Pumpkin Cake

A few people have asked about how I made the pumpkin cake, so I figured posting it on here would be the easiest way to share it with everyone.

P.S. I got this idea out of Family Circle magazine.

What you will need for the cake:
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 can (15 oz) pumpkin puree
- 1/2 cup milk
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
- 2 cups sugar
- 5 eggs
What you will need for the decoration:
- 1 can (16 oz) vanilla frosting

*Little side note...don't try to use cream cheese frosting. I did this. It's too runny & the M&M's will slide all over the world. Stick to the vanilla, even though it probably doesn't taste as good.*

- orange gel food coloring

*Another little side note...after freaking out about the whole frosting mistake & sending your husband to the store to buy the right kind, don't be in such a hurry to get that right frosting on the cake that you FORGET to dye it orange :)*

- 2 bags (7oz each) orange M&M's candies (about 2 cups)

*I couldn't find bags of just orange M&M's, so I bought a huge (42oz) bag of normal M&M's, thinking there would be enough orange ones in there. Nope. Jeff bought me another bag of the Halloween M&M's & we picked all the orange ones out of it...still not enough.*

- 34 yellow or brown M&M's
- 1 chocolate covered candy bar (such as snickers)
Cake Instructions:
#1-Heat oven to 350. Coat two 1.5 liter Pyrex bowls with nonstick cooking spray; set aside.

#2-Whisk together the flour, baking powder & soda, cinnamon & salt.
Mix the pumpkin, milk & vanilla in a small bowl to blend.

#3-Beat the butter in a large bowl with an electric mixer until smooth. Gradually add the sugar & beat until light & fluffy. (about 3 minutes) Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the flour mixture, alternating with the pumpkin mixture, ending with the flour mixture. Beat just until smooth.

#4-Divide the batter evenly between the prepared bowls. Bake at 350 in the center of the oven for 55 to 65 minutes, or until golden & a toothpick comes out clean. Transfer bowls to a wire rack & cool 15 minutes. Invert cakes onto racks & remove bowls; cool completely (about an hour).

Decorating Instructions:
#1-Trim the top of the cakes with a serrated knife to make level. Tint the frosting orange with the food coloring. Place one cake layer, cut-side up, on a serving platter. Spread the cut side with 1/2 cup of the frosting. Place the other cake layer on top, cut-side down. Trim any excess to make round.

#2-Spread a thin layer of frosting on half the cake, from top to bottom. Start with the nose: in the center of the frosted area, place 3 yellow or brown M&M's-2 on the bottom & 1 on the top-to make a triangle nose. Place 2 orange candies side by side directly above the nose, the begin the eyes: attach 3 yellow candies along the same line as the orange candies above the nose, to the left. Then place 2 yellow candies above that row, and end with a single yellow candy. Repeat on the other side of the nose. Below the nose, make an upside-down triangle using 6 orange candies. Make a yellow candy mouth, beginning with 7 candies arranged in a "V" around the orange triangle. Then use 12 additional yellow candies to finish the mouth. Fill in with more orange candies close together on the frosted area. When that area is covered, spread another area with the frosting & add more candies. Repeat until the entire cake is covered with orange candies.

#3-Cut the candy bar in half crosswise on the diagonal to fashion a stem. Make a small hole in the top of the cake & press the candy bar half, cut-side down, into the top of the cake, for the stem. Refrigerate to firm frosting.

P.S. For those of you who haven't been able to post comments on my blog, I changed how the comments are under my settings, so hopefully it will work now. SORRY!