There was always a cake on the counter in Dorie Greenspan’s childhood home in Brooklyn. Her mother would visit the three neighborhood bakeries to satisfy her sweet tooth, and Greenspan recalled often finding her mother and a neighbor having coffee and cake together.

“This is really kind of what started the book,” Greenspan told GBH’s Boston Public Radio on Monday. “These thoughts of what it was like to have cake in the house, what it was like to have something to welcome people with.”

Now, Greenspan is a multiple James Beard Award-winning baker and cookbook author, known for her books “Baking with Julia,” “Baking: From My Home to Yours” and “Dorie’s Cookies.”

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"Cakes are for sharing," said Dorie Greenspan. That's the sentiment behind her latest cookbook.
Katie Donnelley

She says baking doesn’t have to be hard. That’s the sentiment behind her latest cookbook, “Dorie’s Anytime Cakes,” a collection of simple cake recipes, many which can be made with just a bowl and a whisk.

Greenspan described herself as a “whim” baker. “When I want to bake, I want to bake. And I want you to be able to bake on the spur of the moment, too,” she said. And ultimately, be able to share something delicious and sweet with other people.

“Cakes are for sharing,” Greenspan said.

Cocoa-Swirled Pumpkin Bundt

Makes 12 servings

Make sure that you choose pure pumpkin puree, not pumpkin pie filling, which is sweetened and spiced. While there are different versions of pumpkin puree available — many supermarkets have their own brands — if you can, I suggest you buy Libby’s. It is the most consistent, it has a beautiful color and, most important, it’s not watery — it always bakes well.

INGREDIENTS

For the swirl:

  • 3 tablespoons sugar 
  • 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder 
  • Pinch of fine sea salt 
  • Pinch of ground cinnamon  
  • 1/4 cup (50 grams) finely chopped dark chocolate or mini dark chocolate chips 

For the cake:

  • 3 cups (408 grams) all-purpose flour 
  • 2 teaspoons baking soda 
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon 
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger 
  • 3/4 teaspoon fine sea salt 
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom 
  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg 
  • 1 cup (240 ml) neutral oil 
  • 1 1/2 cups (300 grams) sugar 
  • 1/2 cup (100 grams) brown sugar 
  • 3 large eggs, at room temperature 
  • 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract 
  • 1 can (15 ounces; 425 grams) pure pumpkin puree  

DIRECTIONS

  1. To make the swirl, mix the sugar, cocoa powder, salt, cinnamon and chocolate together in a small bowl and keep at hand. 
  2. To make the cake, center a rack in the oven and preheat it to 350 degrees F. Coat the interior of a 12-cup Bundt pan with baker’s spray or butter it, dust with flour and tap out excess. 
  3. Working in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large bowl with a hand mixer, beat the oil and both sugars together on medium speed for a couple of minutes to blend well. The mixture should look slushy, like wet sand.
  4. Still beating on medium, and scraping the bowl and beater(s) early and often, add the eggs one at a time, beating for about a minute after each one goes in. The mix will continue to look iffy until that last egg is in and then, as if by magic, it will become satiny.
  5. Reduce the mixer speed and blend in the vanilla and pumpkin puree. 
  6. Turn the mixer off. Add one-third of the dry ingredients and pulse the mixer on and off to get the blending going and to help prevent the counter from getting showered with flour. 
  7. Working on low speed, mix until the dry ingredients are almost incorporated. Turn off the mixer, scrape and add half of the remaining dry ingredients. Pulse, mix on low, stop and scrape again, then add the last of the dry ingredients, mixing on low until fully blended. Give everything a few last turns with a flexible spatula. 
  8. Scrape one-third to one-half of the batter into the pan and smooth it with the spatula. 
  9. Spoon the cocoa swirl over the batter. You can try to make an even layer and prevent the swirl from touching the sides of the pan, but it’s almost impossible, so relax. 
  10. Add the rest of the batter — it will only half fill the pan, but it will rise considerably in the oven. 
  11. Bake for 55 to 60 minutes, or until the cake is beautifully puffed, is cracked around the top and pulls away from the sides of the pan when gently tugged. A tester poked into the center of the cake should come out clean — make sure you don’t hit the gooey swirl.
  12. Transfer the pan to a rack and let the cake rest for 10 minutes, then turn it out onto the rack and allow it to cool to room temperature. 
  13. Once the cake is cool, you can dust it with confectioners’ sugar, or you can glaze or ice it. 

Recipe from “Dorie’s Anytime Cakes” by Dorie Greenspan. Copyright 2025 by Dorie Greenspan. Used with permission from Harvest, an imprint of HarperCollins. All rights reserved.