Fall is in the air, and what better way to celebrate than with a slice of delicious White Chocolate Caramel Pumpkin Cake?

Finding Inspiration Everywhere

The inspiration for this new fall cake actually came from a snack I grabbed at my local grocery store. My littlest son and I went inside for a few extra cake ingredients I needed for a different cake, and we decided to pick out a couple little boxes of fall snacks from a display nearby. He chose those plastic-like pumpkin-shaped candies (does anyone actually like those? Okay, I know there’s a lot of you, haha). I picked out a clear box of small white chocolate spheres filled with caramel and studded with pumpkin pie spice all around the outside.

At first I wasn’t to thrilled about the taste. They were just -eh. Half the box in a few days later and I couldn’t stop eating them!!! Taste buds are weird sometimes. The white chocolate was so delicious with the pumpkin and caramel.

I knew it needed to be a cake flavor I could work on this fall!

RECIPE TESTING

Sometimes for my recipes, it takes more than a few tries to get it just right. For this cake, though, I already had a really great pumpkin cake recipe from my website and cookbook, and I knew my white chocolate buttercream I already know and love would be a great base. All it took was adding in a bit of caramel extract to my cake batter and buttercream, and adding in a bit of pumpkin spice to the buttercream to get the flavor right. It worked! This cake was beyond delicious even just by smelling it from the oven – the taste was spot on, too.

Pumpkin Toppers

For the fondant pumpkins, I actually made them by hand. I wasn’t sure if I was going to use them, so I didn’t do a step-by step photo tutorial, but here’s a little walk-through for how to make them (because obviously I ended up using and loving how they look on top of the cake!).

What You’ll Need:

White Fondant, Orange Gel Coloring, Toothpick, and Caramel Balls for the Stems

  1. Tint the fondant two different soft shades of orange and roll the fondant into small balls.
  2. Use a toothpick to roll grooves into the sides of each ball – letting each groove meet at the top of the mini pumpkin.
  3. Press a caramel ball into the top where the grooves meet to make the stem.
  4. Let them dry to firm before adding them to the top of the cake for garnish.

That’s it! I loved how soft, thick, and tender the pumpkin cake layers turned out with that hint of caramel in each bite.

The filling of caramel ganache isn’t too much – but has just enough of that delicious texture in the center. And that buttercream, OH THAT BUTTERCREAM, is stuff of dreams with the gorgeous white chocolate, pumpkin pie spice flavor, and hint of caramel, too. This cake turned into everything I was hoping, and I know you guys are going to LOVE it!

As always, if you bake any of my cakes, I’d love to see it and join in on the fun! Tag me on Instagram @bakingwithblondie or #bakingwithblondie.

Happy Baking,

xo,

Mandy

Get the Recipe: White Chocolate Pumpkin Cake

Soft Pumpkin Cake flavored with Caramel, Frosted with Spiced White Chocolate Caramel Cake and Filled with a Caramel Drizzle.
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Ingredients
 

Pumpkin Caramel Cake

  • 15oz can canned pumpkin, not fresh pumpkin puree and not pumpkin pie
  • 1 Tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
  • 1/2 cup sour cream , room temperature
  • 1/2 cup buttermilk, room temperature
  • 3 whole eggs , room temperature
  • 1/3 cup vegetable oil
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla
  • 1 teaspoon caramel extract or caramel emulsion
  • 1 box yellow cake mix, I always use Duncan Hines, but Betty Crocker would be similar

Caramel Ganache Filling

  • 1/2 cup homemade or store-bought caramel sauce
  • 2 Tablespoons heavy cream

White Chocolate Caramel Pumpkin Spice Buttercream

  • 1/2 cup white chocolate chips
  • 1/4 cup heavy cream
  • 3 sticks (or 1 1/2 cups) unsalted butter, left out at room temperature for 10 minutes
  • 1 pinch salt
  • 1 Tablespoon pure vanilla
  • 2 teaspoons caramel extract or emulsion
  • 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
  • 8 cups powdered sugar
  • 2-3 Tablespoons heavy cream , *if needed at the end to thin buttercream

Garnishes

  • Fall-themed sprinkles , I used Neon Yolk here
  • Fondant Pumpkins , I made mine with fondant, orange gel coloring, caramel balls, and a toothpick for the indents
  • caramel balls

Additional Cake Tools Needed

  • Scallop cake scraper for the design

Instructions
 

For the Pumpkin Caramel Cake

  • Preheat the oven to 325 degrees (if you aren't using convection bake, the only adjustment you'll need is maybe letting the cakes bake a little longer), and prep 3 (or 4 for this particular recipe) 6×2" cake pans with a swipe of shortening and dust of flour. Set aside.
  • In a large bowl, hand-whisk together the canned pumpkin, pumpkin pie spice, eggs, sour cream, buttermilk, vegetable oil, and vanilla until thoroughly combined.
  • Sift in the cake mix and gently stir until just combined (don't overmix!). Split the cake batter between the three (or four) cake pans, and bake for 28-30 minutes or until the center is baked through. Remove the rounds from the oven, let cool in the pans for a minute, then flip them out onto a wire rack to cool completely. Wrap in plastic wrap and freeze until frosting.

Caramel Ganache Filling

  • For the filling, add the heavy cream to the caramel in a bowl and microwave about 10 seconds, then stir. Adding in the heavy cream will prevent the caramel from turning into a brick in the fridge/freezer; making it difficult to slice.

White Chocolate Caramel Pumpkin Spice Buttercream

  • In a small microwave safe bowl, stir together the white chocolate chips and heavy cream. Heat for 30 seconds and stir until smooth. Set aside to slightly cool.
  • In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, whip up the butter until it's light and fluffy.
  • Add in the white ganache mixture, salt, vanilla, caramel extract, pumpkin pie spice, and whip to combine.
  • Turn the mixer to low speed, and slowly add in the powered sugar 1/2 cup at a time. Add in a touch of heavy cream if needed to thin.
  • Switch the mixer on the highest speed and let it whip up the buttercream's texture for about 2 minutes.

Assembly

  • On a cake turntable with a cardboard cake round, add on a touch of buttercream in the center to act as glue with an offset icing spatula. Place down the first cake layer in the center.
  • Add on a layer of buttercream for the filling, and then drizzle on some of the caramel ganache – avoiding the edges. Place the next cake layer on top and repeat.
  • Crumb coat the cake, then freeze for 5 minutes.
  • Add on a final layer of buttercream, using the scalloped cake scraper to achieve the decorative sides, leaving the top unfinished for a more rustic look.
  • Add on the fall sprinkles in a circle along the outside rim of the top of the cake, hand place on the fondant pumpkins, and add a few of the caramel balls along the bottom.
  • Enjoy!