PUMPKIN CAKE WITH SALTED CARAMEL FROSTING

This impressive pumpkin cake features a salted caramel frosting. This moist and flavorful pumpkin cake recipe is topped with candied pecans and more salted caramel creating the most perfect cake for fall! Truly the perfect fall dessert!

Pumpkin Cake:
2 cups cake flour
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg or ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 ¾ cups pumpkin puree
2 cups sugar
¾ cup light flavoured vegetable oil
4 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Salted Caramel Sauce:
½ cup heavy cream
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon glucose
¼ cup water
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
¾ teaspoons salt such as good quality sea salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
Candied Nuts:
2 cups pecans, roughly chopped
¼ cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons water
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon cinnamon
Salted Caramel Frosting:
12 tablespoons unsalted butter
½ block Philadelphia cream cheese
2 cups powdered sugar
⅓ cup caramel sauce from recipe above, or good quality store-bought, see notes
½ teaspoon vanilla essence
¼ teaspoon salt

Cake:
Preheat oven to 180ºC (without fan), grease and lightly flour the sides of your baking pans, and line the bottoms with parchment paper (see notes for pan sizes).
In a large bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices, then set aside.
In another large bowl, whisk the pumpkin, sugar, oil, eggs and vanilla and stir (stir vigorously by hand or on medium speed with an electric mixer for 30 seconds or so).
Add the flour mixture to the pumpkin mixture and stir until completely combined.
Divide batter into prepared pans and bake cakes for about 40 minutes until the tops are slightly rounded and a toothpick inserted into the center of each cake comes out clean (no wet batter).
If you are using 20 cm pans the time will be a bit less (check after 25 minutes). Cupcakes will bake in 22 – 24 minutes. (See notes below on cake sizes)
Cool the cakes in the pans about 10 minutes, then (carefully) remove from pans and cool fully on a cooling rack.

Caramel Sauce:
Warm the heavy cream in a bowl in the microwave and then set aside.
In a large saucepan, add the sugar, glucose, and water. Stir gently to incorporate the ingredients.
Cook over medium to medium-high heat, stirring gently, until the sugar dissolves and the mixture is bubbling.
Stop stirring and allow the mixture to boil undisturbed until it begins to darken in color. You want the mixture to reach a honey color, but no darker. The syrup will change from light in color to dark very quickly, so it’s important to watch closely and remove the pan from the heat as soon as it’s light-medium honey color.
Once removed from heat, carefully and slowly pour in the warm heavy cream (the mixture will hiss and bubble). Stir to full incorporate the cream.
Add butter and salt and stir to combine. Add vanilla.
Allow sauce to cool a bit, pour into a jar. Cool at room temperature, cover jar and store in the refrigerator.

Candied Nuts:
Add pecans, brown sugar, butter and water to a heavy bottom saucepan and cook over medium heat. Stir to combine ingredients.
Allow the mixture to come to a boil, while stirring occasionally, till most all of the water has evaporated (so there is not much sauce in the pan, it’s more of just a coating on the pecans), about 5 – 10 minutes.
Remove pan from heat and add salt and cinnamon. Stir well.
Spread the nuts onto a parchment paper covered baking sheet and break up any clusters. Allow to cool.

Salted Caramel Frosting:
Cut cold butter into a few large pieces, in the bowl of an electric mixer, beat butter until smooth.
Add cream cheese and blend till fully combined and smooth.
Add about half of the powdered sugar, while the mixer is running, pour in the caramel sauce. The caramel sauce should not be warmer than room temperature. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Continue blending and add the remaining powdered sugar, vanilla and salt.
The frosting should be thick, creamy and fluffy. If by chance your kitchen is very warm, or the caramel sauce was too warm when you added it, place the bowl of frosting in the fridge to firm up, then beat once more before use.

Assemble the cake:
Level and split cake layers as desired.
For easy assembly, add the frosting to a large piping bag fitted with a large round tip. This is optional.
Begin with a layer of cake on the plate or cake stand of your choice.
Add a layer of frosting by piping a large spiral, then spread as needed with an offset spatula. Alternatively, scoop a large dollop of frosting onto the cake layer, and spread as needed with an offset spatula. Add a drizzle of caramel sauce on top of the frosting.
Repeat layers of cake, then frosting, then a caramel drizzle.
On top of the cake add a generous topping of candied nuts.

Notes:
Prepare ahead – This cake has several components, but the work can be broken up over 2 days. Feel free to bake the cake and make the caramel sauce a day in advance. Keep the cake covered in plastic wrap, and at room temperature. Keep the caramel sauce covered in the fridge. If the caramel sauce is made ahead you will need to warm it just a little in the microwave so it’s pour-able.
Cake sizes – The cake pictured is a 20 cm cake. I baked two 20 cm pans of cake (which were later split in half. If you want to make an 15 cm cake you can divide the batter into two or three pans.
Caramel Sauce – The caramel sauce listed is not terribly hard to make, and truly delicious, but you can save a bit of time by skipping the homemade sauce and using a good quality salted caramel sauce of your choice.

Recipe tested and photo by Philip Burger