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Halloween Pumpkin Cake Recipe
Ash Tyrrell

Halloween Pumpkin Cake Recipe

I made this pumpkin cake for the first time when my kids begged me for something "extra" to bring to their school's fall party, and I honestly didn't expect it to turn out this cute. I stacked two small Bundt cakes together, colored some buttercream orange, and suddenly I had a little jack-o'-lantern sitting on my counter.
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Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Servings: 16
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 1 box yellow cake mix — the shortcut that makes this a genuinely easy pumpkin cake recipe without sacrificing flavor
  • 15 ounces pumpkin puree — go for plain canned pumpkin not pumpkin pie filling, since this keeps the sweetness in your control
  • 1 large egg — helps bind everything and gives the crumb a little more structure
  • ¼ cup vegetable oil — this is what keeps the cake moist for days instead of drying out
  • 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice — the backbone of that warm cozy fall flavor
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon — layers in extra warmth on top of the pie spice
  • ½ cup vegetable shortening — helps the buttercream hold its shape especially in a warm kitchen
  • ½ cup unsalted butter softened — adds richness and real flavor to balance the shortening
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract — rounds out the sweetness of the frosting
  • 4 cups powdered sugar — the base of a thick pipeable buttercream
  • 2 tablespoons milk — thin the frosting out with a splash more if you want it easier to spread
  • orange green, and black food coloring — this is what turns plain frosting into a proper pumpkin face

Method
 

  1. Preheat your oven to 350°F and grease your two Bundt pans along with the mini muffin pan. In a large bowl, combine the cake mix, pumpkin puree, egg, oil, pumpkin pie spice, and cinnamon, then beat on low before turning the mixer up to medium for about a minute and a half.
  2. Spoon a small amount of batter into four mini muffin cups, then divide the rest evenly between your two Bundt pans. Bake the muffins for about 20 minutes and the cakes for 35 to 45 minutes total, checking with a toothpick until it comes out clean.
  3. Let both cakes and the mini muffins cool fully before you touch the frosting step. This part takes patience, but rushing it means your buttercream will slide right off a warm cake instead of setting nicely in place.
  4. While the cakes cool, beat the shortening on its own for a couple of minutes, then add the butter and mix until combined. Gradually add half the powdered sugar, then the milk and vanilla, followed by the rest of the sugar, beating until smooth and fluffy.
  5. Place one cake rounded-side down and set a mini muffin in its center hole. Frost the top, then place the second cake on top rounded-side up, tucking another muffin into that center hole as well.
  6. Color most of your frosting orange and cover the entire stacked cake with it, using an upward motion with your offset spatula to mimic a real pumpkin's ridges. Finish with a green-frosted muffin stem on top, piped vines and leaves, and a jolly black face piped on with a round tip.

Notes

  • I always let my cakes cool completely on a wire rack before frosting, since warm cake practically guarantees a melty, sliding mess.
  • I like using a toothpick to lightly sketch the face before I pipe it, so I'm not freehanding eyes and a mouth under pressure.
  • I make my frosting a little thicker than usual so the ridged pumpkin texture holds its shape instead of smoothing itself flat.
  • I always make extra green frosting, since piping vines eats up more than you'd think.
  • I keep a damp paper towel nearby to wipe my offset spatula between strokes, which keeps the ridges looking clean instead of streaky.