I’m always looking for fun dessert recipes to go on our Thanksgiving table. Some of my favorites include a cookie cake decorated with fall sprinkles, classic chocolate crinkle cookies, no-bake chocolate lasagna to save on oven space, baked apples or pumpkin spice cake. It seems like an age old debate: cake or pie? Everyone seems to have a preference one way or another. I am definitely a cake person! I thought it would be fun to serve something a little different for Thanksgiving dessert in lieu of the traditional pumpkin pie. These fun little pumpkins that actually taste as good as they look! A homemade pumpkin spice cake is the key to the amazing flavors here.
Pumpkin Spice Cake Ingredients
To make this recipe, the ingredients you will need include flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder, granulated sugar, brown sugar, vegetable oil, applesauce, pumpkin puree, eggs, white chocolate chips, heavy cream and fondant. You will also need a 6 cup mini Bundt pan, orange and green gel food color and a fondant mold to shape the leaves. I used copper and juniper food colors from Wilton.
How Do You Make Pumpkin Spice Cake?
Preheat the oven and coat the Bundt pan with cooking spray. Mix together the flour, baking powder and pumpkin pie spice in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, combine both types of sugar, applesauce and oil. Add the canned pumpkin puree to the sugar mixture, then add the eggs one at a time. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir to combine. Fill the Bundt molds with the batter and bake. You will need to bake the cakes in batches unless you have two cake pans. Let the cakes cool completely. To make the ganache, heat the cream and whisk it with the white chocolate. Add the copper or orange food gel, then let it sit until it starts to thicken. Use the ganache to attach two of the cakes together on their flat ends to make a pumpkin shaped cake. Drizzle more of the ganache over the top of each set of cakes. Knead the green food color into the fondant. Press small pieces of fondant into the mold to make leaf shapes. Roll out more of the fondant with your hands to create pumpkin stems, and use a toothpick to add detail such as ridges on the stem. Place a fondant stem in the hole of each Bundt cake set. Add a few leaves at the base of each stem, then serve and enjoy.
Tips For The Perfect Cake
It is fine to bake the cakes up to 3 days before you plan to assemble them. Store the cakes in an airtight container at room temperature. You can purchase Fondant, fondant molds cake pans and food coloring gel in the cake decorating aisle of most craft stores. You can also purchase these items online. I recommend cutting each cake in half for serving, since each pumpkin is really two cakes in one. Slice in half lengthwise through the layers. If your fondant is sticky, add a sprinkle of powdered sugar to keep it from sticking to your hands and work space. This recipe uses oil instead butter to make the cake extra moist. No pumpkin pie spice on hand? Use cinnamon mixed with a pinch of ginger, nutmeg and cloves. Serve these cakes along with other crowd pleasing treats such as brownie cookies, molasses cookies and cheesecake brownies for a full dessert spread. If you don’t have a fondant mold or can’t find one, you can simply roll out the fondant and cut out leaf shapes with a sharp knife.
Pumpkin Spice Cake Variations
These cakes are perfect as-is, but you can easily customize the flavors to your tastes.
Pan: Want a delicious pumpkin cake but don’t feel like decorating? You can bake the batter in a 9″x13″ pan, regular Bundt pan, or make the mini Bundts but just serve them as-is without the decorations. Or use 2 9-inch round pans to make a layer cake. Frosting: Instead of a ganache glaze, try using cream cheese frosting that’s been tinted orange. Another great option is a drizzle of caramel sauce. Add-Ins: Feel free to add other ingredients to the batter. You can include up to 1/2 cup of chopped walnuts, raisins, chopped pecans, mini chocolate chips or coconut. You can also add vanilla extract.
Everyone will be so impressed when you bring these pumpkin spice cakes out for dessert on Thanksgiving. Who needs pumpkin pie when you can have these beautiful little treats instead? Need more holiday menu inspiration? Be sure to check out my lists of Thanksgiving appetizers and fall recipes.
