Preheat the oven to 350° F. Prepare a large jelly roll baking sheet (baking sheet with a lip) with parchment paper.
Place all ingredients into a food processor or blender. Remove and pour onto the baking sheet. It will be crumbly and maybe in big chunks or small pieces. I try to mush mine together as one big, flat thick surface.
Place in the oven and bake for 11-13 minutes. Golden, but not burnt.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool.
Use a fork or your hands to break into small pieces.
Cake
Preheat the oven to 350°F. And prepare your cake pans (6” rounds) with grease and parchment lining on the bottom.
In your electric mixer bowl add the softened butter and sugars. Using the whisk paddle attachment whip until the batter is fluffy (3-5 minutes). Beat in the eggs one at a time. Add in vanilla until incorporated. Then add in pumpkin on a medium speed until mixed.
In a medium sized mixing bowl combine flour, baking soda, salt, and pumpkin spice seasoning.
Alternate adding in your flour mixture and milk. Start and end with the flour mixture.
Divide the batter evenly in the three lined pans (about 2 ¼ cup each). Slightly slam the pans onto the counter to get rid of any bubbles.
Bake for 50-55 minutes. test with a toothpick and make sure it comes out clean. Remove from the oven and cool for 10-20 minutes before releasing from the pans. Flip cakes out of the pans and let them cool on racks.
Frosting
Using your mixer and the paddle attachment again, whip the butter and cream cheese for 8 minutes on medium/low speed. The butter will become very creamy!
Mix in the maple or vanilla extract letting it stir for about 1 minute. Slowly add in sifted powdered sugar until mixed.
Assembly
Trim the tops of the cooled cake with a serrated knife to make a flat surface.
Place the first layer on your stand or serving dish with the cut side on top.
Pipe or use a spatula to lay out a layer of frosting. Then pipe a ring around the edge of the circle of the cake. Sprinkle a thick layer of the gingersnap crumble on top of that layer of frosting.
Lay the next layer of cake on top of that and repeat step 3.
Lay the final layer of cake, cut side down, on top of the gingersnap crumble layer. Add a crumb coat with frosting. This is a thin layer of frosting around the entire cake. Place into the fridge or freezer for 15-30 minutes to make the next layer of frosting easier.
Pipe and spread the remaining frosting until you’re satisfied. Decorate with sprinkles, gingersnap cookies, flowers, or whatever works for you. Enjoy!
Notes
- Make sure you use room temperature on items where noted. Tips for this in the blog post.
- Cake Process: cakes have a very specific process, be sure to follow them directly for the best product.
- Size of Cake: You can do a sheet cake, cupcakes, do 8” or 9” rounds. However, this will just change the height of the layers and baking times. Or you can even do 4: 6” cakes, just lower your cooking time by about 5-10 minutes. I believe all the other size cooking times would be between 35-45 minutes (except cupcakes, which would take between 18-22 minutes)