Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Lightly coat your bundt pan with non-stick cooking spray and dust with a little flour. Be sure to shake out the excess flour. Set the pan aside. (Use a big bundt pan; this recipe makes a large cake.  See post for more details.)

Using a hand-held mixer, cream together the sugar and apple sauce. Next, add in the eggs one at a time and incorporate well into the mixture between each addition.

Add the pumpkin puree and blend well into the sugar and apple sauce mixture. Set aside.

Sift together the flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, and pumpkin spice.

On low speed, slowly incorporate the dry ingredients into the wet mixture until blended together, then stir in the chocolate and the walnuts.

Spoon the batter into your bundt pan, and smooth out the top. Tap the pan firmly onto your countertop to settle the batter into the nooks and crannies of the bundt pan.

Bake the cake for 60 minutes. Check for doneness using the toothpick method and bake for a few minutes longer if the toothpick does not come out clean.

Remove the cake from the oven, and let it cool for 15-20 minutes. Once cooled, turn out onto a cooling rack and allow to fully cool for at least 90 minutes at room temperature.

Before serving, dust the cake with the confectioner’s sugar.