Rich Jack-o’-Lantern Pumpkin and Chocolate Sponge Cake with Cream 🎃

Large 4-layer sponge cake with pumpkin, chocolate, and walnuts, filled with French-style pastry cream, apricot jam and rich buttercream.

Recipe Intro

This cute cake is not just eye candy, it is also delicious, moist, soft, creamy and yummy! Pastry experts, please bear with me – this was my first attempt at such a large cake, and I’m still a beginner in the world of baking.

Essential Ingredients

Sponge Cake Base

• flour – use plain white flour
• yoghurt – use plain set yoghurt or Greek style yoghurt
• sugar – Use white caster or granulated sugar. Avoid using brown sugar, it will darken the cake; we want a bright orange for our pumpkin layer.
• baking powder
• vanilla sugar – Do not use dark-coloured vanilla essence
• eggs
• sunflower oil

This mixture serves as the foundation for the cake. you can add various flavourings to this base to create three distinct sponge cake layers.

Cake cream fillings

You can fill your cake with just one type of cream or a combination of both. I opted for pastry cream and buttercream to add different textures and flavours. Feel free to get creative and use whatever suits your taste!

🎃 While you are here, check out more international pumpkin recipes;

Autumn pumpkin risotto served in cute mini pumpkin bowls 🍂🇬🇧
Roasted pumpkin and carrot soup 🥕🇬🇧
Simple and delicious Italian pumpkin risotto 🍲 🇮🇹

How to make Jack-o-lantern cake?

Prepare pumpkin puree

Fresh pumpkins can be incredibly tough to cut. I recently discovered that you can actually roast the whole pumpkin as is, this works perfectly with small pumpkin varieties. The skin separates easily from the flesh, and the seeds can be scooped out in one go with a spoon.

• Before roasting, be sure to score the top of the pumpkin with three or four deep cuts to prevent it from bursting in the oven. Place the pumpkin on a baking tray, no need to oil, and roast at 200°C for about 25-30 minutes, or until it begins to darken slightly.
• Once roasted and cool, cut the pumpkin into wedges, peel away the skin, and scoop out the seeds. When prepared this way, the pumpkin can be stored in the fridge for use in various recipes.
• For this particular recipe, the roasted pumpkin you can simply mash with a fork or blend it to a smooth purée, depending on your preference. If you prefer larger bits of pumpkin in the cake sponge, simply mash it with a fork. For a smoother texture, you can give it a quick whiz in a blender.

Make the Sponge Cake Base

Now that we have the base, divide it into two equal portions, then take one of those portions and split it into two again – one for the pumpkin and one for chocolate, and the rest of the batter (2/4) is for the walnut sponge cake layers.
If you prefer, you can also adjust the portions differently; you could divide the mixture into three for only 3 layers, or four, to create four different flavours.

Pumpkin sponge cake layer

• In the first portion of the batter, add half of the mashed pumpkin along with the cinnamon and nutmeg. Mix gently with a wooden spoon until well combined.
• Prepare the orange colouring: if you don’t have an orange colour on hand, you can mix yellow and red food colouring instead. Add yellow food colouring first, then mix in one drop of red, adjusting as needed until you achieve the desired orange shade then fold it into the pumpkin mixture.
• Add orange colour to the batter and mix well. Pour the pumpkin batter into a 9-inch cake tin and bake at 170°C for about 20-25 minutes. Avoid opening the oven for the first 15 minutes to help the sponge rise evenly.

Keep an eye on the cake as it bakes; it should be cooked through but maintain a consistent orange colour without browning. If you notice the sponge starting to darken too much, quickly cover it with a piece of aluminium foil; this means your oven might be running too hot. Once done, remove it from the oven and put it on a cooling rack to cool.

Tip: To check if the batter is done, insert a wooden cocktail stick into the centre of the cake; if it comes out clean and dry, the cake is ready. If there’s still wet batter clinging to the stick, it needs more time in the oven.

Chocolate sponge cake layer

• Place pieces of the chocolate bar into a small bowl and microwave for a few seconds until melted
• Add the melted chocolate, chocolate extract and black food colouring to the second portion of the sponge mixture. Mix well until fully combined.
• Pour the batter into a cake tin and bake at 170°C for about 25-30 minutes.

Don’t worry if the cake rises quickly and “cracks” in the centre as it bakes. Simply turn the cake upside down when done, the weight will help flatten the uneven surface.
The cake will look very dark from the black colouring; rest assured, it’s not overbaked or burnt! 🙂

Cocoa and walnut sponge cake layer

The remaining half of the batter will be used for the final two layers. To save time, bake it all at once and then slice it in half to create two layers.

• Add the cocoa powder, rum and finely ground walnuts to the mixture. Next, pour it into your cake tin and bake at 170°C for 35 to 40 minutes. The baking time is slightly longer since you’re making a larger cake. Always check if the sponge is done by inserting a long toothpick or skewer into the centre; if it comes out dry, you’re good to go!
• Once baked, remove the cake and let it cool.
• When the cake has cooled slightly, use a knife to make a shallow cut around the edge of the cake, about 2 mm deep.
• Take a long piece of cotton thread and carefully position it into the shallow cut. Hold both ends of the thread and slowly pull them towards yourself, letting the thread slice through the cake evenly. This method gives you a perfectly level cut with minimal fuss.

Filling

• Combine the flour with half a cup of milk in a small bowl, mixing until it forms a smooth paste without lumps.
• In a saucepan, pour in the remaining milk and heat it gently. Add a pinch of salt, sugar, vanilla extract (or vanilla sugar) and rum. Just before the milk begins to heat up, stir in the flour mixture. Keep stirring continuously with a wooden spoon over the lowest heat as the mixture gradually thickens.
• After 2-3 minutes of cooking, remove from the heat and whisk in the beaten egg yolks. Continue to mix until you achieve a smooth consistency.
• Finally, add the green food colouring and blend it well. Set the cream aside to cool, remembering to stir it every few minutes to prevent skin from forming on the surface.

Note: For those wary of raw eggs, don’t worry, when you remove the mixture from the heat and stir in the beaten egg yolks, the residual heat will gently cook them, making them safe to eat.

Assembling the Cake

Note: I assembled my cake on a small round tray turned upside down, which lifted the cake above the plate surface. This setup made it easier to apply the icing. To conceal the tray, I tied some colourful ribbons around it, but you can display the cake however you prefer. If you’re making a plain cake instead of a pumpkin shape, there’s no need to elevate it this way.

• Place your first cocoa and walnut sponge cake layer on the plate or cake tray. Add some green cream and spread it evenly, about 1cm thick. If the cream is still warm, let it cool before adding the next cake layer.
• When the green cream has set nicely, gently add the pumpkin sponge layer on top. Don’t press too much. Spread the rest of the green cream over this layer. Next, add the top layer of cocoa and walnut sponge cake. Drizzle the layer with some warm milk, just enough to moisten it, then spread a thin layer of apricot jam evenly on top followed by buttercream.

Tip: If the jam is too thick, place it in a cup and add a splash of hot water to loosen it. This will make it easier to spread over the cake.

• Finally, finish off with the chocolate layer as the last one.

If you are making a pumpkin-shaped cake, trim a bit off the top and bottom of the cake, so the middle is wider than the top and bottom. I forgot to do this part and had to use extra icing to create the pumpkin shape instead.

Icing for the Jack-o’-Lantern Shape

• Now, whip up the icing cream. You can add some orange food colouring if you like, but it’s not essential, this is the first layer. Don’t worry if it’s not perfectly covered. I added a little extra around the centre to help with that pumpkin shape.
• Place the cake in the fridge to let the icing set. While the cake is cooling in the fridge, prepare your second layer of icing and add orange food colouring this time.
  After 30 minutes in the fridge, take the cake out and cover it with a slightly thicker layer of icing than before, adding extra where needed to maintain the pumpkin shape. Pop it back in the fridge to set the icing again.
• Finally, prepare another batch of icing cream, this time adding a bright orange for the final layer. Spread the icing slowly and with patience, lifting from the base to the top with your knife. As this is the final layer, aim for a perfectly smooth, even coverage. I used around 450 grams of store-bought icing, adding orange colouring as needed.

And there you have it! The cake is fully covered with the last layer of icing. I used one chopstick to create pumpkin indentations for a natural look.

Decorations

Decorate the pumpkin with fondant; create green leaves, a stem, eyes, nose, and mouth. Feel free to add your own creative touch.

Happy Halloween! 🎃👻🕷️🧛‍♂️🦇⚰️🕯️🖤🍬🍭

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