Carved Pumpkin Cake Recipes

Steps:

• For the buttercream: Place the butter and shortening in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium speed until well incorporated.
• Sift the powdered sugar if needed. Add the sugar to the bowl 1 cup at a time. Mix on low speed until incorporated, and then increase the speed to medium-high and allow to double in volume and lighten in color. Add the vanilla and salt. Stream in a little oil at a time until the buttercream is smooth and light. Use immediately or store at room temperature up to 3 days or refrigerated for a week.
• For the cake: Separate the buttercream into 3 bowls and color one yellow, one orange and one dark orange. Place the colors into piping bags and cut the tip.
• Remove your cake from the freezer and place on a turntable cake stand. Ice the cake with a layer of the yellow icing. If the icing stiffens from the chill of the cake, then you are ready for the next layer of icing. If the icing is still soft, place the cake in the freezer and allow to set, about 1 hour (or overnight in the refrigerator).
• Once the yellow layer is hard, ice the cake in light orange and follow the same steps as the first layer.
• Ice the cake in the final layer of dark orange and place the cake in the refrigerator for up to 2 days until you are ready to carve.
• Once the cake is chilled, remove from the refrigerator and start carving. You can use a stencil of a cake found online or in a pumpkin carving book or from your imagination. Have fun and be creative. Involve your kids or carve with friends.

Steps:

• Preheat overn to 350°. Grease and flour a 10-in. fluted tube pan. In a large bowl, combine the dry cake mix, eggs, pumpkin, water, oil, pudding mix and cinnamon. Beat at medium speed for 5 minutes. Stir in pecans. , Pour into prepared pan. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 45-55 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack to cool completely. Frost cake or serve with whipped cream.

Steps:

• Heat oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4. Butter and line a 30 x 20cm baking or small roasting tin with baking parchment. Put the flour, sugar, spice, bicarbonate of soda, sultanas and salt into a large bowl and stir to combine. Beat the eggs into the melted butter, stir in the orange zest and juice, then mix with the dry ingredients till combined. Stir in the pumpkin. Pour the batter into the tin and bake for 30 mins, or until golden and springy to the touch.
• To make the frosting, beat together the cheese, butter, icing sugar, orange zest and 1 tsp of the juice till smooth and creamy, then set aside in the fridge. When the cake is done, cool for 5 mins then turn it onto a cooling rack. Prick it all over with a skewer and drizzle with the rest of the orange juice while still warm. Leave to cool completely.
• If you like, trim the edges of the cake. Give the frosting a quick beat to loosen, then, using a palette knife, spread over the top of the cake in peaks and swirls. If you're making the cake ahead, keep it in the fridge then take out as many pieces as you want 30 mins or so before serving. Will keep, covered, for up to 3 days in the fridge.