Pumpkin cake is always an autumn tradition for me.

Sometimes it’s a layer cake, or sheet cake, or even a cheesecake.

This year I knew I wanted to continue my “small cake series”, and develop a simple 6-inch cake that is perfectly reasonable for a single person to consume themselves. So here we are. I used spelt flour to give it a bit of additional heartiness, and topped it with chocolate frosting. Then I took it up a notch and sprinkled a few chocolate crumbs and pressed in the cutest pumpkin candies to create a “pumpkin patch”. It’s a pretty good representation of our muddy patch of pumpkins at the farm (we’ve had an incredible amount of rain this month which has created a brown, muddy mess of the field). If you’re able to get out and support a local farm this Fall season, know that your farmers appreciate it so much!

Another note about this cake is that it does bake very tall! I have deep 6-inch pans, but if yours are on the shallow size, you may want to size up to a 7 or 8-inch. Not a fan of frosting? I would simply sprinkle the top with cinnamon and sugar right before baking for an even easier version.

pumpkin patch cake with chocolate frosting

PRINT RECIPE HERE

recipe: Kelsey Siemens

yields: one 6-inch cake (could bake in 7 or 8-inch pan)

ingredients

1/3 cup (60ml) canola oil

1 large egg

1/3 cup (67g) granulated sugar

1/3 cup (67g) brown sugar

1/2 cup (120g) pumpkin puree

1/4 cup (64g) sour cream, full fat

2 tsp vanilla extract

3/4 cup (94g) spelt flour

3/4 cup (94g) all purpose flour

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground ginger

to make

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 6-inch deep cake pan, and set aside.

In a small bowl, whisk together the oil, egg, and sugars until well mixed. Add the pumpkin puree, sour cream, and vanilla extract and whisk until smooth. Use a spatula to scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl.

In a separate bowl, stir together the spelt flour, all purpose flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and ginger. Add the dry ingredients to the wet, and stir with a spatula until just barely combined.

Transfer the batter into the greased cake pan, and gently smooth the top flat.

Bake the cake for 40-45 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out cleanly. Cool on a cooling rack for 10 minutes and then remove from the pan and cool to room temperature before frosting.

chocolate frosting ingredients

1/4 cup (56g) salted butter, softened

1 1/4 cup (150g) powdered sugar

2 tbsp cocoa powder (or use 2 tbsp of melted chocolate - both versions are delightful)

splash of milk or cream

pumpkin patch topping: chocolate cookie (oreo) baking crumbs & pumpkin candies

to make the frosting

In a small bowl, mix together the softened butter with the powdered sugar and cocoa powder (or melted chocolate if using). Add a splash of milk or cream and continue mixing. Add more milk or powdered sugar until desired consistency has been reached. Immediately frost the cake.

to assemble the pumpkin patch

Sprinkle a few tablespoons of chocolate cookie baking crumbs over the frosting immediately after spreading it (so that it sticks!). Add a few pumpkin candies on top to create your patch! You could go a step further and whip up some green frosting to add a few vines and leaves too.

tips:

Don’t have spelt flour? You can simply use all AP flour!
Don’t have a 6-inch pan? You can use a 7 or 8 inch cake pan instead, but the cooking time will be reduced due to the increased surface area!! I would start with 25 minutes, and check on it every 5 minutes after that.
Don’t have any cake pans? This can be baked as cupcakes or in a loaf pan! (Again, baking times will vary)
Not a fan of chocolate frosting? Simply leave out the cocoa powder/ melted chocolate for a simple vanilla frosting.
Where to source pumpkin candies? Mine are from Wilton, and I sourced them at Home Sense. I’ve seen similar ones at Michaels. Or gummy pumpkins are pretty common at bulk stores or in the Halloween candy aisle at most grocery stores in Sept/Oct.