Cakes & CupcakesDesserts & Sweet TreatsEasyPure PumpkinThanksgiving, Autumn & Halloween
Jack-O-Lantern Pumpkin Cake with Cream Cheese Filling
Level up the cuteness at your Halloween celebration with this easy-to-decorate pumpkin cake created by Lyndsay Sung @cococakeland! Pumpkin spice cake layers made with pure pumpkin puree, cream cheese filling and vanilla buttercream. Top with grocery-store candies to make the cutest pumpkin cake ever!
Ingredients
Decorations
- 1 Chocolate bar in a stem-like shape, such as Twix
- 30 Brown coloured candies such as M&Ms
- Spearmint leaf gummy candies
Pumpkin Spice Cake
- 1 ½ cups (375 grams) E.D. Smith® pure pumpkin
- 1 ½ cups (300 grams) granulated sugar
- 1 cup (237 ml) vegetable oil
- 1 tsp. (5 ml) pure vanilla extract
- 4 (200 grams) eggs, room temperature
- 2 cups (300 grams) all purpose flour
- 1 ½ tsp. (7.5 grams) baking powder
- 2 tsp. (10 grams) baking soda
- 1 tsp. (5 grams) salt
- 1 ½ tsp. (7.5 grams) ginger
- 1 ½ tsp. (7.5 grams) cinnamon
- ½ tsp. (2.5 grams) pumpkin pie spice
Cream Cheese Filling
- 1 cup (227 grams) cream cheese, room temperature
- 2 cups (240 grams) icing sugar
- ¼ tsp. (1 gram) salt
- 1 tsp. (5 ml) pure vanilla extract
Vanilla Buttercream
- 2 cups (454 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 2 cups (480 grams) icing sugar
- Pinch Salt
- 2 tsp. (10 ml) pure vanilla extract
- ⅛ tsp. orange gel food colouring
Directions
Pumpkin Spice Cake
- Preheat Oven to 350/175. Grease and line three 8x2-inch round cake pans with vegetable oil and parchment paper round cut to size.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, pumpkin spice mix until combined.
- In another large bowl using an electric mixer, combine the pure pumpkin, sugar, vegetable oil, eggs and vanilla extract until smooth, about one minute.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. On low speed, combine until a smooth batter forms, about one minute.
- Distribute cake batter evenly into each cake pan, smoothing the top with an offset spatula to level.
- Bake for 22-25 minutes until lightly golden and fragrant; a cake tester inserted in the center should come out with moist crumbs. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before frosting.
Cream Cheese Filling
- In a large bowl using an electric mixer, combine the creamcheese, icing sugar, vanilla and pinch of salt on low speed until combined. Increase speed to medium and beat for another two minutes.
Vanilla Buttercream
- In a large bowl using an electric mixer, combine the unsalted butter, icing sugar, vanilla, salt and orange gel colour on low speed until combined. Increase speed to medium-high and beat for another two minutes until it has doubled in volume.
Decorate The Cake
- Place the first cake layer on a cake board and trim to level, if need be. Dollop a generous amount of vanilla buttercream, using an offset spatula to create a divot in the frosting, leaving a one inch lip of vanilla buttercream around the edge. Fill the divot with creamcheese filling, spreading to the edge.
- Repeat with the second layer.
- Place the third layer on top of the frosted filling, pressing down lightly to adhere. Frost the entire exterior of the cake with vanilla buttercream with a crumb coat, using a cake bench scraper to smooth, if desired. Chill the cake for ten minutes to set the buttercream.
- Remove the cake from the fridge or freezer. Frost a final layer of orange buttercream over the entire exterior of the cake.
- Using a knife, carefully create vertical lines on the top of the cake to imply the lines of a pumpkin. Place the chocolate bar into the top of the cake as a stem. Adorn with green spearmint gummy candies. Using the brown M&Ms, create the eyes and the mouth. For the eyes, make a pyramid of candies to create a triangle shape.
- Cake can be made a day in advance; place in an airtight container or cover with cling wrap.
