Praline Pumpkin Torte
It’s been raining here. Non-stop. Everything is everlastingly wet, gray, and….wet. Goodbye lawn-mowing oppurtunities. Today, however, was finally a beautiful day with lots of sunshine! So yesterday on that rainy Saturday, I made myself a nice little PSL, and did lots of editing. And some updating as well. Editing is loong work. Which is why I finally posted at 10:30 p.m. (Annd finished today) Well, also because life got in the way as well. (specifically cooking, cleaning, children, Costco, ect. ect.) But now we’re talking about this cake. This delightful fall dessert is a praline pumpkin torte consisting of salted carmel, toasted pecans, a moist, spiced pumpkin cake, whipped cream, and more caramel. It does get addicting, so I suggest people on diets, (or people trying to be on diets, like me) should not make this. And if you do make it, don’t say I didn’t warn you, because it’s really, really good.
Praline Pumpkin Torte
Ingredients
Caramel Sauce:
- 1 1/2 cups brown sugar
- 2/3 cup butter
- 1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp heavy cream
- Good pinch of salt
- 3/4 cup + 1/4 cup coarsely chopped pecans
Cake:
- 4 large eggs or 6 very small eggs
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 2 cups pumpkin puree
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 Tbsp + 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice heaping
Whipped Cream:
- 1 3/4 cup heavy cream
- 1/4 cup powdered sugar
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Grease 2 9-in round baking pans well. Don't worry about lining them with parchment paper. I tested lining one baking pan and buttering the other, and both cakes came out perfectly.
- Toast the chopped pecans on a dry skillet over medium heat until fragrant. Set aside.
- For the caramel sauce, in a medium saucepan over low heat, combine brown sugar, butter, heavy cream, and salt. Cook and stir over low heat until sugar is dissolved, and butter is melted. Remove half of the caramel and divide between the two greased cake pans. Sprinkle 3/4 cup of the toasted pecans between both pans. Cook the remaining caramel for about 5 min more until thickened. This will be to drizzle on your cake. Set aside.
- For the cake, beat together eggs, sugar, and oil in a large bowl. (I used my stand mixer with whisk attachment) Add pumpkin and vanilla and mix. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and pumpkin pie spice. Gradually add to the pumpkin mixture and mix until combined. Don't overmix.
- Spoon the batter evenly over the caramel sauce between the cake pans. Bake for 30-40 min until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool for 5 min, then remove cake-side-down on a wire rack to cool completely.
- For the whipped cream, beat heavy cream, powdered sugar and vanilla until stiff peaks form.
- To assemble, place one cake, praline side up, on your serving plate. Spread with a generous amount of whipped cream, leaving 1-in space on the sides. Place the second cake layer on top and spread/pipe with remaining whipped cream and sprinkle with pecans. See notes* Drizzle with your remaining salted caramel sauce or drizzle each piece individually.
Notes
Recipe adapted from Taste of Home.
Can’t wait to try this beautiful fall recipe! It looks like the perfect dessert. Just want to say I really enjoy all your posts and look forward to seeing what you’ll come up with next. Keep doing what you love(:
Thanks Janice!😍
this recipe looks incredible!! I will for sure try it out soon!! plus my mom has been trying to get me to start my own food blog lately, do you have any pointers.
Hi Serene! So, blog pointers. Well, first of all, it’s a lot of work. It can take hours, and sometimes
not even turn out that day. Also, its nice if you have a technical person who you can consult if you have problems with something.
There is an infinite amount of things to learn concerning a food blog. I’ve only scraped the surface. Also, I don’t self host my blog,
Bluehost does it, and I pay them for that. I think you can start a blog for free, but I’m not 100% sure. There are a lot of places online
including YouTube that’ll give you step-by-step instructions on how to start a blog. Also, with photography, it’s nice to have a DSLR camera,
and also edit your photos. If you use WordPress, start with a free theme and upgrade later when you’re ready. If you do start a blog and have
specific questions, let me know. 🙂
Ok thanks! really appreciate the pointers… I guess it will be harder starting a blog than I thought!!
Yes…some bloggers say it’s the hardest thing they’ve ever done, but still totally worth it.:)
I can’t over how nice your photos are!! one reason I like coming on this blog so much, is looking at the amazing photography! these have been my favorite so far… by the way… does the pumpkin puree have to be totally smooth? the cake looks really delicious and Fallish! I can hardly wait to see more posts!!
Thank you so much Serene!! If you’re pumpkin puree isn’t smooth, you might end up with some pumpkin chunks in your cake…unless you don’t mind:)