Happy Halloween Pumpkin Cake

Happy Halloween Everyone! Trick or Treat?  Well, no tricks here, just a whole lot of treats.  I am so excited to show you how to make this fun and festive pumpkin shaped cake.  If you have been to my blog before, you know I'm still working on getting comfortable with the world of baking.  Now I'm also exploring the beauty of cake decorating.  Anyone can make this fun cake because I did it!  I used a box cake mixed, but I followed a tip baking guru Paula Deen gave on a cooking show.  I love her tips because it takes an ordinary box cake mix and turns it into super rich and moist cake.  Now if Paula Deen uses a box cake mix occasionally, I'm sure going to feel less baking challenged when I do too. : )   I hope you all have a very sweet and safe Halloween.   

Ingredients:
2 boxes of any flavor cake mix.  I used classic yellow.
(See notes fpr Paula Deens tips to enhance box cake mix)
2-3 tubs of frosting or your favorite white frosting
sprinkles (optional)
Yellow, Red and Green food coloring (see note)
1 ice cream cone

Notes on Box Cake Mix:  Paula Deen advised that you can turn a regular box cake mix to a richer cake mix by doing the following:   
1. Add an extra egg to to the box cake mix (for example if the box calls for 3 eggs, use 4)  
2. Add butter in place of the vegetable oil  that is called for on the cake box.
3.  Add milk in place of the water that is called for on the cake box.

Notes on Frosting:  You can get some help from the store and buy orange and green cake frosting.  That's actually what I did. 

Notes on the baking pan:  You will need a bundt cake pan for this cake so you can get the right shape.  You will either use two bundts pans to bake the cakes or have to bake one cake at a time using the same bundt pan.  That's what I did.


Directions:
Bake the two cakes per the box baking instructions until done.  Allow cakes to cool completely on two separate plates.

Then frost the dome part of one bundt well.  Next, take your cake plate (the plate that will hold your final pumpkin cake) and invert it over the frosted cake. Then flip the frosted cake over so the frosted side is now the bottom half of the pumpkin and the flat side of the bundt is facing up.

Now frost the flat side of the bundt cake well. This will become the center layer of frosting between the two bundt cakes.  Next, place the second bundt cake on top of the bottom cake by placing the flat sides together.  The dome of the 2nd bundt should be the top of the pumpkin now.

  Frost the top bundt cake as well. Use the back of a spoon and give it some texture up and down the cake to make the ridges of the pumpkin.

Next take a flat bottom ice cream cone and frost it will with the green frosting.  Place the frosted ice cream cone in the bundt cake hole so it looks like the stem of the pumpkin. 

Voila you have just created yourself a pumpkin shaped cake.  Now you can decorate with sprinkles and novelty plastic spiders to give it a real fun finish.  Slice and enjoy.  Serves a party.