The reason I am telling you this… its because I had no energy to make it from scratch. Everything in this recipe is from a box or can.
If you want to duplicate this recipe with your favorite from scratch recipes and frostings please, by all means, do just that.
You will need:
2 boxes Devils Food Cake
1 box white cake
3 cans white frosting (you can choose flavor)
1 golf ball sized portion of fondant
Orange, Green, Yellow and Black food coloring
Small round cookie cutter
I started out by making the white cake mix. I am going to need only two cupcakes for this recipes, but I usually make four just in case I make a mistake along the way. I do that a lot. I used theremainingbatter and make little cuppies.
But! Before you use all that white batter, save about 1/2 cup. Add 1-2 drops yellow food coloring and then make two yellow cupcakes.
I then baked four 8in (you can do 9in as well) round devils food cakes. I stacked THREE of the layers, frosted between each layer and then frosted the outside.
You do NOT have to frost the outside. I do not know why I did. I was so, so foolish.
Put it in the freezer for 15-30 minutes or in therefrigeratorfor a couple hours, or up to overnight.
Then get out your handy dandy small round cookie cutter.
I think a good size would be just slightly smaller then the base of a cupcake.
Using your cookie cutter, find the center of your cake and press the cutter all the way to the bottom. You will need to remove the excess cake, and I usually just use a spoon.
I then take the fourth devils food layer and cut out a V shaped potion out of the top. This will be the ‘flame’ to our candle.
Then take two white cupcakes, cut off any brown edges, and carefully insert them into the center of the devils food cake. This is going to be the candle.
Now, place the fourth devils food layer on top. Grab a yellow cupcake and shape the top in a V pattern. Then just plop it onto the top! The V part will be our ‘flame” and the base of the cupcake will be our pumpkin stem.
Now throw that in the freezer for a few minutes or in the fridge for an hour to get nice a firm. Your next step is to carve your pumpkin shape!
I have seen this cake baked withcasseroledishes to get the perfect shape for the pumpkin, but I sorta enjoy the carving process.
Plus its super easy to do. You can’t screw it up!
You can either chill your cake again (I did) or start with your crumb coat. This is a layer of frosting that is used to help keep all the crumbs from showing on your final coat.
Take two or two and a half cans of frosting and place in a bowl. Add a few drops of orange food coloring until you get the desired color. You are now ready to frost!
Can you see all those black specks in there? We dont want that on the final product. So now just chill this cake and take a break. Baking aint easy girl! 
And here it is after I have added another layer of frosting.
I also grabbed about a 1/2 cup of frosting and added green food coloring. This is for the stem and all the swirly vines I love to add.
To get the perfect jack-o-lantern face, I have found that using fondant works really well. I just took a small amount, added black food coloring, then rolled it out on a non-stick surface. (you can always add some cornstarchbelow the fondant to ensure itdoesn’tstick)
Now, find your ideal jack-o-lantern face! (you can do a search on google and find thousands) Print one off the internet and just trace onto your fondant or freehand one. If you screw up, just re-roll your fondant and start over!
Place the fondant on the cake, no glue needed, and gently press in place.
I had so much fun creating a face I made one for the front and the back of my cake!
If I can find the energy (or if anyone is interested) I will do a mini tutorial on how to do these adorable pumpkin cuppies for my next post.
And here is the inside of our candle lit jack-o-lantern cake! Fun huh? And pretty simple to do.
Hope you enjoyed seeing this cake made, and more importantly, I hope you will make one yourself!
Happy Halloween!
You are incredibly talented and creative beyond description. For serious.
I LOVE it Amanda! sure miss you around the blog world. I hope you are feeling better…
Oh, Amanda! You ARE a genius! Truly! This is so ridiculously cute!!! Thank YOU for the tutorial…I still don’t think I could do it, bu I like seeing how *you* do it.
” Amen, sister.
PS. Love this “Baking ain’t easy girl!
Thinking of you…
I love the surprise inside! Hope you feel better soon.
awesomeness
Amazing as always
It was nice coming home from my cake delivery today, turning on the pc, and finding out you had posted 
I LOVE that your cakes always have a neat little surprise inside once they are cut. You are a genius
I never saw your first pumpkin cake, so I’m glad you decided to redo it. Love, Susan
I just have to say that your skills over a year have improved so much! Now, that’s a compliment, because I saw your other Jack O Lantern from last year and fell in love, this year it looks perfect! :]
I went on over to I am Mommy this morning and read your blog, I said a prayer for you and little baby and I will continue to do so!
Thank you for taking the time to post! It’s amazing! :] I want to make it right now! (and the cuppies!)
This is absolutely adorable! Thank you for taking the time to post this.
Very cute. Thanks for the tutorial. If I wasn’t knee deep in tomatoes I might consider making one. Maybe next year!
You are truly amazing! The cake is adorable but the surprise inside makes it so fun…and I know that kids, young & old, will love it. I have to make it this year!
Thanks so much for sharing. I do hope that you feel better really soon and have no additional problems. Sending healing energy your way ~
Pat
I would never have the patience for this. Not only are you super mom (and mom to be) but you are super baker!!!
I totally did NOT expect that candle in the middle – you’re a GENIUS!
Such a fun idea for Halloween! I’m sure your kids loved this! Love the jack-o-lantern inside…you are always so clever with your cakes! Hope you feel better soon, I will keep you in my thoughts and prayers!
Gorrrgeous!!!
Your ideas always blow me away!! I love the mini pumpkins and would love to know how you do it!!
I have to ask how do you find the time to be so creative!!
I love the cute candle inside. (But the outside is so cute it would be hard to cut it!)
Agreed that *Baking Ain’t Easy and it’s twice as hard when you are worried and sick but one would never know by the look of this fabulous cake! Glad that you enjoyed making it with your kids. It looks delicious and the candle inside is just too much.
Hope you are hanging in there. Prayers and best wishes.
I just love it! I know my kids will too! In fact, I think I will make this for my daughters 13th birthday that is October 9th. She just loves Halloween!
Whooooaaaaaaa
This cake is mind blowing
*brains everywhere*
Congrats!! This cake is stunning
I so love this ‘surprise in the cake’ thing you do. You are the best!
I would never have the patience for this. Not only are you super mom (and mom to be) but you are super baker!!!
Such a fun idea for Halloween! I’m sure your kids loved this! Love the jack-o-lantern inside…you are always so clever with your cakes! Hope you feel better soon, I will keep you in my thoughts and prayers!
Gorrrgeous!!!
I can’t believe that you made this cake with everything going on, but it sure is darling! Love the surprise inside! Can’t wait to hear about the cupcakes:)
I love the cute candle inside. (But the outside is so cute it would be hard to cut it!)
AWESOME! Love your mini pumpkins too…so creative.
I hope you have hubby home now.
Continued prayers….Blessings….
You are so amazing!! I love it!!
I am so glad you did a step by step tutorial of this one!! This pumpkin cake is what made me fall in love with your blog after I stumbled onto it so many moons ago. You emailed me the directions back then, but I couldn’t figure it out. The step by step pictures make a huge difference – hooray!
Oh, and awesome job on the pictures (as usual), too! The one with the sliced cake in the background and the winking piece in the front belongs in a magazine. For real.
so so cute! Great post~
I love everything you do! Do you have any tutorials on how you do the fun surprises inside your cakes?
SO cute!!! you did a great job, thanks for the step by step too!
Even though it’s out of a box, it’s still adorable.
Awwwww!!!!! This is so awesome!!!! I love the candle inside!!!! Great job lady!
Oh my goodness, this is the cah-utest (that’s “cutest” dramatized) ever! The wink! The candle! How are you so brilliant? May I post a link on Edible Crafts?
SO cute!!! you did a great job, thanks for the step by step too!
I couldn’t figure out where you were going with the surprise…What a clever idea!
Halloween is one of my favorite holidays, so I’m absolutely in love with this! So cute!
Wow what can I say? That’s for showing me and our fellow bloggers that it’s okay to bake from the box. I hope your feeling better. Oh yes before I forget I tried your red velvet cake. I came out great! I did run out of red food coloring (I only used 2 Tablespoons), but it still came our red. My family loved them. Thanks
That candle thing is just DARN CLEVER.
Seriously girl. I don’t know how you don’t weight 600lbs with all that goodness you bake! That is adorable….and unfortunately my daughter SAW it and now is asking for one. Lovely. Thanks a million.
Okay, maybe I’ll have a heart….but only withOUT the candle. Shhhh….I’m lazy like that.
Sooo awesome! I love it!
Wow!!! I think my favorite thing about your baking blog that I’ve been reading from the very beginning is that every single post is completely amazing and I’m still surprised, shocked, and wowed at the cookie or cake creation you present! I know there will always be something cool in the middle of a cake, but I’m still just picking my jaw up at the end. I know your cookies will be amazing and unique, but I’m still finding myself wondering how in the world you do it!!! THANK YOU for sharing your awesomeness with all of us…and for baking with your kids!
I can pretty much assure you, I cannot make that cake. But, I love that you did because it is stinkin adorable! Glad you were able to bake for a minute with your kids again. A bit of normalcy always helps!
Wow, that is awesome! You are just too creative!
You are amazing. That is all I need to say!
I absolutely love the cake. So creative.
WOW – you are so incredibly talented! This cake is absoutelty GORGEOUS! I love it.
You are amazing. That is all I need to say!
This is totally amazing!
I love that cake! You always do the coolest stuff
I would totally love to learn about the cuppies!!
I love this cake so much I have to link again this year. It’s AMAZING and so are you!
This is so fun!! I love the hidden candle! I hope you’re feel better soon!
Oh My Goodness that cake is adorable…I can’t wait to try one out. I agree it looks fun to bake and I was pleased to see the simple version of making one with store bought frosting etc…my young grandaughter can bake one also. (Hope you are feeling well soon)
this is soo creative!! I love the idea of how the inside of the cake looks!
Bundt pans also work really great for a pumpkin cake!
that is SO cute! I may have to make that for my son’s 1st birthday….so with all the cooking and chilling…how long do you think it actually took you to make? And would love the mini cuppies tutorial too!
Super cute!!
This is really inspiring!
This is really inspiring!
What a fun treat! That would be the perfect entry for our Halloween Recipe Contest! You can read all about it here. I hope you decide to enter it!
Oops! The link didn’t show up- here it is! http://www.recipe4living.com/articles/ghoulishly_good_halloween_recipe_contest.htm
The outside is cute, but the middle just blows me away!
I linked to this project over at Pumpkin Week:
http://www.alwaysexpectmoore.com/2010/10/pumpkin-week-daily-dozen_04.html
Just found your post through Craft Gossip and love it! Do you think if I baked in 2 bundt pans or angel food cake pans, I could then stuff the pre-made hole for the candle?
omg. i sooo love this!!
i love this cake and was wondering if i would have an occasion to make it for (first baby due on november 5, so not really planning any big halloween celebrations this year!). but my sister-in-law is being baptized this weekend, so i thought the “surprise” part would be perfect, although probably not the pumpkin shape on the outside! thanks for the inspiration. you have a lovely blog!
*amy
great idea, amanda! i like the winker. i’ll take cake carving over actual pumpkin carving any day.
This is brilliant! I’m going to make it for a “pumpkin carving” contest. No one will see this coming!
Oh what a clever idea with the candle inside!! You’re so creative!
What a fantastic cake. I love the candle. The mini pumpkins are so cute too. Jaqui x
Thank you SO much for the tutorial! I have assignment for my English class to create a piece of art based on a soliloquy for Macbeth, and one of the lines is “out out, brief candle,” so this cake is perfect for it! It’s also a very tasty form of art.
this is awesome
ainslie johnson
age 12
I have Wilton’s Icing color, do you think I could use that for the yellow cupcake?
This is so pretty! I love it. The whole idea is really awesome. Happy Halloween.
WARNING: This cake does not travel well …. with the core filled with a different cake, the layers have been compromised and break apart easily.
My coworkers loved it …. but we had to call it a “smashing pumpkins” cake. I just had to laugh as I carried the wreckage into my office.
This is fabulous!!! Thanks for the tutorial!!!
Ooooooh…..I can’t wait to make this. Thank you so much for sharing this and your petit fours.
This cake is very cute and cleaver. But instead of making 4 round cakes how about making 2 bundt cakes? The hole is already there and can be made larger to fit the cupcake surprise in the middle. Insert the cupcakes in the hole. Frost one cake flat bottom then place the flat bottom of the 2nd cake on top to form a pumpkin. I am having a kid’s Halloween Party this Saturday and am going to try this out.