Pumpkin Mini-Cakes

I'm modeling these after the ones made on Preppy Kitchen.  I liked that he admitted there's nothing wrong with shaping chilled buttercream with your clean fingers instead of buying expensive tools.  You can also use Viva paper towels, which don't have a pattern.  The YouTube video the blog links to shows how the shaping works, but the photo series isn't bad.

I'm guessing you can start with cupcakes instead of Bundts, but I was gifted some mini-Bundt pans and this was my first chance to try them out.  I've seen videos of this concept with a partially-filled full-size Bundt, putting two together for a big pumpkin.  Man, that's a lot of frosting.  It would also serve 20.

I went somewhere else for the cake recipe, though.  There were just so many ingredients in Preppy Kitchen's!  I found one at Homemade in the Kitchen that reveled in its simplicity, which is exactly what I wanted at that moment.  It was also a 2-egg recipe and easy to cut in half.  These may be minis, but one is enough for two or three people.  I'm posting the full recipe for anyone who wants to do this as a two-layer regular cake.

So, for that one person at Thanksgiving who simply isn't into pie, here's a seasonal alternative.

2-1/2 C flour
1-1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
*1 tsp cinnamon
*1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
*1/2 C oil
1 C sugar
1/2 C brown sugar
2 eggs, room temperature
*1-1/2 C canned pumpkin
1 tsp vanilla
*1/2 C whole milk

1.  Pan spray the hell out of your Bundt pans unless they're brand new.  Start preheating the oven to 350º

2.  Sift together dry ingredients (through the salt).

3.  In the mixer with the paddle, cream together both sugars and the oil.  It will make a grainy paste.  Add eggs one at a time and beat to make a smooth mixture.  Stir in pumpkin and vanilla.

4.  Alternate stirring in flour and milk, starting and ending with the flour.  It will quickly turn from pumpkin soup to a batter.  Mix only until combined.  You're using AP flour and not cake flour, so over mixing will lead to holes.

5.  Scoop into pans.  I used the half cup measure but didn't scrape it out each time, so I think I got about 1/3 C in each cake well.  Bake for 20-25 minutes, until top is springy but firm.  Turn out immediately onto a wire rack to cool.

6.  Trim the bottoms of the cakes relatively flat, so when you put two together with the bottoms touching, they sort of already look like a pumpkin.  Fill the middle with a good dose of pipeable cream cheese frosting (about 2 cups is enough for all the cakes), including the middle hole.  Chill until frosting is firm, so everything doesn't slide around when you frost the outside.

7.  Tint a double batch of buttercream frosting orange, minus half a cup that's colored green for the stems.

8.  Frost the bottom of a pumpkin and the bottom edge, then place it on a bit of parchment paper.  Spread way too much frosting all over the cake.  A lot of it is going to come off.

9.  Using a spreader or the rim of a washed out yogurt cup, smooth the sides into a decently rounded shape, deciding how thick you actually want the frosting.  Freeze the cakes for at least half an hour, to make sure the frosting is completely solid.

10.  Get the cakes out and put one on a work surface or turntable.  Wash your hands well with hot water and let them stay damp.  Use your fingers to smooth out the frozen buttercream.  Work fast enough, and it refreezes as soon as you let go.  Reheat and dampen fingers as necessary.  Use your pinky to make the pumpkin ridges.

11.  Fit a piping bag with a 4B tip and fill with the green frosting.  Pipe a mound into a stem shape at the top.  Carefully transfer cake from the parchment to a serving plate.  (You may want to freeze it again first if the frosting is getting too soft.)

12.  Because of the cream cheese filling, don't leave the cake out indefinitely.  It should be just back up to room temperature when served.

Makes 6 mini cakes, about 12 servings if people share

Difficulty rating :-0