Spice Cake with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting

Obviously, I meant to post this in October.

Ingredients: 
1 package spice cake mix and required ingredients

For Maple Cream Cheese Frosting:

1 package cream cheese (8 oz), room temperature
1/4 cup butter, room temperature
4 cups powdered sugar

1/2 cup maple syrup

1 teaspoon vanilla
Food coloring: green and orange

One ice cream cone (for pumpkin stem)

Directions:

Prepare cake batter according to package directions.  Bake in a bundt cake pan for required time.  Invert cake onto a platter or wire rack and cool cake completely.

While the cake is in the oven, beat the cream cheese and butter until blended.  Gradually beat in sugar.  Mix in maple syrup and vanilla.  Spoon 1/2 cup frosting into a small bowl and stir in green food coloring.  Spread half the green frosting onto the outside of the ice cream cone and place in the refrigerator.  Reserve remaining frosting for later use.

Add the orange food coloring to the remaining white frosting.  Spread on the cake to resemble a pumpkin.  Invert the green ice cream cone into the hole for the pumpkin stem.  Pipe the reserved green frosting in vertical lines down the side of the cake.

Tips: I made this cake twice - once for Halloween, once to bring to a party.  The first time, I didn't reserve enough frosting to pipe enough lines, so it didn't look quite as much like a pumpkin (see above!).  So be sure to reserve enough...

Also, the consistency of the frosting will somewhat depend on the thickness of the maple syrup.  If the frosting is too thin, add a bit more powdered sugar; if the frosting is too thick, add a bit of milk.  Enjoy!