This chocolate pumpkin cake is a little woodland wonderful! Four layers of moist pumpkin cake, chocolate caramel cream cheese frosting, and a “forest floor” of chopped chocolate and pistachios. It’s finished with rosemary trees and a dusting of powdered sugar snow.
A Cake With a Love Story
This cake started as an anniversary present. When Alex and I hit our one month wedding anniversary, I wanted to celebrate with a fun cake. (And no, I didn’t continue to bake an anniversary cake each month- the first one just felt special.)
I base the flavors on the top tier of our wedding cake. Then, I let my creativity run wild with the decorating. Rosemary sprigs makes the cutest little pine trees. Chopped chocolate and chopped pistachios blend together to create a forest floor. And, I happen to have some little woodland creatures to finish the scene.
This cake is easy to pull off! Decorate to your heart’s content. This 6-inch chocolate pumpkin cake is perfect for autumn anniversaries, Friendsgiving, or a cozy winter birthday!
Cake Highlights
- Easy to decorate. No fondant. Rosemary, chocolate, pistachios, and powdered sugar do all the decorating.
- Seriously moist layers. Coconut oil keeps the pumpkin layer cake tender and rich.
- Small-batch size. A 6-inch, four-layer cake serves about 10.
Pumpkin Cake Variation
I love this pumpkin cake recipe. I’ve made it over a dozen times and I have several pumpkin cake variations on the blog (cinnamon maple pumpkin cake, butterscotch pumpkin cake).
Thanks to the powers of pumpkin puree, this cake is super moist. To pumpkin-hating friends: this tastes NOTHING like pumpkin pie.
The coconut oil in the batter really helps to round out and balance the cake. Coconut oil further helps to moisten the cake, but it also lends this subtle richness and tropical-ness that makes this cake so addicting.
Decorating Ideas
- Woodland Friends: I found these super cute animal friends at Hobby Lobby while shopping for holiday decor. You can find the exact same set online through Amazon. Wash before placing on cake.
- Pine Trees: Fresh rosemary sprigs.
- Forest Floor: Chocolate dark chocolate and chopped pistachios.
- Snow: Light dusting of powdered sugar through fine sieve, just before serving.
- Extra ideas: Meringue mushrooms, sugared cranberries, or a few chocolate bark “logs.”
Storage & Make Ahead
Store assembled cake in the fridge (preferably in a covered container to prevent any unwanted flavors to seep in). Keeps in the fridge for up to 4 days. Let cake slices warm up to room temperature (about 20-30 minutes) before serving.
Make Ahead: Bake cake layers up to 2 days ahead, wrap tightly. Frosting keeps in the fridge for up to 3 days before assembly. Rewhip before using.
Freeze: Freeze unfrosted layers, wrapped well in plastic wrap, for up to 2 months. Thaw in the fridge or at room temperature.
Forest Chocolate Caramel Pumpkin Cake
Ingredients
Pumpkin Cake:
- 2 cups all-purpose flour, (260 g)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- ¾ cup coconut oil, (170 g)
- 1 cup canned pumpkin puree, (227 g)
- 1 ¼ cup granulated sugar, (250 g)
- 3 large eggs, room temp
- ⅓ cup whole milk, room temp
Caramel Cream Cheese Frosting:
- 1 cup cream cheese, (227 g) room temp
- ½ cup unsalted butter, (113 g) softened
- 3 cups powdered sugar, (340 g)
- 2 Tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder, (10 g)
- 2 Tablespoons sea salt caramel (store-bought or homemade)*
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup chopped dark chocolate, or more as needed for layers
Decor As Needed:
- fresh rosemary sprigs
- chopped chocolate
- chopped pistachios
- powdered sugar, sifted
- assorted animal to figurines*
Instructions
Pumpkin Cake:
- Preheat oven to 350° F. Butter two 6-inch round cake pans and line with parchment paper. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, ground cinnamon and salt. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream together coconut oil and pumpkin puree. Add sugar and eggs. Mix until smooth. Scrape down bowl as needed
- Add half of dry flour mixture. Mix on low speed until almost combined. Add milk. Mix on slow speed and then add remaining dry flour mixture. Mix until there are no longer any dry streaks of flour. Scrape down bowl as needed to ensure thorough mixing.
- Divide cake batter between the two prepared cake pans. Level batter using a mini offset spatula. Bake for 35-40 minutes until toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean. Allow to cool in pan for 5 minutes before unmolding. Allow cakes to cool to room temperature on wire rack.
Chocolate Caramel Cream Cheese Frosting:
- Using a hand mixer (or stand mixer), beat cream cheese until smooth. Add butter and continue to beat until mixture is smooth. Scrape down bowl as needed.
- Sift together powdered sugar and cocoa powder. Add to mixing bowl and combine together at low speed. Add caramel and pinch of salt. Mix until frosting is smooth.
Assembly:
- Slice each cooled pumpkin cake into two layers. Place one cake round on cake board (or serving plate). Spread a layer of frosting over cake layer. Sprinkle a handful of chopped dark chocolate over frosting.
- Place second cake layer on top. Gently press cake layer down to secure. Spread a layer of frosting and add another layer of chopped chocolate. Continue to repeat until fourth cake layer of added on top.
- Spread frosting all over cake to seal in the crumbs (crumb coat). Let chill in the refrigerator for at least 15 minutes. If desired, add another layer of buttercream to coat cake. If desired, pipe border along the bottom of the cake. Otherwise, continue to chill cake until ready to serve.
- Decorate cake before serving. Use fresh rosemary sprigs, chopped pistachios, and chopped chocolate to garnish the top of cake. Add additional chopped pistachios and chopped chocolate along the bottom of the cake. Place animal toy figurines, if desired. As a final touch, dust cake with powdered sugar to resemble snow.
Notes
- *store-bought or homemade caramel
- Assorted animal toy figurines can be purchased at Amazon.com
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like this recipe? Rate & comment below!
I’d like to use your frosting recipe for an old family favorite cake recipe. Do you think your frosting would play well with a sour cream chocolate cake? It is a basic chocolate cake made with semi-sweet chocolate, dutch chocolate and unsweetened chocolate.
Here to one month’s anniversary (and more by now…)! This is such a super cute cake which I can’t wait to try. I love the animals and how it’s wonderfully decorated which I know my boys will love.
Wow, I would love to make something like this for the holidays. It looks superb.
What a beautiful cake, and the flavors sound amazing! I love all the detail that went into making this special <3
This is one of the most amazing cakes I’ve ever seen! I can’t stop looking at it!
This is an absolutely stunning cake!
Congrats on your one month anniversary! And, go my goodness, this cake is SO gorgeous!
what an amazing cake! chocolate caramel cheese cake frosting sounds like the kind of thing that should be used everywhere (on toast, as spackling paste). and if no one got to try the pumpkin cake, that just means it’s time for a party with lots of pumpkin cake! (;
Thank you! My thoughts exactly…it’s time for another party!