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I’ve decided that I am SO READY for pumpkin. Last year, I feel like I really missed out on all the pumpkin recipe fun, because I was in my first trimester and spending most of my time feeling sick on the couch. I had zero energy to get excited about anything that involved being off of the couch and in the kitchen. So I basically skipped out on pumpkin season last year. It was really, really sad.

So I’m looking to make up for lost time in 2015! Starting with this Pumpkin Boston Cream Pie…

I used a lot of cheats to make this cake (I’m all about quick and easy and last minute recipes!) like Cool Whip, and canned chocolate frosting, and cake mix. But really, you could make each of the components of this cake any way you’d like to! Make homemade ganache and homemade whipped cream if you’d like.

And if you have a different pumpkin cake recipe you prefer, you could use that here too. But if you’ve been around here long enough, you already know that I love this pumpkin + cake mix recipe. I’ve started adding a little milk for fluffiness (it’s awfully dense on its own) and some pumpkin pie spice. But otherwise, this cake recipe is the same time tested recipe that I’ve used over and over again in different ways here on Something Swanky for the past 5 years. In fact, this Pumpkin Poke Cake is my number one viewed and reader favorited recipes!

I hope you enjoy this fun pumpkin twist on a delicious classic!

Pumpkin Boston Cream Pie

Yield: 8-12

Pumpkin cake with a creamy vanilla filling and chocolate ganache on top.

Ingredients

For the cake:

15.25 oz yellow or vanilla cake mix
15 oz canned pumpkin puree (NOT pumpkin pie filling)
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice

For the filling:

3.4 oz instant vanilla pudding mix
1 1/4 cup skim milk
8 oz Cool Whip*

For the topping:

1 can milk chocolate frosting or homemade chocolate ganache

Instructions

For the cake:

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Line 2 8-inch rounds with foil or parchment and spray with non-stick cooking spray.

Mix together the cake mix, pumpkin, milk, vanilla, and pumpkin pie spice until batter forms (it's okay if it's a little lumpy).

Divide the batter into the two prepared cake pans. Bake for 30 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let cool completely.

For the filling:

Whisk together the milk and pudding mix. Fold in the Cool Whip.

Cover and chill for 30 minutes.

Assembly:

Level each of the cakes with a long serrated knife. Place one cake on the serving dish and top it with the chilled filling (I used about 3/4 of the filling I had prepared).

Allow to chill on the cake for 30 minutes before placing the second cake on top.

Melt the chocolate frosting in the microwave (about 30 seconds) and pour over top of the cake. Chill for at least another 10 minutes before serving.

Notes

*If using you're own whipped cream recipe, be sure to use a stabilized whipped cream. Otherwise, your filling will deflate.