Baby Chocolate Pumpkin Bundt Cakes

Using the same chocolate pumpkin batter that I used to make whoopie pies, I made these baby bundt cakes. 

One recipe yields 18 cakes and they are a great size for sharing. I found that two cakes fit perfectly, side by side, in an inexpensive foil loaf pan, so you can safely deliver them with no worries about getting the pan back.

For an extra sweet touch, pipe a rosette of cream cheese buttercream.

Here are the recipes:

Baby Chocolate Pumpkin Bundt Cakes
(makes 18 cakes) 
1 cup dark brown sugar, packed
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup canola
2 eggs
2 (15oz) cans pumpkin
2 teaspoons vanilla
3 cups flour
3/4 cup dark cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Grease your baby bundt cake pans and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. My pan is from Nordic Ware and makes six cakes. The recipe makes 18 cakes, so I used the same pan, repeating the process of greasing and filling it, two more times after baking the first batch.

I greased the baby bundt pan with Crisco, being generous and careful to get it into every nook and cranny of every section.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the sugars, canola oil, eggs, pumpkin and vanilla.

In another large bowl, whisk together the remaining dry ingredients.

Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until well combined.

Fill the bundt cake sections 3/4 full with the batter and give the pan a firm tap on the counter to help the batter settle.

Bake the cakes for 20 minutes or until done and springy to the touch. Let the baked cakes cool for three minutes before inverting them onto a cooling rack. 

After they have cooled completely, frost them with vanilla cream cheese buttercream. I like to use a 1M tip and pipe a rosette on the top of each one.

Vanilla Cream Cheese Buttercream
(Note: this is the same recipe I used to fill the whoopie pies, but increased to make enough to top all 18 of the bundt cakes)
12 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
1 1/2  cups unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup powdered sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Whip the cream cheese and butter together until smooth and creamy. Add the powdered sugar and vanilla and whip again.

Two cakes ready to be shared. They fit perfectly in a foil loaf pan.

Sour Cherry Cupcakes

These Sour Cherry Cupcakes are fresh tasting, not too sweet and even better when topped with a very light cream cheese buttercream.

I made the cupcakes by whipping up my favorite buttermilk cake recipe and adding a splash of almond extract and three cups of sour cherries that I cooked down with a bit of sugar and cornstarch.

When it comes to the frosting, I'm almost too embarrassed to share my recipe because it's so basic and takes just a few minutes to make. It's only cream cheese whipped with unsalted butter, a bit of powdered sugar and vanilla —  and I hope proves that difficulty doesn't correspond with deliciousness. There really is no need to ever use sickly sweet frosting from a can.

Here are the recipes:
Sour Cherry Cupcakes
(makes 30 to 36) 
3 cups frozen or fresh pie cherries
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 heaping tablespoon cornstarch
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
4 eggs plus 2 egg yolks, room temperature
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
3 cups cake flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups buttermilk, room temperature

In a saucepan combine the cherries, 1/3 cup sugar and cornstarch. Heat the mixture over medium high heat until simmering and the juices exude and thicken. Use a potato masher or back of a spoon to break apart the cherries as they cook. This takes a good 5 to 7 minutes.

The cherry mixture after cooking.

Let the mixture cool completely to room temperature.

Now for the cupcake batter — Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line cupcake pans with papers.

In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar on high until light and fluffy, about 6 minutes.

Beat in the eggs plus egg yolks, one at a time, until combined. Beat in the vanilla and almond extract.

In another large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. With mixer on low, add a third of the flour mixture to the butter mixture, beating to combine. Beat in 3/4 cup buttermilk, another third of the flour mixture, another 3/4 cup buttermilk, and remaining flour mixture until just combined. Scrape down the bowl as needed. Once the batter is mixed, add the cooled cherries.

The cupcake batter and the cooled cherries are ready to be combined.

Pour the cherries into the batter.

Fold the cherries into the batter just until they are combined.

Gently fold in the cooled cherry mixture. Don't over mix.

Fill the cupcake papers 3/4 full.  Bake for 18 to 22 minutes in a 350-degree oven or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean.

Before baking.

After baking.

Let the cupcakes cool completely before frosting.

Easy Cream Cheese Buttercream
12 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
2/3 cup powdered sugar
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Whip the cream cheese and butter together until smooth and creamy. Add the powdered sugar and vanilla and whip again.

Frost the cupcakes after they have cooled completely. I used a piping bag fitted with a 1M tip to add the frosting but you could also just plop on a few spoonfuls and spread it with a table knife. 

Tiered Anniversary Cake

Cake closeup.

I made two large single layer cakes that we could cut into right away so that the stacked cake could stay intact for as long as possible.

 I'm happy to report that Michael and Marc loved their anniversary cake. I'm so pleased and in debt to my wonderful friends Cindy, Cheryl, Anne and Tiffany who helped me set up and serve.  It takes a team to cut hundreds of slices of cake.

Cindy also deserves a special shout out for helping me transport and stack the cake. On the ride to the church she held a cake on her lap, kept the flowers from tipping over and calmed my nerves.

I had to drive so slow and carefully to keep the cakes safe that I'm sure I irritated other drivers. Cindy and I came to the conclusion that I need a "cake on board" sign for my car. 

Cakes in the car. Cindy ended up holding the smallest cake in her lap and I'm so glad she did.  It would have tipped for sure had I left it in the back of the car.

It's such a good feeling when a cake is done and you realized it survived transport and stacking unscathed.

Once at the church, the setup went fairly smoothly and best of all, the cake was a hit. Thank you Michael and Marc for choosing me to be a part of your special day. Making cakes for friends is the best! Happy Anniversary!


Here are the recipes:


Red Velvet Cake
(makes 2 9-inch cakes)
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
2 cups granulated sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 ounce red food coloring
1/2 cup buttermilk
4 large eggs
1 cup sour cream
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup cocoa powder
2 1/2 cups flour

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and line two 9-inch cake pans.

Cream butter, add vanilla and mix well. Add sugar and beat until fluffy. Add eggs, sour cream, food coloring and buttermilk. Mix well. Add salt and baking soda. Mix well. Add cocoa powder and flour and mix just until blended. Don't over mix.

Divide batter among the two cake pans and bake for 45 to 50 minutes or until done.


Vanilla Cream Cheese Buttercream
1 cup milk
1 cup sugar, divided
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/3 cup cornstarch
1 1/2 tablespoons vanilla
1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, room temperature
1 8 oz package cream cheese, softened

In a saucepan over medium heat, cook the milk and half of the sugar until simmering.

In the meantime, in a small bowl combine the cream, the other half of the sugar and cornstarch. Mix well with a whisk.

When the milk is simmering,  pour about half of it into the cream mixture and whisk well. Add it back to the milk in the saucepan and heat, stirring constantly until the mixture becomes very thick.

Remove from heat and whisk in the vanilla. Put the mixture into a clean bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let the mixture cool completely.

When the buttercream base is cool, transfer it to a mixer and whip until smooth, add the butter and the cream cheese, a tablespoon at a time and whip until light and fluffy.