Pumpkin Spice Latte Cake

I am an ardent lover of pumpkin desserts. This pumpkin cake is exceptionally moist & tender with a complex backbone of warming spices and a velvety coat of luxurious coffee swiss meringue buttercream.

Makes 12 servings (one 2-layer 8” cake, or a 9x13” sheet cake. For a 6” layer cake, cut the recipe in half)

ingredients:

for the cake

• butter, for greasing the pans

• 1 3/4 cups AP flour, plus more for pans

• 2 cups sugar

• 2 tsp baking soda

• 1 tsp baking powder

• 1 tsp kosher salt

• 1 tsp cinnamon

• 3/4 tsp ground ginger

• 1/2 tsp ground allspice

• 1/2 ground nutmeg

• 1 cup low-fat buttermilk

• 1/2 cup vegetable oil

• 2 extra-large eggs, at room temp

• 1 heaping cup pumpkin purée

• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract

for the coffee swiss meringue buttercream

• 8 egg whites, at room temp

• 2 cups granulated sugar

• 1/2 tsp cream of tartar (optional)

• 2 cups (4 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temp

• 1/2 tsp salt

• 1 tbsp hot water

• 2 tbsp instant espresso

1. Set oven to 350°F. Butter two 8” cake pans or one 9x13” cake pan, then line the bottom with parchment, butter again and dust with flour.

2. In a large bowl combine the flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt and spices for your cake and whisk to combine.

3. In a medium bowl whisk together buttermilk, vegetable oil, eggs, and pumpkin purée. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and whisk to combine.

4. Evenly fill your cake pans and place them on the center rack of your oven for 35-40 minutes, rotating once mid-bake. A toothpick or cake tester inserted in the center should come out clean. Let them cool for 5-10 minutes, then run a pairing knife around the edges, flip onto a cooling rack and remove the pan and parchment paper.

5. As your cakes are cooling, make your buttercream. You’ll need to create a double boiler, so find a pot that fits the bowl of your stand mixer without touching the bottom. Fill the pot with 1” of water and set it to boil.

6. Begin by separating your eggs one at a time into a small bowl before adding the whites to the bowl of the stand mixer. (NOTE: make sure your mixing bowl is completely clean and free of oil, and that no egg yolk gets into the whites.)

7. Add the sugar and cream of tartar (if using) to the egg whites and whisk to combine. Lower your pot of water to a simmer, and place the bowl with the egg white mixture over top. Whisk it constantly until it reaches 140°F or has become thin and foamy and you can no longer feel any sugar granules (test this by quickly touching the mixture and rubbing it between your fingertips).

8. Remove the bowl from the stove and beat on high with the whisk attachment until stiff peaks form (5-15 minutes, sometimes faster if you’ve used the cream of tartar). While the egg whites are beating, make your espresso mixture by combining the hot water and instant espresso in a small bowl.

9. Once you’ve reached stiff glossy peaks, feel the outside of your mixing bowl. If it’s still warm, allow it to cool to room temp. Then, while whisking on medium, add butter 1 tbsp at a time. It may look a bit soupy at first, but continue beating until it fluffs up again. (NOTE: you want your butter to be just soft, not squishy and melty. If it’s too warm, your buttercream will be goopy, and you can put it in the fridge for 10-15 minutes before continuing to beat it.)

10. You should now have thick fluffy buttercream. Add the salt and mix to combine. Add the espresso mixture one spoonful at a time until you’re happy with the coffee flavor. Optional: you can switch to a paddle attachment and continue beating for another few minutes to remove air bubbles from the buttercream. This is only necessary if you’re trying to achieve a smooth decorative finish.

11. Once your cakes have cooled completely, you can begin frosting. For layer cake, level the cakes off with a cake leveler if you have one. If not, just frost the top of one layer, and stack the second with the domed parts facing the center. For sheet cake, simply spread a generous layer of buttercream over the top. Enjoy!

Tips for frosting:

• It’s helpful to pipe a thick rope of buttercream around the top edge of your first cake layer before stacking the second one. This fills in the gap between the two layers, especially if you aren’t leveling them out. You can use a ziplock with the corner cut off for piping if you don’t have cake decorating supplies.

• If you’re trying to achieve a smooth finish, it’s crucial to apply a thin crumb coat and chill in the fridge for 20-30 minutes before applying a thicker final coat of buttercream.

• A plastic ruler can make a perfectly good cake scraper to help you get smooth edges.

• You can also use an offset spatula, run it under warm water and shake off the drips to get an ultra smooth finish.

• If you’re not equipped to make a smoothly frosted cake, just glop on the buttercream and create big swirls with the back of a spoon. Some sprinkles or flowers can make it look just as lovely as elaborate piping.