Cider-Glazed Harvest Cake

Cake
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks, 6 ounces) butter, soft
1 package Mom’s Pumpkin Pie Muffin Mix
4 large eggs
2 cups (7 ounces) grated carrots, lightly
packed
1 cup (4 ounces) diced walnuts or pecans
(optional)
1/2 cup (2 1/2 ounces) diced dried pineapple,
or drained crushed pineapple (optional)
3/4 cup (6 ounces) water

Cider Glaze
2 tablespoons boiled cider
1 tablespoon heavy cream
1 cup confectioners’ or glazing sugar

For the cake: In a medium-sized bowl, beat
the butter until it’s soft and fluffy. Add half
the mix, and stir until well-blended. Add the
eggs one at a time, beating well after each
addition. Stir in the carrots, nuts, and pine-
apple. Add the water 1/4 cup at a time alter-
nately with the remaining mix, stirring until
well-blended.

Spoon the batter into a lightly greased 9- to
10-cup bundt-style pan. Bake the cake in a
preheated 350°F oven for 55 to 65 minutes,
until a cake tester inserted into the center
comes out clean. Let the cake cool in the pan
for 15 minutes before turning it out onto a
rack to cool completely. When cool, place it
on a serving platter, and drizzle with cider
glaze, or dust with confectioners’ or glazing
sugar.

For the glaze: Stir all of the ingredients to-
gether, adding additional sugar or cream if
needed to make the glaze the consistency of
molasses. Drizzle the glaze over the top of the
cooled cake. Yield: 1 cake, 18 servings