Pumpkin Spice Cake with Maple Frosting and Salted Caramel

INGREDIENTS:

Pumpkin Spice Cake

• 600–650g butternut pumpkin or 1 cup pumpkin puree
• 180g unsalted butter, melted
• 180g caster sugar
• 100g dark brown sugar
• 50g treacle
• 1 tsp vanilla paste
• 125ml (1/2 cup) whole milk
• 3 large eggs, at room temperature
• 300g (2 cups) plain flour
• 1 ½ tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• ¾ tsp fine sea salt
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• ¾ tsp ground cloves
• ½ tsp ground cardamom
• ½ tsp ground nutmeg
• 125ml (1/2 cup) Salted Caramel Sauce, to decorate
• Salted caramel crunchy pearls (Callebaut or Valrhona), to decorate
• Edible flowers (violas), to decorate

Maple Swiss Meringue Buttercream

• 3 large egg whites
• 70g caster sugar
• 70g light brown sugar
• 200g unsalted butter, softened
• 3–4 tbsp good-quality maple syrup

Honeycomb

• 200g caster sugar
• 60ml (¼ cup) honey
• 60ml (¼ cup) golden syrup
• 2 tsp baking soda

METHOD:

Pumpkin Spice Cake

1. Preheat oven to 185°C (165°C fan-forced) and grease or line two 15cm (6”) cake pans with greaseproof paper.
2. Roast pumpkin cut side down in a baking tray for about 60-80 minutes, until well roasted and very soft. Allow to cool, then discard seeds and scoop pumpkin flesh into a food processor. Process to a thick puree, and if any lumps remain, press puree through a sieve. You should have approximately 1 cup of roasted pumpkin puree.
3. Mix pumpkin puree, melted butter, sugars, treacle and vanilla in a medium bowl until well combined.
4. Whisk in milk, then eggs one at a time until batter is smooth and thick.
5. Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and ground spices together in a large bowl, then mix into batter until just combined. Take care not to overmix.
6. Divide batter evenly between cake pans, weighting pans to ensure equal volume.
7. Bake in pre-heated oven for approximately 45-50 minutes, or until cake tester comes out clean. 

Maple Swiss Meringue Buttercream

1. Place egg whites and sugars in heatproof bowl over small saucepan of simmering water, ensuring the base of the bowl does not touch the water.
2. Allow sugars to dissolve, whisking intermittently, heating to 65°C to ensure egg whites are pasteurised.
3. Allow mixture to cool to room temperature, then whisk in free-standing mixer until pale, glossy, soft meringue peaks form.
4. Very slowly add small 1cm cubes of softened butter, then maple syrup, and continue whisking until buttercream is light and fluffy.

Honeycomb

1. Place sugar, honey and golden syrup in a deep saucepan. The pan should be large enough to accommodate the hot bubbling honeycomb which will foam and rise significantly when baking soda is added.
2. Allow sugar to dissolve completely on low heat, then increase the heat until mixture reaches hard crack stage (150°C using a candy thermometer).
3. Add the baking soda and stir vigorously to ensure evenly mixed. Honeycomb will foam and bubble, then transfer to a large lined baking tray and allow to cool completely.
4. Store in an airtight container to maintain crispness until ready to use. To use, smash the honeycomb into shards using your hands, or a mallet if it’s very hard.
5. Only 1/3-1/2 quantity of the honeycomb is required to decorate the cake, but it’s difficult to make a small batch. The excess can either be served with the cake slices, or enjoyed on a separate occasion by itself or to decorate another sweet treat.

Assembly

1. Assembling this cake is easiest when the cake is slightly chilled, and the buttercream and salted caramel are at room temperature.
2. Level each cake by slicing off the cake domes, then cut them in half lengthways to yield four cake layers in total. Use the base of one layer for the base of the cake, and the base of the other layer (turned upside down) for the top of the cake to avoid crumbs in the buttercream.
3. Place the first layer on a round cake plate or turn-table and spread a thin layer of frosting on the top, smoothing with a palate knife. Repeat frosting between each cake layer.
4. Cover the top and sides of the cake in a thin layer of frosting, allowing portions of cake to show through, giving a ‘naked’ appearance. Allow to chill for a couple of hours or overnight.
5. Drizzle salted caramel sauce over cake, allowing it to drip down the sides. Decorate with honeycomb shards, salted caramel pearls and fresh edible flowers, then serve at room temperature. 

Salma Sabdia is the creative powerhouse behind fabulous baking blog, The Polka Dotter. Click here to check out her blog, here to follow her on Instagram and here on Facebook.