By CountryLiving
Have your cake and cupcakes, too: One recipe yields chocolatey pumpkin spice cupcakes or a triple-layer cake.
Total Time:
Level:
Moderate
Yield:
One 8-inch 3-layer cake or 36 cupcakes
Serves:
18
Ingredients
- 2½ c. all-purpose flour
- 2 tbsp. all-purpose flour
- 1 c. good-quality cocoa
- 2 tbsp. good-quality cocoa
- 1 tbsp. baking powder
- 1½ tsp. baking soda
- 2¼ tsp. ground cinnamon
- ¾ tsp. fresh-grated nutmeg
- ¾ c. Buttermilk
- 1½ c. pumpkin purée
- 1½ tsp. vanilla extract
- 2.25` stick unsalted butter
- 1½ c. dark brown sugar
- 1½ c. granulated sugar
- 5 large eggs
- Orange Cream-Cheese Frosting
Directions
- Prepare cake pans: Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly butter three 8-inch cake pans and fit each bottom with an 8-inch circle of parchment paper. Lightly butter the parchment paper. Set aside.
- Make the batter: Sift the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a large bowl and set aside. Combine the buttermilk, pumpkin, and vanilla in a medium bowl and set aside. Beat the butter and sugar together in a large bowl, with an electric mixer set on medium speed, until fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition, until the mixture is smooth and light. Alternately add the flour mixture and buttermilk mixture, blending well after each addition.
- Bake the cake: Divide the batter among the pans and bake until a wooden skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean -- about 35 minutes. Cool the cakes in the pan for 20 minutes. Remove cakes and cool. (For cupcakes: Heat oven to 375 degrees F. Place cupcake liners in standard cupcake tins and fill each with 1/4 cup of batter. Bake for 22 minutes.)
- Assemble the cake: Trim each of the layers. Place one layer on a cake plate and top with one third of the frosting. Repeat with the second and third layers. (To ensure that the cake layers do not shift, cut three skewers to 1/4 inch shorter than the full height of the cake and insert them before icing the top layer.) Refrigerate until ready to serve.
- Make our Orange Cream-Cheese Frosting.
