Pumpkin Chocolate Cake

Heat oven to 350ºF. Lightly spray three 8-inch round cake pans, set aside.

For the cake:
In a small bowl, combine flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon; set aside. In a separate bowl, stir together the buttermilk, pumpkin and vanilla. Set that aside.

In a mixer, beat together butter and both sugars until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add flour and pumpkin mixture, alternating between the two. Blend well after each addition. Beat until batter is smooth.

Divide the batter between the 3 pans. Bake for 30–35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pans on a wire rack for 20 minutes. Remove cakes and continue to cool completely on your wire rack.

Meanwhile prepare your ganache.

For the ganache:
In a saucepan, heat heavy cream until bubbles form around the edge. Remove from heat and whisk in chocolate chips. Continue to whisk until chocolate has melted and mixture is smooth. Refrigerate for 30–60 minutes. You want the ganache to be thick but spreadable.

For the buttercream:
In a microwave safe bowl, melt caramels and milk in 30-second intervals until melted. Allow caramels to cool.

Combine butter and cream cheese in the bowl of your mixer. Beat on medium speed until creamy. Mix in salt and vanilla. Slowly mix in powdered sugar 1 cup at a time, adding milk as necessary. Continue to beat until buttercream is smooth. Carefully beat in cooled caramel.

To assemble the cake:
Remove ganache from refrigerator and allow ganache to stand for 5 minutes before spreading.

Place bottom cake layer on your serving plate. Using a serrated knife, cut dome off of the top of the cake. Discard. Place about a 1/2 cup of ganache on cake in the center and smooth out towards edges with an offset spatula. Place cake in refrigerator. Allow ganache to set for 10–20 minutes. Remove and top with 1 cup of buttercream. Spread buttercream starting from the center and working towards edges.

Cut top off second cake layer. Place layer over buttercream layer. Repeat process. Continue until all layers have been stacked. Place remaining frosting on the top. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Tip: Before covering top layer with frosting, place 3-4 wooden skewers through the cake to keep layers in place. Frost over top to hide the skewers.

Cake recipe adapted from Country Living.