Pumpkin Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Adapted from: Little Corner of Mine
Inspired from: Kraft
Made by: Cathy
Edited: 11/20/08 to add baking soda

Happy Halloween. I wanted to make a themed cake for Halloween this year. I had the day off so I made a pumpkin shaped pumpkin cake. I've never used canned pumpkin in anything, so I used fresh pumpkin for this recipe.

Cake Ingredients:
3 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
2 cups fresh pumpkin puree (or 1 15oz can)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
green ice cream cone

Frosting Ingredients:
8 oz cream cheese
1 stick butter (1/2 cup)
3 1/2 cups confectioners sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
red & yellow food coloring (I used gel food coloring)

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350ºF (180ºC).
2. In a medium bowl combine flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
3. Mix together eggs, oil, vanilla, and sugars.
4. Mix in dry ingredients to the wet ingredients.
5. Pour batter into a greased bundt pan or fluted pan.




6. Bake for 1 hour or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pan for 10 minutes before inverting into a wire pan.

Frosting/Decorating Instructions:
1. Allow cake to fully cool before frosting.
2. Combine cream cheese, butter, and sugar. Mix well.
3. Add 2 parts red food coloring and 6 parts yellow food coloring (or as directed on package instructions for orange).
4. Frost in an upward motion.
5. Pour extra frosting into the center of the cake. Place the ice cream cone on top for the stem.
I had fun decorating this cake. I don't have a cake stand, so I frosted this on my wire cooling rack, with a pan underneath to catch drips. Then I use to knives to transfer the cake onto a foil lined pan.

If you can't find the green ice cream cone (I just happened to have one on hand), you can always reserve some frosting for the stem and frost it green. There was extra frosting that I reserved and will probably use for something else.