Remember that time I posted a picture of that sweet-ass pumpkin cake I made back in September on all of my social media accounts and said HEY LOOK OUT FOR THIS ON THE BLOG and then I forgot about it and now it’s October and I’m really bad at this whole blogging thing? Cause I sure do! I’m also really good at run on sentences. I could make that one longer if you’d like…no? Okay then, lets just get into the cake I forgot about.

PUMPKIN CAKE. Filled with lemon curd and slathered with nutmeg buttercream. Perfect with a cup of tea. Or coffee, or whatever else you want to drink. Pumpkin and lemon are a fantastically delicious match. They’re like two unsuspecting best friends. Most people I’ve talked to about this cake has said something along the lines of “pumpkin? and lemon? together? I don’t know about that…” BUT IT WORKS. And why wouldn’t it? The bright citrus flavour really brings out the earthiness of the pumpkin, and that’s something I really like. This cake just tastes…old fashioned. In the best possible way. The cake is spiced with just a touch of cinnamon, only enough to subtly enhance the pumpkin flavour, and the lemon curd is so perfectly bright and happy and delicious which makes the pumpkin happy. The nutmeg buttercream is the perfect blanket to bring the two together. I used to hate nutmeg but I’ve grown to love the absolute shit out of it now. I put nutmeg in everything now. I’m crazy for nutmeg. NUTMEG. NUTMEG IN EVERYTHING.

Yeaaaah, look at those layers of tasty flavour. MMmm-mmmm good.

Okay so I don’t really remember what recipes I used for these components…but I will try to remember. Real quick.

Pumpkin Lemon Cake with Nutmeg Buttercream

for the cake

2 cups white sugar
1 1/4 cups canola oil
1 tsp vanilla paste
2 cups of pumpkin puree
4 eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Preheat your oven to 350F and line a baking sheet with parchment and spray the edges. Alternatively, line a springform pan with parchment as well as a 6″ round pan and spray the sides. Set this bitch aside. (side note: this little cake in the pictures is a 6″ cake, torted into 3 layers. There was a large 10″ cake as well that I baked into a springform pan and used for something else.)
In a bowl, whip together the eggs and sugar until light and fluffy. Slowly pour in the oil while mixing until it’s all homogenized and happy. Add the vanilla and pumpkin. Sift the dry ingredients together and then dump them in too. Mix until combined and no traces of flour remain.
Now pour this lovely batter into your prepared pan, and bake for..hmm…how long did I bake this for…Probably start with 15 minutes and then check on it. Give it another 5 minutes or so at a time just until the cake is golden brown and springs back when lightly prodded in the centre. You should know the drill by now my friends. Now set this beast aside to cool!

for the lemon curd

8 lemons, zested and juiced
2 cups sugar
1 cup of unsalted butter
6 eggs
2 egg yolks

In a pot, whisk together the sugar, zest, and eggs and yolks. Now add the lemon juice. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring constantly with the whisk. Once the mixture thickens and bubbles, remove from the heat. Stir in the butter and pour into a separate bowl. You can add gelatin at this point if you feel ever so inclined. I would probably put in 2 leaves of bloomed gelatin for this if you want a slightly thicker curd, but the way it is is just fine for this cake.

for the buttercream

1.5 cups of whole milk
3 tablespoons of cornstarch
1.5 cups of sugar
1.5 cups of butter, room temperature
1 tablespoon of nutmeg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a pot, whisk together the sugar and cornstarch. Add the milk and whisk over medium heat until thickened and boiling. Either transfer this to a stand mixer and let it run on medium-low until cooled, or transfer to a bowl and cover directly with plastic wrap until cooled. Once the mixture is cooled, Start whipping it with the butter. It will come together and be all fluffy and buttercream-like. Now add the vanilla and nutmeg.

Now you can assemble your cake! Depending on if you baked it in a sheet pan, or in round pans, you will be layering it however you want. If you baked it in a sheet pan, I recommend trimming off the edges, cutting into 3 equal strips and layering like that. You will need to let the cake sit overnight in the fridge for everything to sort of…meld together so that you can actually cut it without it sliding apart. A freshly layered cake will not slice. At all. It will slide around and make a mess. Don’t make a mess. Don’t be sad. It will work out as long as you let the cake rest, okay? Okay.