High altitudes make cookies spread in the pan, cakes fall, and few baked goods turn out as they do at sea level. This twice-monthly column presents recipes and tips that make baking in the mountains successful.

Perfect for celebrations throughout the fall and winter months, this beauty highlights the tastes we crave in cool weather. It’s as if a spice cake, pumpkin cake and fruit cake were blended. None dominate but all contribute equally to this dense, moist (think pound cake) strongly flavored, attention-getting bundt. 

Yes, the lengthy list of ingredients is intimidating. But once they’re assembled the batter comes together quickly with straightforward directions. And, you have options: Though it adds a lot, the cream cheese ribbon can be omitted, you can use different nuts and dried fruits, drop the drizzle and top warm slices with store-bought caramel sauce or, if you’re serving it at brunch, don’t top it at all.  

---

---

Half of a large egg is used in the cream cheese ribbon and again in the cake batter. To get one, crack a large egg, pour the yolk and white into a 1-cup measure and whisk to combine them. The mixture usually measures about 4 tablespoons, so use 2 tablespoons of it when half a large egg is first called for and save the remaining mixture to add later.

Fall-flavors bundt

---

---

Make in an 8-cup nonstick bundt pan. Adjusted for altitudes of 7,000 feet and above.

Cream Cheese Ribbon

4 ounces full-fat cream cheese, cut into 8 pieces, room temperature

2 tablespoons granulated sugar, preferably superfine

1 tablespoon cream or whole milk

1/2 large egg

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Zest of 1 orange or 1/4 teaspoon orange oil, optional

Cake

2 cups plus 2 tablespoons bleached all-purpose flour, spoon and level

1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon table salt

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

1 cup granulated sugar, preferably superfine

1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar

1/2 can (7 1/2 ounces) plus 2 tablespoons pumpkin puree

2 1/2 large eggs, room temperature

1/2 cup canola oil

1/2 cup orange juice or water

1/2 cup chopped pecans

1/2 cup chopped dates

1/4 cup chopped dried cranberries

Drizzle, optional

2 teaspoons unsalted butter

1 tablespoon heavy cream

1 teaspoon corn syrup 

2 tablespoons packed dark brown sugar

1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar

Pinch or two ground cinnamon, optional

2 tablespoons finely chopped pecans

Get ready: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees with a rack in the center position. Generously grease your pan with a baking spray that contains flour. 

Prepare the cream cheese ribbon: In a small bowl, beat the cream cheese, sugar, and cream until smooth. Add the half of an egg, vanilla, and orange zest and stir/beat until combined. Set this aside.

Combine the dry cake ingredients: In a medium bowl, whisk the dry ingredients (flour through cloves) to blend. Set this aside.

Make the batter: In a large bowl, beat the 2 sugars, pumpkin puree, 2 1/2 eggs, oil, and orange juice/water to combine. In 4 additions, beat in the dry ingredients only until blended. By hand stir in the nuts, dates and cranberries. 

Bake: Scrape half of the batter into the prepared pan, smooth and level it. Cover it with the cream cheese ribbon, spreading it to within 1/2-inch of the pan sides. Use a knife to swirl the ribbon through the batter. Top this with the remaining batter. Rap the pan on a solid surface to remove any air bubbles and bake until a long toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with just a little of the cream cheese ribbon attached, 40-50 minutes. If the top browns before the batter is fully baked, tent a piece of foil over the pan. 

Cool: Place the cake on a rack, cool for 15 minutes, then invert the cake, remove the pan, and leave the cake on the rack to cool completely. 

Make drizzle, if using: In a small saucepan, over medium-low heat, stir the butter with the cream and corn syrup until butter melts and all are blended and warm. Add the brown sugar and continue stirring until it’s fully dissolved and simmers for several minutes. Remove from the heat, whisk in the confectioners’ sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, and cinnamon (optional) until the mixture thickens to a consistency that will  slide off a spoon, Drizzle it over the top of the cooled cake and scatter chopped pecans over it. Let the glaze set.

Serve and Store: Store the cake, covered, at room temperature for 2 days, in the fridge for 4 days and in the freezer for a month. Serve slices at room temperature or warm.

Vera Dawson’s column “High Country Baking” publishes biweekly in the Summit Daily News. Dawson is a high-elevation baking instructor and author of three high-altitude cookbooks. Her recipes have been tested in her kitchen in Frisco, where she’s lived since 1991, and altered until they work at elevation. Contact her at veradawson1@gmail.com.