Pumpkin Spice Latte Cake

Pumpkin Spice Latte Cake

Ingredients

Cake:

  • 1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
  • ½ teaspoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt
  • 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
  • 1 cup canned pumpkin
  • ½ cup vegetable oil
  • ¼ cup granulated sugar
  • ¾ cup dark brown sugar packed
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Simple Coffee Buttercream:

  • 2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter softened
  • 2-3 tablespoons instant espresso powder
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1 ½ tablespoons heavy cream plus more if necessary
  • 4 cups confectioners’ sugar sifted only if lumpy

Simple Caramel Sauce:

  • ½ recipe Chef Gail’s Simple Caramel Sauce for drizzling over the finished cake

Instructions

Make the Cake:

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
  • Spray a 13 X 9 inch baking pan with nonstick cooking spray.
  • Line the bottom and up 2 of the sides of the pan with parchment paper so that it extends up and over the long sides by approximately 1 inch.
  • In a large bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and pumpkin pie spice until well combined. Set aside.
  • In another bowl, whisk together the pumpkin, oil, both sugars, eggs and vanilla extract.
  • Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and using a rubber spatula mix the batter just until combined.
  • Pour the batter into the pan and bake for approximately 25-30 minutes or until a small knife inserted into the center comes out clean.
  • Allow the cake to cool in the pan.

Make the Frosting:

  • In the bowl of an electric mixer, using the whip attachment, beat the butter until light and fluffy.
  • In a small bowl, dissolve espresso powder and the vanilla into the cream until dissolved.
  • Add espresso and cream mixture into butter and beat until combined.
  • On low speed, beat in confectioners’ sugar until mixture is of spreadable consistency, adding some more cream, if the frosting is too thick.
  • The cooled cake can be transferred to a serving platter or left in the pan that it was baked in.

Assembly:

  • Fill the pastry bag fitted with a medium to large star tip with buttercream, and pipe the buttercream in rows over the cake, decoratively.
  • If caramel sauce is too thick, place in a microwavable container and heat just until slightly fluid. Do not heat it or it will melt the buttercream. Drizzle caramel sauce over buttercream.

Notes

Makes 1 13X9 inch rectangular cake