Teatime guests will be quite impressed by these pretty layer cakes that sport the flavors of pumpkin, cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, and cloves, as well as bits of bittersweet chocolate, but they need not know just how easy they were to make and assemble.
Pumpkin-Spice Layer Cakes
Serves: 9
Ingredients
- 1⁄2 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 1 cup canned pumpkin purée
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups cake flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1⁄2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1⁄2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1⁄2 teaspoon ground cardamom
- 1⁄2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1⁄4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1⁄8 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1⁄2 cup whole buttermilk, room temperature
- 2 ounces finely chopped bittersweet chocolate
- Cream Cheese Frosting (recipe follows)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°.
- Spray a 15x10 1⁄2-inch rimmed baking sheet with baking spray with flour. Line with parchment paper, and spray again.
- In a large mixing bowl, beat butter at medium speed with a mixer until creamy, 1 to 2 minutes. Beat in brown sugar until light and fluffy, approximately 3 minutes. Beat in egg until well combined. Beat in pumpkin purée and vanilla extract until incorporated. (Batter will look broken, but it will come together.)
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, baking soda, and cloves until well combined. With mixer at low speed, add to butter mixture in thirds, alternately with buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Fold in chopped chocolate. Spread batter into prepared baking sheet. Tap baking sheet on countertop to remove air bubbles.
- Bake until a wooden pick inserted into the center comes out clean, 12 to 15 minutes. Let cool completely in baking sheet on a wire rack.
- Remove cake from baking sheet, and place on a cutting board. Cut cake into 2 (10 1⁄2x7 1⁄2-inch) portions.
- Place1⁄2 cup Cream Cheese Frosting in a piping bag fitted with a large, fluted piping tip (Wilton #21). Set aside.
- Using an offset spatula, spread half of remaining frosting onto a cake portion. Top with remaining cake portion. Spread remaining half of frosting in a smooth layer onto top of cake stack. Freeze assembled cake until firm enough to cut cleanly, approximately 1 hour.
- Using a long, sharp knife, trim rough edges (approximately 1⁄4 inch) from all sides of cake, pressing downward with knife to create clean cuts and wiping knife between each cut. Cut cake evenly into 9 (approximately 2 1⁄2x2-inch) rectangles. Place cake rectangles on a serving platter.
- Pipe reserved 1⁄2 cup frosting onto tops of cake rectangles in 3 rows using a shell pattern.
- Let come to room temperature before serving.
Cream Cheese Frosting
Serves: approximately 2⅔ cup
Ingredients
- 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 1⁄3 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 5 cups confectioners’ sugar
- 1 1⁄2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, beat together cream cheese and butter at medium speed with a mixer until smooth and creamy. Beat in confectioners’ sugar and vanilla extract until incorporated. Beat at medium-high speed until light and fluffy. Use immediately.
