Modified from an epicurious.com recipe

Ingredients:

• 2 cups AP flour
• 1 cup cake flour
• 1 ½ teaspoons  baking powder
• ¾ teaspoon baking soda
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 1 ¾ teaspoon ground allspice
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 ½ cups sugar
• 1 cup packed golden brown sugar
• 1 cup canola oil
• 4 large eggs
• 16 oz pumpkin puree  (I really love the Kabuka pumpkins)
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Directions:

·         Preheat oven to 350 degrees

·         Butter two 9" cake pans with 1 ½ inch sides and line the bottoms with parchment paper, dustpans with flour and allow to sit

·         Sift all the dry ingredients (including the spices) into a large bowl and set aside (It is important to sift here).

·         Using an electric mixer, beat both sugars together with the oil until it develops and even grainy texture.

·         Add eggs one at a time, making sure each egg is well blended before adding the next one

·         Add pumpkin and vanilla peel and beat mixture until smooth and well blended (About 5 minutes)

·         Add the flour mixture and fold into the batter with a spatula.  Then beat the mixture to incorporate (do not over mix the flour)

·         Fill both pans each way and bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.

Hazelnut Buttercream Frosting:

Ingredients:

·         2 cups sugar

·         6 egg whites

·         ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar

·         Pinch of salt

·         1 ¼ lbs of butter, room temp

·         1 teaspoon vanilla extract

·         1 teaspoon hazelnut extract

·         ¼ cup hazelnut flour

Directions:

·         Cream butter and hazelnut flour in a large bowl, set aside

·         Combine 2/3 cup water and sugar in a saucepan and heat to the soft crack stage – 240 degrees (do not overheat) and remove from heat.

·         In a chilled bowl, beat egg whites with cream of tartar and salt until stiff peaks form

·         Continue beating eggs as you pour ¼ of the sugar mixture into the egg whites

·         Once combined, drizzle the remaining sugar mixture until well incorporated

·         Make sure mixture is cool.  Continue beating eggs while adding the butter mixture, 1/3 at a time (if mixture is warm the butter will melt – so if it is not cool enough, set the bowl in an ice bath to cool it off)

·         Beat until creamy and smooth

To frost the cake, level off the rounded edges from each cake with a knife so you have a flat top and bottom to each.  Then take about ¼ cup of Grand Mariner and paint the surface of each cake so the liquor soaks in.

Place the bottom layer on a cardboard round and cover all flat surfaces with frosting, adding some extra in the center on top.  Then place the second layer on top and coat in frosting.