This beautiful cake is one of my favorites. It was posted last year, but after I made it for an auction recently, (added pictures) there were requests for the recipe. Goes to show what a picture can do for a recipe! So, my apologies that there are not pictures for the whole baking process, but don’t worry, this is an easy recipe! There are better pictures for the decorating process. When i candied the tiny lady apples and the pecans, I just cooked 1/2 cup of water and 2 cups of sugar until amber and then dipped the stuff (speared with a skewer) in the caramel, letting t dry on parchment paper. Don’t be intimidated, but do be careful! Please don’t burn yourself! Result- Show stopping, non-traditional Pumpkin Dessert for Thanksgiving Dinner. Oh, also, secretly easy!

Original Post:
This is the best cake I have had in a while and a wonderful dessert for Thanksgiving. It is a fantastic, moist, not too sweet cake full of pumpkin and buttermilk flavor and topped with a sugary frosting that reminds me a of a maple bar! I garnish the cake with sugared or toasted pecans, but you could also use walnuts. Another option is to play with the spices- like my sister subs out the ginger for cardamom and serves it with warm pears. Either way, I think you will really enjoy this cake- our plates were licked clean around here!

Pumpkin Cake
¾ cup butter, room temperature
1 ½ cups white sugar
1 ½ tsp vanilla
3 eggs
1 ¼ cups pumpkin puree

3 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp nutmeg
½ tsp ginger

1 cup buttermilk

Maple Butter cream
1 cup salted butter, room temperature
½ cup whole milk, room temperature
4 cups powdered sugar
2 tsp maple extract

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

Pumpkin Cake:
In the bowl of a standing mixer, beat the sugar and butter together until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla and the eggs and beat to combine. Add the pumpkin and combine well. It will look like the batter has curdled, but it is fine!

In a separate bowl add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices and sift them all together. Add half of the flour mixture to the batter, and then half of the buttermilk. Combine completely and then add the rest of the flour and the rest of the buttermilk. Mix the batter until it is completely combined.

Prepare two 9” round cake pans with baking spray. Divide the batter evenly between the two pans. Bake the cake rounds for about 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Remove the cakes from the heat and let them cool on a rack completely.

Maple Butter Cream:
Combine butter and milk and beat them together. Add the powdered sugar gradually and mix until the butter, milk and powdered sugar take on a frosting texture. Add the maple extract and combine well.

Assemble cake:
Place one cooled cake layer on a cake plate. Spread about 1/3 of the frosting over the top of the cake layer. Place the second layer on top of the first. Using the rest of the frosting, generously spread the butter cream over the top and sides of the cake. I added candied pecans to the top of the cake in a circular pattern and tiny candied lady apples streaked with gold luster dust for garnish. Enjoy!

(gold lustre dust swipe added with a soft watercolor brush. I painted it as though it were a highlight on the candied apple)