sift together the flour, baking powder, soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. On low speed, gradually incorporate these ingredients a half cup at a time.
Fold in all the fruits and nuts by hand. Grease and flour a ten-inch tube pan. Or if you don’t care for the firm crust this produces, grease the pan with butter, then cut a circle of wax paper to fit the bottom of the pan, butter this too, then pour the cake batter. Adjust the oven rack so that the cake will bake in the exact center of the oven. The rack should be in the lower third position so that the top will not rise in a hump and brown too fast. Bake for one-and-one-quarter hours. Do not open the oven for at least one hour or the cake may collapse. When a skewer or broom straw comes out clean, the cake is done.
Let the cake cool in the pan about 15 minutes. Put a cloth over your left hand, unmold the cake onto it, strip off the waxed paper if used, then turn the cake right-side-up onto a rack.
When it is cold, if you want to decor ate it place a fancy perforated paper doily on top of the cake and sift a little confectioner’s sugar over the top. (You can easily make one of these out of a plain paper napkin and a little creative snipping.)
Pumpkin cake is a good “keeper;” and may be stored wrapped in aluminum foil for at least a week (minus the sugar decoration) in a cool pantry. Or you can freeze it. Serve at room temperature.