Sweet Jack-O-Lantern

If you want to do something really fun and tasty for your family and friends, I’ve got a wonderful holiday treat that will bring out the kid in anyone!  This cake is so cute for Halloween…and can be made from scratch or with boxed mixes!  The best part of this sweet treat is that it looks like a fat, little pumpkin so you could even consider making it for Thanksgiving festivities, minus the jack-o-lantern face!  And all you need to make the form is two ovenproof bowls…and some goodies for decorating!  See how easy it is to make a specialty cake that will wow your guests…

so sweet…inside and out!

my mom has had this recipe for years…i’ve made it a couple times before but not so recent that my kids even remember!  but while organizing my recipes i happened upon it and thought i’d give it a try once again!  and since we were hosting kids for some Halloween festivities…it was the perfect time!  to make the baking portion quick & easy, i decided to use boxed mixes for the cakes.  it takes two mixes–one for the top and one for the bottom!  just follow the directions on the box and bake them in the greased bowls according to the bundt pan baking time or until a pick comes out clean.  once they’re cool just slice off the bottoms so they will fit together like a ball…

as you can see, i made one half chocolate and one vanilla…to please everyone!  and don’t worry if your halves aren’t perfect…you’ll fill the gaps in with icing!  i could have cut my rounds down more so they would fit tighter but i really wanted the jack-o-lantern to be as big as possible so i left a pretty big gap.  that just makes room for more sugar!

generously spread the filling layer.  i used my cinnamon cream cheese icing (a family favorite), but you could always choose purchased icing which are available in vibrant colors eliminating the need for food color.

press the layers of the cake together and fill in the gap…

and spread a thin crumb coat over the entire cake.  i always tuck some wax paper under the cake to keep the stand as clean as possible!

let the crumb coat dry a bit and then pile on the rest of the icing!  since i had a rather big gap between my layers the icing wanted to settle a little…

if this happens to you, not to worry!  as the icing sets up you can work it with a spatula and make it less noticeable.  once you get the icing smooth, run the spatula up and down to make it resemble a pumpkin.  then use chocolates to give the little guy a face!

i used Klondike mini chocolate squares (the same that i used on the krispie pumpkins) to make the face…and a green Twizzler makes a perfect stem!

this jack-o-lantern makes a whimsical addition to a treat table for our Halloween gathering!

try baking a jack-o-lantern this year!