Pumpkin PIECAKEN: Pumpkin Pie in a Milk Chocolate Fudge Cake

Here is a delicious idea for a Thanksgiving PIECAKEN! A pumpkin Pie in a Milk Chocolate Fudge Cake topped with a pumpkin-spiced milk chocolate ganache and buttercream - delicious!

I originally posted this one as an idea for a PIECAKEN only, but some people have been asking for the recipe, so here it is:

Recipe: Pumpkin Pie in a Flourless Milk Chocolate Cake PIECAKEN

First, make or buy a Pumpkin Pie.  You can use my recipe here from my Cheesecake Pumpkin Piecaken recipe to make a pumpkin pie from scratch: http://piecaken.blogspot.ca/2013/11/recipe-for-pumpkin-pie-in-vanilla.html. Once you have a pumpkin pie, you can make your flourless milk chocolate cake (this recipe is doubled, so if you just want a flourless milk chocolate cake, cut the recipe in half an bake for 40 minutes in a 9" springform pan.

First up: Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.

1. Melt together 20 ounces of milk chocolate with 1/2 pound of butter in a stainless steel bowl over a double boiler or in the microwave (in plastic or glass bowl) for 2 minutes and stir until melted.
2. Once melted, add 1.5 cups of sugar and stir.
3. Add 8 eggs and beat briefly with a hand mixer.
4. Add 1 tsp of real vanilla extract.
5. Pour half the mix into the bottom of a 9" springform pan lined with parchment paper.
6. Flip your cooked pumpkin pie upside-down onto the batter, in the center.
7. Pour the rest of the batter on top of the pie and spread around into the sides until you have a level coating.
8. Bake in a preheated 350 degree F oven for 1 hour (check it and add 10 minutes if it looks undercooked in the middle - piecakens can be unpredictable at times).
9. Run a knife around the outside of the cake (inside of the springform pan) then let cool on counter for several hours, then refrigerate.
10. Flip out and over (so your pie is right-side-up) onto a serving plate. Top with topping recipe below.

Topping:

Heat 1/2 cup cream in a small saucepan until it just reaches boiling point. Pour over a bowl of 8 ounces of chopped milk chocolate. Stir until smooth and then pour over the cake, letting some drip down the sides. Chill the cake and then decorate as you wish, with Pumpkin-spiced buttercream icing or crunchy caramel bits, or whatever you like!