Glazed Pumpkin, Oatmeal & Black Walnut Cake

It’s October! We can be fall-ish now. ( Yes, you have my permission.)

The last few days I have had a serious pumpkin addiction. Halloween is prevalent on my mind. As are fall leaves and a couple October weekend getaways I have coming up!

I have bought several cans of pumpkin puree and several bags of candy corn. (Tim and I may have eaten those several bags.) I have perused the seasonal Halloween aisle at several store. I have used all the almond milk and half & half in my house on my quest to drink as many pumpkin lattes as possible. I made my own jar of pumpkin pie spice for that very reason.

I made some tiny bundt cakes, too. Pumpkin baked goods are required this time of year.  Cakes, scones, cookies. . yum. Except pumpkin pie. . it’s my exception. I am not a big fan.

How do you feel about black walnuts? I enjoy them. They’re not used nearly enough, in my opinion. Of course, you don’t see shelled, ready-for-retail-sale black walnuts very often either. It’s a shame.

They tend to be one of those foods that you either love or hate. (Like mushrooms, cilantro, goat cheese, etc. All of which I love.) Maybe that’s another reason people don’t use them much. Too polarizing.

They have a very distinctive, sharp flavor. Not at all like English Walnuts. But if you hate black walnuts you could use English Walnuts in these. Or pecans. Or skip the nuts all together. I, of course, made some of these little cakes without nuts for my allergic husband. How sad that he will never be able to try a black walnut.

These particular black walnuts were found at a farmers market by my dad. Already shelled! He got me a little bag. (Did I mention they are also usually not cheap. Mostly because they are a pain in the rump to shell. Most stories I hear involve people running them over with their cars to crack them.)

The older set seems to love black walnuts. A throw back to the day you would never let those nuts just rot in the yard. My 80-something grandparents love them. (Hickory nuts, too. . . but can I find them for sale anywhere? NOPE!)

I made mini Bundt cakes out of this batter. My SIL gave me a mini Bundt pan awhile ago and I had yet to use it. You know Tim’s theory on mini foods. He’s a fan.

Of course, if you don’t want to deal with the hassle of getting a mini Bundt pan, you could just use a regular size Bundt pan. Or a 9×13. You’ll have to increase the bake time, though. What could be better in October than a pumpkin cake?

Pumpkin, Oatmeal & Black Walnut Cake

1 cup Oatmeal

1 cup very hot water

1 15oz can pumpkin puree (NOT pumpkin pie filling)

Combine oatmeal, water and oatmeal in a bowl and mix well. Set aside for 20 minutes.

1/4 cup shortening

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup white sugar

Combine shortening and sugars in a large mixing bowl. With a mixer (or fork) mix until they have formed a uniform, crumbly mixture.

3 eggs

Add eggs and mix to combine. Add the oatmeal mixture and mix well.

1 1/2 cups flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp salt

Add the flour, soda, cinnamon and salt. Mix everything together until you have a uniform batter.

1/2 to 1 cup black walnuts, optional

Stir the walnuts into the batter.

Bake at 350 degrees in greased mini Bundt pans for 18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow cake to cool completely and remove from pan.

Cinnamon Glaze

1 cup powdered sugar

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp vanilla extract

1-2 Tbsps almond milk or milk or water (just enough to make it drizzle-able. You won’t need much.

Whisk all the ingredients together. Drizzle over the cooled cake(s).