Pumpkin Churro Cake

I made this delicious pumpkin cake for Thanksgiving. I did it because I finally had the realization the only reason I eat pumpkin pie really is for the cool whip, so I wanted a dessert I could embrace. It got rave reviews. My 8-year-old son described it as my most delicious cake and stated he wanted this cake for his birthday next year. (We'll see if that holds true in 9 months, but still ...)

And then apparently I closed the tab with this recipe on my phone before I blogged it. Fortunately, I remembered I found it on one of the blogs I frequent, so a few quick Google searches retrieved the recipe before it was lost as one of thousands of pumpkin cake recipes online. Thanks to Confessions of a Cookbook Queen for making my Thanksgiving dinner better.

Pumpkin Churro Cake
3 cups canned pumpkin
2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
4 eggs
2 cups flour
2 tsp. cinnamon
2 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
Churro Coating
1/2 cup salted butter, melted
1 cup sugar
1 Tbsp. cinnamon
Frosting
2 sticks butter, room temperature
8 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
3 Tbsp. milk
2 tsp. vanilla
6 cups powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter, and flour three 8- or 9-inch cake pans, line with parchment paper, and set aside.

Using a mixer, combine pumpkin, sugar, oil and eggs. In a separate bowl, combine the remaining dry ingredients. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the pumpkin mixture, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed. Divide the batter evenly among the three pans, and bake 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pans 10 minutes, and then remove from pans to cool completely on wire racks. Once cakes are cool, wrap each cake in plastic wrap and refrigerate for several hours or overnight. This will help the cakes become firm enough for the next step.

Once cakes are chilled and firm, combine cinnamon and sugar together on a large plate. Brush each cake with melted butter, and then dip in cinnamon sugar, coating the sides, tops and bottoms. Place cakes on individual plates while you work on others.

To make frosting, beat together butter and cream cheese until fluffy. Add in powdered sugar on low speed until incorporated, and then add milk and vanilla. Gradually increase speed to medium high, and beat until desired consistency.

To assemble cake, place one cake on a plate or platter. Add a layer of frosting, ideally with a piping bag as the cinnamon-sugar coating makes the frosting slide on the cake. Top frosting with a second cake, and repeat the frosting layer. Top with the third cake, and use remaining frosting to decorate the top of the cake. Top with additional cinnamon sugar if desired.