Salted Caramel Pumpkin Layered Cake

Delectable layers of moist pumpkin cake frosted with cream cheese icing and covered with a glaze of salted caramel sauce. Top it off with glazed pecans and you have a gorgeous layered cake ready to be displayed on your Thanksgiving table. Not only is it beautiful to look at, but once your guests dive into a slice of this lusciousness, they’ll be raving about it for weeks.

Don’t Be Intimidated by Layered Cakes

I was always afraid of layered cakes. I’m not sure why. Maybe because they seemed so daunting of a task. Or maybe because I wanted a one-pan dessert where I could slap some icing on it and stuff it in my mouth within five minutes.

Basic cakes in themselves are a cinch. You whip up the batter, pour it into the pan, bake it for a bit and there ya go. What intimidated me the most was slicing the layers horizontally. And then, of course, stacking the layers, there’s the possibility of it looking like the Leaning Tower of Pisa.

But within the past several years, I determined to overcome my resistance to “layered” cakes and now this Salted Caramel Pumpkin Cake has become my all-time favorite. Let me take you through the steps and I think you’ll agree it’s easier than originally thought.

Why I love this Salted Caramel Pumpkin Layered Cake recipe:

It’s pumpkin. ‘Nough said! ‘Tis the season for pumpkin “this” and pumpkin “that” and who doesn’t love the flavor of pumpkin in whatever they’re indulging in.

There are lots of “Fall” spices found in the batter. Five spices are added to this cake batter and gives it a depth of flavor beyond the normal pumpkin cake recipe. How can you go wrong with cinnamon, ginger, cloves, nutmeg, and cardamom thrown into the mix? Each spice complements the others wonderfully.

This tiered delight is a gorgeous display on any table. When this cake is complete with icing, caramel sauce and glazed pecans, it transforms into a stunning presentation. And once you slice into it, those hidden alluring layers come to life on the plate.

The recipe is easier than it looks. Don’t be fooled by how difficult this cake looks on the outside. If you take it step by step, you’ll find it pretty painless. It just takes some time. But if you know that going into it, you’ll be fine.

Begin by preparing the pans

Parchment paper is going to be your best friend with this recipe. It prevents your batter from sticking to the bottom of the pan and allows the baked cake to fall out easily when turned upside down.

Tear off a large sheet of parchment paper and place the bottom of the cake pan on top of it. Take a marker and mark around its parameter. Cut it with scissors and you have a perfectly fitted sheet to go in the bottom. Prepare two 8-inch round cake pans by spraying both the bottom and the sides with Pam before adding the parchment paper. 

Why combine the dry ingredients before adding to the wet ingredients?

You want to make sure all the spices, the sugar, salt, and the raising agent are well incorporated to give consistency throughout the batter. Using a whisk or a sifter to combine everything works great.

Why mix the wet ingredients separately?

Mixing the wet ingredients together before adding the dry ones is an important part of baking. Otherwise, you will end up overworking the flour causing a dense and somewhat gummy baked product. Therefore, when adding the dry ingredients to the wet ones, mix until combined, until the flour mixture is no longer seen. This will result in a light and airy cake.

How full should you fill the batter in these pans?

Normally you should fill cake pans about 2/3 full and give the batter room to expand. But because I am cutting each of these round cakes to produce a four-layered finished product, I wanted them extra tall. I ended up filling them a little over 3/4 full. That gave me plenty of room to level off the top part where it domed and still had plenty of depth left to make two halves per round cake.

This recipe makes plenty of extra batter. Therefore, I was able to make several mini bundt cakes as well.

How long should you bake the cakes and how long should they cool?

Because these round cakes are so thick, they needed to bake longer than usual. Mine stayed in the oven for 55 minutes. But every oven is different so here are a couple of ways to test if a cake is done.

• First, use a toothpick and insert it into the middle of the cake. If it comes out clean with no batter marks, then you’re good to go. A few crumbs are fine.
• Secondly, if you gently press in the middle of the cake and it springs back (a pillowy effect), then you know the cake is fully baked.

Let the cakes sit for about five minutes before removing them from the pans. Run a knife around the edge of the pan before inverting them onto a baking rack. Let them completely cool before icing and assembling the layers.

The cakes can be baked a day ahead of time and wrapped (completely cooled) in foil or placed in a jumbo ziplock bag. If you want to freeze them, this site, Sally’s Baking Addiction, will help give all the tips to do that.

There’s a reason we call special things in our life “icing on the cake.” And let me tell you, this icing “tops” the special category. It elevates a simple cream cheese icing into a heavenly topping by incorporating salted caramel sauce. And if that’s not enough, extra salted caramel sauce douses the entire top of the cake while it drips down the sides. It’s extravagant!!

What tips are used in making the icing?

• Start with room temperature butter and cream cheese and beat them until they are really smooth. This way you’ll not end up with lumps in your icing.
• Incorporate little by little the powdered sugar. You’ll not want to dump all eight cups in at once. Start with two cups and beat it with a hand mixture. Continue adding two cups at a time until all the powdered sugar has been used.

• Make sure the salted caramel sauce is completely cooled before adding it to the icing, otherwise the butter and cream cheese will soften too much making it more difficult to frost the cake.

Grab this buttery decadent Homemade Salted Caramel Sauce recipe here. It makes all the difference in the world for the finished cake. You can use store-bought, but if you do, go with the more expensive thicker brand.

What is the best way to slice the layers?

First of all, make sure the round baked cakes are completely cooled. If they are still warm, they’re more flimsy and fragile to work with.

When cutting, first of all, slice off the domed top with a long serrated knife. And by-the-way, don’t discard this extra cake you’ve just seared off. It serves wonderfully in a trifle recipe. Or, I’ve been known to stand at the counter and eat it right then and there. Sad, I know.

Using a “lazy susan” helps tremendously when cutting the different layers. Once the domed top is off, eyeball about halfway down the cake and insert your serrated knife horizontally and turn the lazy susan as you saw back and forth. This gives you a more consistently sliced layer.

What is the best way to Ice a Layered Cake?

I didn’t show it here in the photo, but if you want to keep the cake stand nice and clean while icing, you can cut three pieces of parchment paper and lay them down in a triangle on the cake stand before placing the cake on top. This way, it will catch all the drippings. When you are finished icing the cake, carefully pull out each piece of parchment and it will leave you with a spotless stand.

The favored “must-have” cake icing tool in my kitchen is an offset spatula. It makes the job much easier when spreading the icing. Start with about a heaping cup of icing on the bottom layer and spread it around. Make sure there is plenty around the edge. Continue with each layer, gently pressing down on it while paying attention to keep it level. Add another heaping cup of icing with each layer until you get to the top and then wait.

While icing the first three layers, it doesn’t matter if you place the cut side up or down. But when I get to the top layer, I always use the layer that was the bottom part of the cake. I place the cut side down giving me a smooth, consistent and even top for my cake. (see above photo)

Why should you begin with a “crumb” barrier?

What is a crumb barrier you may ask? It is a thin layer of icing on the top and sides of the layered cake causing all the little crumbs to get caught in this initial icing. Put the whole cake in the freezer for about 20 minutes until it is nice and firm. This step makes for a clean and crumb-free finished cake. Once you pull it out of the freezer, continue the icing process of both the sides and the top.

Now, this is where it gets really good and gooey. You don’t want to miss the drizzling effect on this Pumpkin Layered Cake. Not only does it make for a gorgeous presentation on your table, but the flavor it bestows on this beauty is beyond comparison.

How do you drizzle the sides of a cake with caramel sauce?

Before you drizzle, return the frosted cake to the freezer for 20 more minutes. You want the cake really chilled when you begin to apply the caramel. You will also want the caramel semi-warm but not too warm when you begin to drizzle it down the sides.

Begin by edging the top of the iced cake with the sauce while letting it drizzle down the sides in columns. There’s no rhyme or reason to the drippings. Grab a spoonful of Salted Caramel Sauce, let it fall from the spoon while you slowly turn the cake  (see above photo) until all the sides have drippings down them. Finish it off with spooning and spreading more caramel sauce on top of the cake.

Adding glazed pecans as the finishing touch

The crowning touch of this Salted Caramel Pumpkin Layered Cake is the glazed pecans that adorn it with textured loveliness. Pick up a bag of these glazed pecan pieces in your grocery store and sprinkle them around the top bottom edge of the cake. There are times I haven’t been able to find the glazed pecan, so I went with regular pecan pieces in the baking aisle and they were just as good.

I’ve made this scrumptious tiered cake on many occasions and I’ve always gotten oooh’s and ahhhh’s from my guests. It’s on my Thanksgiving menu list again this year. It really is worth the little bit of extra work that comes with a layered cake. It’s beyond rich and decadent. I know it’s hard to believe, but honestly, one piece is almost too much. You have to pace yourself when eating it.

I came across this recipe on Glorious Treats years ago when I was looking for a Fall dessert and I fell in love with it. There are only a few things I have changed over time but the original recipe and inspiration came from Glorious Treats. Check out their site for other delicious recipes.

If you’re looking for more Fall & Holiday Recipes, check these out:

Salted Caramel Pumpkin Cake Roll

Pumpkin Spice Vodka Martini

Caramel Drunken Apple Galette

Gingerbread Layered Cake

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