Recipe: Chocolate Pumpkin Cake

Like I said, I'm obsessed with pumpkin. And when I found this recipe from Picky Palate, I knew it was meant to be.

Here's the cast of characters:

chocolate cake mix, instant pudding mix, oil, eggs, sour crema, milk, pureed pumpkin & chocolate chips

Add everything except for the chocolate chips into the mixer, mixing until combined. Then add the chips, mix for a few seconds until combined, and pour it into the pan. In the words of Ina Garten - how easy is that?

I like that the idea of baking cakes in loaf pans. Freshly baked breads always remind me of fall so having a cake in the form of a loaf fits the bill for fall perfectly! It also provides a nice cake-to-icing ratio :)

The recipe said to bake at 350' F for 55-60 minutes but our oven is like the surface of the sun so we knew to cut down on the time. Ours were baked to perfection by 45 minutes.

The cake was delicious, and even better when it was fresh out of the oven with the gooey chocolate chips.

But pumpkin buttercream can't hurt!

A second cast of characters:

room temperature butter, cinnamon, pumpkin puree, powdered sugar & milk

While the cake is cooling, beat the butter, cinnamon & pumpkin puree together on high for a couple of minutes. Then add the powdered sugar, tasting along the way until desired sweetness. Next, add a tablespoon or two of milk until you reach your desired consistency. Not an exact science but it came out delicious!

We used our new icing tools to have some fun with decorating!

My only criticism of the recipe was that the chocolate kinda overpowered the pumpkin. But once you add the pumpkin buttercream, it was magic in my mouth. Next on the to-bake list is pumpkin spice donuts!

Now it's time to watch the Gators get pummeled by LSU. Good thing I have some delicious cake to drown my sorrows.