Nick Sanders, the former mayor of Trophy Club, and his wife Lynda have entered the State Fair cooking/creative arts competition for years. Nick won a blue ribbon for his first effort in 2004, a white fudge with an orange sauce. His Pumpkin Spice Flan Cake earned him first place in the Tex-Mex category in 2020. It’s exceptionally moist thanks to the top layer of flan.
Serves 10-15
CAKE
½ cup unsalted butter, softened
½ cup granulated sugar
½ cup packed light brown sugar
1 large egg, room temperature
2¼ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
¾ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
½ cup canned pumpkin
1/3 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ cup jarred cajeta (Mexican caramel sauce)
Flan (recipe follows)
1/3 cup chopped pecans or walnuts for serving
Fill a large roasting pan with hot water to a depth of 2 inches. Place on a rack in the lower third of the oven. Heat oven to 350°F. Generously coat a light (not dark) 14-cup Bundt pan with cooking spray.
Beat butter and sugars (stand mixer or hand mixer) on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add egg; beat just until blended.
In a bowl, sift together flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together pumpkin, buttermilk and vanilla.
Add flour mixture to butter mixture alternately with pumpkin mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture, beating on low speed after each addition. Batter will be thick.
Pour cajeta evenly into prepared Bundt pan. Gently spoon cake batter over cajeta; smooth top when finished. Set aside.
FLAN
1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk
1 can (12 ounces) evaporated milk
3 large eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
¼ cup jarred cajeta
Add all ingredients to a blender or a large bowl and mix on high speed until completely combined, about 30 seconds, stopping to scrape down sides as needed.
Pour mixture over cake batter in Bundt pan. Cover loosely with aluminum foil.
Gently place Bundt pan in water-filled roasting pan (water should be steaming).
Bake at 350°F until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean (90-105 minutes). Remove Bundt pan from roasting pan; transfer to a wire rack and let cool about 45 minutes. Cake should be slightly warm. Gently invert onto a rimmed serving platter. Spoon cajeta over top. Sprinkle with chopped nuts.
Meda Kessler is edible Dallas Forth Worth's art director, layout designer, and more.