Pumpkin Spice Cake

Photo: flickr user JCardinal18

Ingredients

1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, softened

1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar

1 cup sugar

3 large eggs (at room temperature)

1 cup pumpkin purée

1/2 cup buttermilk

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon fresh-ground nutmeg

1 recipe Pumpkin Cream-Cheese Frosting

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly coat three 8-inch cake pans with softened butter.

Cut three 8-inch circles out of parchment paper and fit them into the bottom of the cake pans.

Lightly coat the paper circles with butter and set aside.

Cream butter until smooth in a large bowl with an electric mixer set on medium speed. Add the sugars and mix until light and fluffy.

Add eggs, one at a time, beat on slow setting until they are just incorporated. Set aside.

Combine the pumpkin purée, buttermilk, and vanilla in a medium bowl and set aside. Combine the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, and nutmeg in a large bowl and set aside.

In thirds, alternately add the flour mixture and buttermilk mixture to the butter mixture, blending well after each addition until smooth.

Pour batter into the prepared pans and bake until a toothpick inserted into the middle of each cake comes out clean -- 35 to 40 minutes.

Cool the cakes in the pan on wire racks for 30 minutes. Remove cakes from pans and return to the wire racks until completely cool.

Assemble the cake: Place one layer on a cake plate and top with one-third recipe of Pumpkin Cream-Cheese Frosting. Repeat with the second and third layers.