Halloween Cake

During the holidays starting in the fall ...I love to cook with pumpkin! This is an easy and fun cake to make to delight any kid and most adults for the Halloween season.

It's very easy although you do have to invest in a couple of specialized cake pans. I bought my small pumpkins cake pan at Williams-Sonoma last year but they don't offer it this year. You can buy the same one here. For the large pumpkin cake I used Martha Stewart's Pumpkin Pan that I bought at Macy's but they don't have it this year. You can find a similar one here.

You will need the following to make the cake:

Rectangular cake board

Cake recipes that come with each pan

Marshmallow ghosts (I got these at Wal-Mart in Halloween candy aisle)

White Fondant (You can also get this in craft section at Wal-Mart)

Dried fall leaves (you can get these at Hobby Lobby or craft store)

Candy corn

This is the recipe for the small cakes:

Pumpkin Patch Cakes

Sift together:
3 ½ cups flour
2 ¾ teaspoons baking powder
¾ teaspoon baking soda
2 ¼ teaspoon salt
5 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 ¾ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground allspice
¼ teaspoon ground cloves

In mixer beat until creamy:
14 Tablespoons butter

Add:
2 cups brown sugar
1 ½ cups white sugar
Beat until light and fluffy about 5 minutes.

Add:
4 eggs
Add eggs one at a time beating well after each addition.

Reduce the speed of mixer to slow and add the dry ingredients in three additions alternating with:
1 cup of milk

Add:
1 ¾ cups pumpkin puree
Mix until incorporated in batter.

Grease and flour cake pan. Divide half the batter between the wells of the prepared pan. Bake at 350° for 18-22 minutes or until toothpick inserted in batter comes out clean. Remove from oven and cool for 15 minutes. Gently tap pan on work surface to loosen cakes. Invert pan on wire rack and lift pan off cakes. Wash and dry pan and repeat with remaining batter.

Frosting:

All ingredients at room temperature

8 oz. cream cheese

1 stick (8 Tablespoons) butter

1 cup powdered sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

In mixer beat cream cheese for 2-3 minutes until smooth. Add the butter and beat until combined 1-2 minutes. Add the powdered sugar and vanilla and beat until fluffy 2-3 minutes. You may use food coloring as desired.

To assemble cakes use a serrated knife cut off any portion of 6 cakes that rose above the rim of the pan. Place a cake half flat side up and spread frosting on top. Place another cake flat side down on top. Repeat for 2 other cakes. Leave other cakes single to use for Halloween cake. Reserve frosting to use to attach to cake board.

For the large cake I used the Martha Stewart recipe that came with the cake pan.

Pumpkin Cake

15 Tablespoons butter at room temperature

3 cups flour

2 1/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon

3/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

3/4 teaspoon ground allspice

1 1/4 teaspoons salt

1 1/8 teaspoons baking powder

1 1/8 teaspoons baking soda

3 cups sugar

3 large eggs

1 1/2 cups canned pumpkin

3/4 cup warm milk (110 degrees F)

Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray pumpkin mold halves with nonstick cooking spray. Set mold halves on baking sheet.

In a large bowl, sift together flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Set aside.

Beat sugar and butter together until light and fluffy about 2 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time and beat until combined. Add pumpkin to warm milk and add to the butter sugar mixture and beat until combined. Add reserved flour mixture and beat on low speed until just combined.

Pour batter into prepared mold halves and bake until a cake tester inserted into middle comes out clean about 1 hour and 15 minutes. Transfer halves to a wire rack to cool. Let cake rest 20 minutes. Invert halves and unmold. Cool completely and wrap in plastic and let sit overnight.

White Chocolate Ganache

1/4 cup finely chopped white chocolate

2 Tablespoons heavy cream

Place white chocolate in a metal bowl. Bring a medium saucepan with about 2 inches of water to a simmer and turn off the heat. Set the bowl of chopped chocolate over the saucepan and melt the chocolate. Remove the bowl from the saucepan. Add cream and whisk until light and fluffy.

Orange Glaze

8 Tablespoons milk

1 drop orange liquid gel food coloring

4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar

In a medium bowl combine milk and orange food coloring. Slowly add confectioners' sugar whisking until smooth. Use immediately.

To assemble cake:

Using a serrated knife, trim halves flat so they will fit smoothly together. Spread the chocolate ganache evenly on the flat side of one half. Invert remaining cake onto the chocolate so the pumpkin shape is formed. Refrigerate 30 minutes.

Stand cake upright on a wire rack covered with parchment paper. Working quickly carefully pour glaze over the cake scraping the bowl with a rubber spatula. Tilt the cake as necessary to coat all sides. Let the glaze set completely before serving.

To assemble Halloween Cake:

Place a dollop of remaining frosting from the small cakes in center of cake board to one side. Using a metal turner carefully place large Pumpkin cake. Use smaller cakes around the large cake using remaining frosting to secure them to bottom of cake board. Use food coloring to color fondant and shape stems, leaves (you can use leaf cookie cutters if you have them) and tendrils for pumpkin cakes. Arrange candy corn and ghosts amid cakes and scatter leaves.