The Great Pumpkin Cake

October 28, 2010 at 11:19 am | Posted in Baking / Cooking, Food | 49 Comments

In a pumpkin patch most sincere, on Halloween night, there was more to see than just the usual vines and gourds, slumbering under the cover of darkness. Rising from the earth like a giant glowing orb, brighter and larger than a full moon, it was none other than the Great Pumpkin, here to reward all the good little children at long last!

However, I have a feeling that this may have been a different Great Pumpkin than the original orange squash, because his reward was not in the form of toys or trinkets as fabled, but in the form of cake.

Yes, the Great Pumpkin is in fact made of cake… And practically effortless to assemble, too. Little more than chocolate chip pumpkin cake baked in an oven-safe metal bowl (greased well!) and slathered with pumpkin frosting, it’s easy enough to throw together for any last-minute Halloween event. Just bear in mind that the cake will rise when filling your bowl with batter, so fill it about 1/2 way full to prevent spill-over, and it wouldn’t hurt to park a baking sheet beneath it just in case. While baking the cake, just be sure to keep a close eye on the oven, since it will take much longer to bake in such an unusual and relatively dense form. Times will vary depending on the size of your bowl.

Applying the frosting is a very fast process, since you don’t actually want the coating to be entirely smooth. Leave vertical lines to mimic the striations of a real pumpkin, and you’ll save yourself a headache and create a more “realistic” Great Pumpkin. For the features, simply roll out a small portion of modeling chocolate very thin, and use a knife to carve out the eyes and mouth you want. Roll out a small log for the stem, and taper it out at the top, curving it slightly just so it doesn’t stick straight up. Gently press the chocolate eyes, mouth, and stem into the frosted cake as desired. Voila! Now the Great Pumpkin isn’t such an elusive character after all.

As for that glowing orange frosting, you could use any flavor you desire and color it accordingly with a drop of beet juice and a pinch of turmeric, but wanting to match the theme more closely, I went with an all-pumpkin frosting instead.

Pumpkin Frosting

3/4 Cup Non-Dairy Margarine
1 Cup Solid-Pack Pumpkin Puree (Canned; not homemade due to the water content)
1/4 Teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
Pinch Nutmeg
Pinch Salt
1 Package Vegan Butterscotch Pudding Mix
3 1/2 Cups Confectioner’s Sugar
1/4 – 3/4 Cup Soy or Rice Milk Powder

Place the margarine in your stand mixer first, and beat briefly with the whisk attachment until creamy. Add in the pumpkin, and whip the two together until mostly smooth, pausing to scrape down the sides of the bowl to ensure that everything is becoming incorporated. Add in the spices, salt, pudding mix, sugar, and 1/4 cup of the “milk” powder. Start the mixer on the lowest speed to prevent the dry goods from flying out of the bowl, and once the sugar is mostly mixed in, turn up the speed to high.

Continue to scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed, and whip the frosting for a solid 4 minutes. If it seems too loose and/or somewhat grainy/separated, add in another 1/4 cup of “milk” powder. Beat for another 3 minutes, assess the texture, and repeat if needed. Once smooth and stiff enough to spread, apply to your completely cooled cake as desired. Happy Halloween!

Printable Recipe

49 Comments »

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I don’t know which I love more… the cake or the cake plate! Haha. Both are lovely. =)

Comment by Hello Veggie— October 28, 2010 #

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super cute!

Comment by Vic (the Life)— October 28, 2010 #

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I guess the cake wins because it’s a product of your work and creativity… I’m just a sucker for cake plates!

Comment by Hello Veggie— October 28, 2010 #

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Awesome! Now I’m even more in the mood to watch “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown!” on TV tonight! It’s one of my favorite annual traditions.

Comment by Vegannifer— October 28, 2010 #

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What originality, it’s fabulous!
Everything is perfect as usual, you’re really talented, it’s great to see so many nice things to eat vegan, vegan cooking, because YES there!

Happy Halloween dear Hannah.
I also made a cake made of pumpkin.

♥ ;)

Comment by VeganPower— October 28, 2010 #

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Cute to the max! Happy Halloween, Hannah!

Comment by Sarah S.— October 28, 2010 #

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That is the cutest pumpkin cake I have ever seen!

Comment by Oiyi— October 28, 2010 #

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Oh that’s stunning. This takes more talent that the typical jack-o-lantern…and presumably tastes much better too!

Comment by Food-Fitness-FreshAir— October 28, 2010 #

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That is just the cutest thing! I wish I were having a Halloween party because I so want an occasion to make this!

Comment by Joanne— October 28, 2010 #

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It is more than cute — it is, or should I say was — delicious!

Comment by Mom— October 28, 2010 #

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This is so creative I love it!

Comment by naomi— October 28, 2010 #

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That’s so cute!!! And thanks for sharing the recipe :)

Comment by kala— October 28, 2010 #

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That is the happiest looking pumpkin!

Comment by Mo— October 28, 2010 #

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Freaking adorable! You are just endlessly creative.

Comment by Amber Shea @Almost Vegan— October 28, 2010 #

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That pumpkin looks so utterly gleeful! Love the expression! Definitely less sinister than Jack in The Nightmare Before Christmas ;)

Comment by Hannah— October 28, 2010 #

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how smart to bake it in a metal bowl! do you know that williams sonoma is selling pumpkin cake molds for almost $100! i thought that was a total waste but i did like the idea of a pumpkin cake. thank you for posting this!

Comment by jacklyn— October 28, 2010 #

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It’s beautiful! I adore the chocolate stem! Baked in a bowl? Genius!

Comment by River (Wing-It Vegan)— October 28, 2010 #

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This is so cute :)))

Comment by Justcakegirl— October 28, 2010 #

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Oh Great Pumpkin, I bow down to your scrumptiousness! :-)

Comment by chow vegan— October 29, 2010 #

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aww he’s grinnin’ at me

Comment by Fiona— October 29, 2010 #

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Oh this looks so cute!

Comment by Dimah— October 29, 2010 #

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Love it!

Comment by Cecilia— October 29, 2010 #

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This is JUST awesome!

Comment by Alex G— October 29, 2010 #

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love this! love love love! can’t say it enough!

Comment by stephchows— October 29, 2010 #

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Loving these and willing him to come over to my home. Wonderfully creative and definitely a people-pleaser.

Comment by Claudia— October 29, 2010 #

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That is gorgeous looking cake. I know what I will be preparing for my halloween.

Comment by sensiblecooking— October 29, 2010 #

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oh wow, now that is a brilliant idea!

Comment by Allyson— October 29, 2010 #

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That is just about the cutest cake ever!

Comment by Steph - VegFortWorth— October 29, 2010 #

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Gorgeous cake–but I wanted to see it cut, too, and peek inside!! And I’m sure that’s the type of frosting I could eat with a spoon. ;)

Comment by Ricki— October 29, 2010 #

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This is so creative!! i love it. :)

Comment by crustabakes— October 29, 2010 #

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Wow, I like the whole concept, very creative.

Comment by Kruzon— October 30, 2010 #

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Beautiful cake. I want to work with modelling chocolate. I’m sure I’ll appreciate the taste more than fondant. It’s just finding the time! I need to stop working so I can bake and cook more.

Comment by Joanne— October 30, 2010 #

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That is really darling. I love the idea of actually adding pumpkin to the frosting.

Comment by Xiaolu @ 6 Bittersweets— October 30, 2010 #

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Gah, I’ve missed too many posts!! My sincerest apologies :( I always love your creations, you know that.

Comment by VeggieGirl— October 30, 2010 #

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I think the Peanuts crew would approve of this cake! Love the pumpkiny frosting too! Happy Halloween weekend!!

Comment by Jes— October 30, 2010 #

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Beautiful!! Can we hire you to decorate our cakes??

Hope you have a wonderful halloween weekend!

Comment by Pure2raw twins— October 30, 2010 #

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What a great looking cake! Happy Halloween :)

Comment by Terrie— October 30, 2010 #

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I had to look twice to realize that this was in fact a cake and not a pumpkin! Haha… It looks absolutely delicious! Happy Halloween!!

Comment by Simone— October 31, 2010 #

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Love it!

Comment by Natalia - a side of simple— October 31, 2010 #

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Clever! I came across your blog at just the right time. My bakery was asked to present some healthy desserts to a low-income area in NYC. I’d love to use some of your recipies(?).

Comment by Stephanie— October 31, 2010 #

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Truly a work of art!

Comment by Meghan (Making Love In The Kitchen)— October 31, 2010 #

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Your cake is adorable! :-) Happy Halloween!

Comment by Amanda— October 31, 2010 #

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What an adorable pumpkin cake!

Comment by JoLynn-dreaminitvegan— November 1, 2010 #

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What a pumpkin cake! You are a true artist!

Comment by Melanie— November 3, 2010 #

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That is such a cute cake!

Comment by cassie-b— November 8, 2010 #

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I may have missed this post in time for Halloween but that doesn’t mean I won’t be trying out your pumpkin frosting! I was just thinking to myself I wanted to look up a recipe for it and, here you are with one!!!!

Comment by Crystal (That Vegan Blog)— November 9, 2010 #

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This is adorable. I love it.

Comment by Lori— November 10, 2010 #

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What a cute pumpkin!! And I love your cake stand. :) I need a cute one like that.

Comment by Ashley— January 9, 2011 #

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[...] The Great Pumpkin Cake (from Bitter Sweet) [...]

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