Halloween Fun - Pumpkin Cake O' Lantern (Jack O'lantern)

Name: Halloween Fun - Pumpkin Cake O' Lantern (Jack O'lantern)
Prep time: 1 h
Cook time: 1 h
Total time: 2 h
Yield: 1 large cake, 24 serving(s)
Ingredients: 5 1/2 cups all-purpose flour; 4 teaspoons ground cinnamon; 1 teaspoon ground ginger; 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves; 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg; 4 teaspoons baking powder; 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda; 1 teaspoon salt; 1 1/4 cups milk, at room temperature; 1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin; 1 tablespoon vanilla extract; 1 cup butter or 1 cup margarine, at room temperature; 1/2 cup vegetable oil; 2 1/4 cups sugar; 6 large eggs, at room temperature; 2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, at room temperature; 1 tablespoon vanilla extract; 9 cups powdered sugar; green food coloring; orange food coloring (paste is best); 1 green ice cream cones; 12 large yellow and white gumdrops (6 of each); sugar (to roll gumdrops on); 2 tablespoons chocolate chips; clear edible cake glitter

Submitted by Um Safia

"Made from two bundt cakes, this cake makes an ideal Halloween cake & centrepiece. It is both delicious & beautuful (& fun to make). To make this recipe easier & quicker, you can substitute three boxes of spice-cake mix for the cake ingredients - just follow the box instructions! There are quite a few steps to make this cake but it is NOT difficult & is well worth the effort!"

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photo by Izy Hossack

Ready In:: 2hrs
Ingredients:: 25
Yields:: 1 large cake
Serves:: 24

ingredients

Cake
5 ¹⁄₂ cups all-purpose flour
4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
¹⁄₂ teaspoon ground cloves
¹⁄₄ teaspoon ground nutmeg
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 ¹⁄₂ teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 ¹⁄₄ cups milk, at room temperature
1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 cup butter or 1 cup margarine, at room temperature
¹⁄₂ cup vegetable oil
2 ¹⁄₄ cups sugar
6 large eggs, at room temperature
Frosting
2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, at room temperature
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
9 cups powdered sugar
green food coloring
orange food coloring (paste is best)
1 green ice cream cones
12 large yellow and white gumdrops (6 of each)
sugar (to roll gumdrops on)
2 tablespoons chocolate chips
clear edible cake glitter

directions

Heat the oven to 350° and butter two 10-inch bundt cake pans.
In a large bowl, stir together the flour, spices, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
In a medium bowl, stir together the milk, pumpkin, and vanilla extract until smooth.
In another large bowl, beat the butter or margarine and oil together with an electric mixer until combined. Next, beat in the sugar. Then beat in the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition.
Alternately beat in the milk/pumpkin mixture and the flour mixture until just combined.
Divide the batter between the two prepared pans. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cakes comes out clean.
Cool the cakes in the pans for 15 minutes, then turn them out onto wire racks to cool completely.
Frosting:
In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese until smooth. Mix in the vanilla extract. Then beat in the powdered sugar gradually until the frosting is a spreadable consistency. Color about 1 cup of the frosting green and the rest orange.
Assembly:
Trim the bottoms of the cakes so they lie flat against each other. Frost the flat surface of the bottom cake and place the other cake on top. Frost the entire cake orange. When the frosting dries, add green frosting leaves and top with the ice cream cone to create a stem.
Decoration:
Sprinkle sugar over your work surface and use a rolling pin to flatten 12 large yellow and white gumdrops together into a pancake about 1/4 inch thick.
Adults only - use a knife to cut out the eyes, nose and mouth. Microwave 2 tablespoons of chocolate chips for about 60 seconds.
Dip the left side and bottom of the facial features in the melted chocolate. Dab a small amount of water onto the top surface of each feature, sprinkle the edible glitter on top, then press the facial features onto the cake.

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Reviews

I just realized that I forgot to review this! I made this last Fall, and it was a big hit. A great cake for a large crowd. Even though it looks like it might be hard to make, it isn't. It was a fun project, and my family loved it!

Hazeleyes

RECIPE SUBMITTED BY

Um Safia

ABOVE: My eldest, Talha with his 'Zaar Star! I'm 29 years old and have been cooking since I was old enough to wield a wooden spoon! My Mum is a fantastic cook and both my Grandmas were great cooks too. I've also had the pleasure of working in two commercial kitchens - one which I ran and the other I was second chef of. You can find me lurking in the NA*ME (North Africa / Middle East) Forum where I am a host: http://www.recipezaar.com/bb/viewforum.zsp?f=59 and also in the Cooking for Kids Forum where I am co-host: http://www.recipezaar.com/bb/viewforum.zsp?f=34 <style>body { background: url(http://i714.photobucket.com/albums/ww141/Um_Safia/seamless%20tiles/seamlesstile1.jpg);background-repeat: repeat; }</style> I am fortunate enough to have 2 children of my own now and enjoy cooking with my eldest who is almost 8 years old. My daughter is almost 3 & has now started joining me in the kitchen & 'helping'. She likes to stand on a chair next to me, give instructions & stir. We eat food from all over the world but my husband prefers it like 'mama used to make' or in his case ''like yemma makes it'' as he is Algerian! We are currently living in the UK after living in Algeria for a while. You will notice that I have posted quite a few Algerian classics. If I had the time and the money, I would spend all day every day trying new recipes! My husband has a 'recipe score' which is this: 1: "Add it to your recipe book - I loved it and wanna eat this again soon!" 2: "Interesting....I will enjoy eating this again." 3: "I cleared my plate but don't expect me to eat this again...ever." However, I rate 'Zaar recipes the by the 'Zaar standard, so don't worry. Oh and fyi, I have a problem being negative so will probably NEVER give a rating less that 4*!!! Other than cooking, I love anything arty-crafty and enjoy painting when I get the chance, which is rarely these days. I used to sell a lot of my creations and do things to order but just don't have the time at the moment. I have a passion for gardening almost as strong as that for cooking. I tend to have 90% of it in pots though as I can't bear to leave it behind when we move - therefore we don't have a lot of stuff that we'd like to have as it wouldn't like being confined to a pot! I take great pride in my garden and love the summer months (the few that we get in the UK) when we can eat outside... and being a typical man, my husband likes any excuse to get the BBQ going - enough said! By the way; I'm on a mission to re-educate people about soaking cous cous for use in North African recipes.,,just so you all know....it is traditionally STEAMED & not soaked! Most of the North African recipes I have have been taught to me by my mother in law, sisters in law etc. A few have come from very old cookbooks. It has taken me a long time to get the dishes into some kind of recipe form as basically we "eyeball" the majority of the ingredients. Bear with me whilst I try to get the rest of the recipes in order!... On a personal note, I abhor the mistreatment of animals and have taken care of many abandoned or injured animals over the years. Similarily, I love to help children and that is why my husband and I are in the process of becoming foster carers. I have a thing about being polite and having good manners - they don't cost anything after all. Something that bugs me is when you hold a door open for someone and they don't even acknowledge you or if you need to go through a door and they won't hold it for you but let it slap you in the face! 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