Pumpkin Shaped Carrot Cake

This will feed thrashers, it takes two recipes to make one pumpkin shaped carrot cake. I had an old inexpensive bundt pan that made fabulous shaped pumpkin like cakes.  When put together the end results looked just like a pumpkin.  For some reason I certainly regret now I upgrade my bundt pan and sent the old one to GW.  Well this upgraded pan does not make the shape that the old one did.  I had to try and put the groves in the cake with a v shape tool after it was frosted.  I guess I'll go back and try to buy one like I used to have just for this cake.  Who knew??????  Oh and the little divot mark on the left side was made when my great niece got a little too close to the cake.

Carrot cake is Mr. Hubby's favorite cake.  Below is my recipe but this pumpkin shaped cake can be made with any recipe, it doesn't even need to be a carrot cake, could be chocolate if thats what you like.

2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
2 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. soda
1 tsp. salt
1 1/4 cups cooking oil
3 cups shredded carrots
4 eggs

Combine flour, soda, cinnamon, salt and sugar in your mixing bowl.  Add the oil and mix well.  Add eggs one at a time. Add the carrots and mix until the carrots are thoroughly incorporated.  This is a simple recipe and quick to pull together.  You can add raisins, nuts, whatever else you prefer for your carrot cake.  Mr. Hubby likes his plain so that's what I usually do.
Bake at 350 for about an hour.  This can be made in a sheet cake pan, two eight inch layer cake pans or one bundt pan.  Keep in mind that if you are making the pumpkin cake you need to make two recipes.

When the two cakes have cooled frost them like you would a layer cake with the flat part (the top of the cake when its in the pan) of each of the cakes together with a generous layer of frosting.  I use a cream cheese frosting, recipe below and for the pumpkin shaped cake you will need to double this recipe too.  It will take a full bottle of food coloring to get the right color of orange for your frosting.  I use a real pumpkin stem for the center of my cake.  In the hole in the middle I put a few toothpicks for the stem to sit on otherwise it will fall to the bottom of the cake.

Cream Cheese Frosting

1 8oz. package cream cheese, softened
1 stick of butter, softened
1 lb. powdered sugar
2 tsp. vanilla

Beat cream cheese and butter together, add vanilla and then slowly add powdered sugar.  Again, very few ingredients and time involved.

For those joining me from Tabletop Tuesday I must admit that this is also part of the tablescape I used last week click here.  For the luncheon I had yesterday I used the actual tablescape from last weeks post and then for last nights dinner I changed out the centerpiece from the witch's hat to this pumpkin shaped carrot cake and edited a couple of other items and woo hoo another tablescape.

I'm joining Marty at Tabletop Tuesday