Preheat oven to 350 degrees, and use baking spray to prepare two 9-by-5-inch loaf pans or one bundt pan. Stir together the sugar and oil in a bowl, and add in the eggs and pumpkin. Combine the dry ingredients and spices in a separate bowl. Blend the dry ingredients and water into wet mixture, alternating between the dry and wet. Divide the batter between the two loaf pans or pour all of it into one bundt pan. Bake until cake tester comes out clean, about 1 hour, but know that a bundt pan may take a bit longer. Let stand 15-20 minutes before turning out of the pan.  Let cool completely before icing or dusting with powdered sugar and serving.

Once the cake is completely cool, you can ice it if you choose. To make the icing, mix powdered sugar--you will need at least 1 cup, but maybe more, and in a splash or two of milk and vanilla. Use a very light hand when adding the milk and vanilla, as it doesn't take that much to make the icing, definitely less than you would think. You want the icing fairly thick, so it doesn't just run off, and you will need to stir it until there are no lumps and it pours slowly off a spoon, think about the consistency of honey.  Place your cake on a rack over a waxed paper for easier cleanup, and pour the icing over the top of the cake and let it run down the inside and the outside.