Pumpkin Spice Cake

Today's my husband's birthday. So, of course, I had to post a cake recipe even though, as I explained last week, this month is all about the pumpkin. But, you know what? That works too because pumpkin pie is his absolute favorite pie--one he'd gladly eat year round. 

Even better, as it happens, I have an excerpt or two to go with the cake (see below and in "this week's excerpt") since it's a combination I put together for one of my characters when she was having a very special birthday a few years back. Of course, for this recipe I left off the fancy decorations my character got--the fondant, the fake pearls, the sugar feathers, etc, but I'm sure it will taste just as good. ;)

Pumpkin Spice Cake with Caramel Filling

 and Brown Sugar Butter Cream Frosting 

(in the style of Oberon's Eternal Bliss Bakery)

Cake:

Ingredients

·         1 1/2 sticks of butter

·         1 cup brown sugar

·         1 cup granulated sugar

·         3 eggs

·         1 cup pumpkin purée

·         1/2 cup buttermilk

·         1 teaspoon vanilla

·         2 cups flour

·         2 teaspoons baking powder

·         1 teaspoon baking soda

·         2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice

Directions

1.       Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

2.       Lightly coat three 8-inch cake pans with butter and flour and set aside

3.       Cream butter and sugars together until smooth

4.       Add eggs, one at a time, until the mixture is smooth and light

5.       In another bowl, combine the pumpkin, buttermilk, and vanilla

6.       In yet another bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and spices

7.       Add the flour mixture and the buttermilk mixture to the butter mixture, alternating a little of each until all ingredients are blended and smooth

8.       Pour batter into pans and bake for approximately 35 to 40 minutes.

9.       Allow cakes to cool in pans for thirty minutes before removing to racks and cooling completely.

10.   While cake is cooling, make caramel filling and buttercream frosting

Caramel Filling:

Ingredients

·         1 cup sugar

·         4 tbsp butter

·         1/4 cup heavy cream

·         pinch of salt

Directions

1.       Heat sugar in saucepan, until sugar melts

2.       Once  sugar turns a deep golden brown, take it off the heat and quickly stir in butter.

3.       Add salt

4.       Pour in cream and continue stirring until smooth.  Set aside to cool.

Brown Sugar Butter Cream:

Ingredients

·         4 egg whites

·         1 cup packed light-brown sugar

·         1/4 teaspoon salt

·         3 sticks butter

Directions

1.       Using either a double-boiler, or a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water, whisk together egg whites, brown sugar, and salt.

2.       Continue cooking, whisking constantly, until sugar has dissolved

3.       Remove from heat and beat on medium speed until fluffy. About 15 minutes.

4.       Increase speed and beat until stiff peaks form.

5.       Reduce speed again. Add butter, 2 to 3 tablespoons at a time, until fully incorporated.

6.       Assemble the cake: Place one layer on a cake plate and top with half the caramel cream.

7.       Repeat with the second layer and then top caramel with the third layer of cake.

8.       Frost entire cake with buttercream.

Be sure to check out these other blogs for more tasty treats:

Honey, I shrunk the dinner by Selena Robins 

Tasty Tuesday Pizzeria by Nancy Lauzon

Eggplant Casserole by Renee Wildes

Now, here' s one of the excerpts from And Shadows Have Their Ending (Oberon, book 9) 

            “Ah, there’s the birthday girl,” Chenoa called out cheerily when Cara entered the bakery later that morning.  “I was wondering when you’d turn up.”

            “I’m not too early am I?” Cara asked as she approached the counter.

            “Not at all.”  Smiling brightly, Chenoa slid a cake onto the counter.  “So?  Whaddaya think?”

            Cara gasped in admiration. “It’s beautiful.”

            The round cake had been covered with a flawlessly smooth surface, just slightly shiny, pale blue flecked with brown, like a robin’s egg.  A string of pearls ran around the top edge and all along the side were feathers; soft plumes in shades of apricot, peach and white.

            “Are those real?” Cara asked reaching out gingerly to touch one.

            Chenoa grinned.  “Nope.  It’s all edible.  The feathers are made of spun sugar.  The pearls are white chocolate dusted with an iridescent baker’s food coloring powder that I–”  She broke off chuckling. “Probably more than you wanted to know, right?  Sorry.  I always tend to get carried away when I start talking shop.”

            Cara still couldn’t take her eyes from the cake.  “No, that’s okay.  It’s wonderful.”

            “Glad you like it.  There’s just one thing missing.”  Chenoa indicated the blank, ivory disk set into the top of the cake.  “You never told me what name you wanted on it.”

            “It’s Cara.”

            The voice came from behind her, Cara stiffened at the sound.  Liam.  She turned in time to see him rise from his place at one of the tables near the window––to the left of the door, where she hadn’t thought to look.

            “Her name’s Cara,” Liam repeated, smiling as he walked toward them.

To learn more about this series, click HERE

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