Last week at New Seasons Market I picked up some pumpkin cupcakes with a salted caramel frosting which were good but way way too much frosting, tons on the top and more inside. But the flavor was great. With that I wanted to make my own Pumpkin Cake with Salted Caramel Buttercream. So here we are.

Both the recipes below are half-recipes of the original versions. You can easily double the ingredients and make a layered cake if you like. As much as I like (love!) a big layered cake, it’s just so much cake for Jeff and I. Usually I’ll freeze leftover cake but even then it can be a bit much, we still have coconut cake in the freezer from July! So figured this smaller cake might work, it’s not as sexy as the layered cakes but it tastes just as good and is more manageable for the two of us.

Originally I wanted to maybe do a buttercream frosting with caramel drizzled over that, or just drizzle caramel sauce over the cake, so I set out to make my own caramel sauce, which I’ve made before. The only thing different than the last time I made it was that I used a different pot. It was a bit bigger but has a heavier base that seemed suitable. Well, when the sugar started to brown it was only browning on one side of the pan, I moved it slightly off the burner so that it would cook more evenly, but that just wasn’t happening and I ended up with burnt caramel sauce. Not having time to run out to the store to buy more cream, I decided to just make the buttercream frosting and add some store-bought caramel sauce I had in the fridge (which I’m not crazy about because it’s kind of gritty in texture). Even though the cake didn’t come out exactly how I planned it, I have no complaints with the finished product and I think you will love it too.

One more thing, the texture of the cake is somewhat light, so if you want to double up this recipe and do a layer cake, I’d recommend baking in 2-3 cake pans and layering those cakes, I don’t think this cake would hold up well to a horizontal cut across. Recipes below, enjoy!

Pumpkin Cake with Salted Caramel Buttercream

1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1/2 tsp cardamom
1/2 cup Olive oil
2 large eggs
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 cup pumpkin puree, about 1/2 can pumpkin puree
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Salted Caramel Buttercream Frosting (recipe below)
Crushed toasted hazelnuts (or nuts of choice)

Preheat the oven to 350°F, grease a 9” round springform cake pan with butter, add a parchment round to the bottom and butter that as well.

Whisk the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice and cardamom together in a large bowl. Set aside. Whisk the eggs in medium sized bowls, then whisk in the oil, brown sugar, granulated sugar, pumpkin puree, and vanilla extract until combined. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and whisk until completely combined.

Pour the batter into the cake pan and tap it on the counter until evenly distributed, it will be somewhat thick.

Bake for 45-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean.

Once done, remove from the oven and allow to cool on rack. Remove springform (if using) and slide onto serving dish. Once completely cool top with icing (recipe below) and crushed nuts.

Cover leftover cake tightly and store at room temperature for a couple days or in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

Adapted from Sally’s Baking Addiction

Salted Caramel Buttercream

1/2 cup salted butter (1 stick)
2 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup salted caramel
1/8 tsp kosher salt

In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, whip the butter on high until it’s fluffy and light, about 5-6 minutes, scraping down the bowl and paddle a few times in between. Turn the mixer to low and add the powdered sugar a little bit at a time, scraping down the bowl and paddle after each interval. With the mixer still on low, add the salted caramel, the vanilla and salt, set the speed to medium and mix for 2 full minutes, scraping down the sides as needed.