Pumpkin Cake

You all are going to think I'm crazy, but I had some free time yesterday and what did I do with it? I baked a cake of course! I guess baking and decorating a 3-tier cake wasn't enough to satisfy my cake obsession for this weekend!

Here she is...

Isn't she pretty? She's rustic. But that's on purpose.

I can't really take credit for the design. I got it from Miso. Some of you may remember that I have done some challenges for Miso's blog. She is an amazing decorator that also does some cake-related posts for Half-Baked, the cake blog. She did a post on Half-Baked last week in which she shared this design and her recipe. It is delicious! You can read her post, her instructions, and her recipe here.

For mine, I used a smaller bundt-type pan that is shaped like a donut. It is the giant donut cake pan from Williams-Sonoma. I got it as a gift from my mother-in-law last year and I love it! (Thanks Mitzi!) To give my pumpkin a bit more height, and so it wouldn't look like just a donut, I also put a little of the batter in an 8-inch round cake pan. I didn't cut and fill the halves of the donut, but instead put my 8-inch round (trimmed to fit) in between the two donut layers with ganache on each side. (I hope that made sense!)

Maybe this picture of one of the slices will help you see what I mean.

I'm not sure why I cut such a measly piece. I will definitely make my own slice bigger! Don't judge! :)

I will say a word of caution. Don't be too heavy-handed with the chocolate or it will overwhelm the pumpkin flavor and spices of the cake. A thin layer is perfect! Or, you could use some cream cheese icing instead for a more traditional, but no less delicious, combination. I also noticed that Miso's ganache recipe calls for chocolate chips. You may recall that I told you not to use chocolate chips. And I stand by that! Chocolate chips contain extra wax that makes them more challenging to melt. So, I recommend a good-quality chocolate instead of the chips. But if chips are all you have or all you can find, by all means give it a go. Just be aware that they may not melt as well or behave for you like other chocolate in non-chip form.

I covered my pumpkin with vanilla bean swiss meringue buttercream that was tinted orange. I think it was perfect! Not quite as artsy as Miso's, but I love it all the same. (I really love Miso's too though!)

Actually, I had some orange left over from the last MisoBakes cake that I did, as well as some white from the baby shower cake and a little green from another cake. I mixed them all together and covered the pumpkin with the resulting perfect pumpkin color. I love it when using leftovers works out so well!

One batch of batter was enough for my little pumpkin. Miso's was a lot bigger, I think, and would serve more people.

This is a perfect cake to try this fall! It's moist and wonderful, with good pumpkin flavor and a boost from the chocolate ganache. Enjoy!!