This past month I challenged myself to make a pumpkin cake. First I had to settle on a pumpkin cake recipe I really loved. While the decoration of a cake is always fun, taste is always my first priority!

This pumpkin cake recipe makes moist, fluffy pumpkin cake layers, which I’ve frosted with my vanilla buttercream recipe. I couldn’t resist the cake tops when I was leveling these cake layers, which is always a sign that I have a winner 🙂

Once I was happy with the flavor of the cake, it was time to figure out how to decorate it. I love matching the outside of cakes to the flavor hidden inside, and that’s exactly what I did with this cake.

Not only is it pumpkin flavored, it’s shaped just like a pumpkin too.

Sculpting This Pumpkin Layer Cake

We’ve all seen the pumpkin cakes that are easily made with bundt pans. You simply bake two bundt cakes, level the bottoms, and stack one on top of one another.

Believe it or not, I don’t own a bundt pan. I also wanted to try something new, and challenge myself a bit. I might also be a little bit crazy!!

Instead of taking the easy route, I decided to carve and frost a layer cake to create that iconic pumpkin shape.

This method is way more time consuming and difficult, but that also means it’s super rewarding once you finish the cake! Or at least that’s how I look at it.

I trimmed the top and bottom cake layers with a serrated knife to start creating a round shape. I like to chill my cake layers in the freezer for about 20 minutes, so that they’re cold to the touch but not fully frozen.

This is done before assembling my cakes, to make them easier to stack and frost. It minimizes crumbing, and makes them easier to carve.

Crumb Coat and Shape

Once I was happy with the shape of the cake, I added a thin crumb coat around the cake. This traps any lose crumbs, and makes it easier to add the second layer of frosting.

Because this cake has some curved sides, I smoothed the frosting using an acetate sheet (as seen below). This is a flexible, thin piece of plastic that works wonders when it comes to sculpted cakes.

In this case, the second layer of frosting was going to be INTENSE! You know those symmetrical little panels that line the sides of a pumpkin? We’re going to make them completely out of frosting!

This means you’re going to need a LOT of frosting. You will use 1.5 batches of frosting, to be more precise! I made my orange buttercream a few days in advance, to allow the shade to deepen.

It’s colored with americolor orange gel food coloring, which is my favorite food coloring brand.

To create the shape of the panels, I used a wide, flat frosting tip. This is a Wilton 789, which I used to pipe two thick lines up the sides of the cake.

Heating Things Up

I started to smooth these out with a small offset spatula and my acetate sheet, then tried out a new technique.

I did my best job smoothing the frosting with those tools, then chilled the cake to let the buttercream firm up a bit.

It’s a bit wild, but this next technique sure is fun! I used a small kitchen torch to heat up the back of a small offset spatula.

This allows you to use heat to smooth out any lines, and it also actually deepens the color of the frosting as well.

Because the heat changes the color of the frosting, it’s important to go over the entire cake with the heated spatula if you decide to try this technique.

Throughout this process, the spatula will get covered in melted buttercream. I wiped off the spatula and reheated it several times while I smoothed the frosting.

The Stump

Once the frosting was FINALLY smoothed, it was time to add the stump. I saved the cake tops, and mixed them with some frosting and melted chocolate.

I formed a little cylinder and placed it on top of the pumpkin.

To add some texture and to help keep the stump in place, I brushed the stump with some melted chocolate. It helped set its shape, and looked so cool!

The Finishing Touch

When I took a step back at this point, the cake board seemed a little bare. It needed something else.

I ended up marbling together some yellow, orange, and red fondant, and cut out little leaves using some leaf punch cutters.

I surrounded the base of the cake with these leaves, and then was finally content with how the cake looked.

She was beautiful, and radiated the beauty of Fall.

Let Me Know What You Think!

If you make this pumpkin cake recipe, I’d love to hear how it goes! Please leave a rating, and let me know your thoughts by sharing a comment.

Or if you share your creations on social media, be sure to tag me @chelsweets!