Boo, I think I no longer believe in monsters as faces in the floor or feral infants or vampires or whatever.

—David Foster Wallace, Infinite Jest

Phew, what a whirlwind Halloweekend this has been. I finished my clerkship year on Friday morning with my last shelf exam ever (!). I went to Avant Gardner on Friday night in the pouring rain. It’s a massive event space in Brooklyn. The music was great and I had tons of fun, staying out literally all night—but apparently they took so much water damage that they had to cancel the next night’s concert.
Luckily the weather stayed good the next day, and I was able to see a bunch of my friends.
It was a weekend of celebration, certainly. I was quite proud of my costumes, which were Olivia Rodrigo (à la Good 4 U music video) and a toadstool, which my mom made for me!
I finished the weekend resting, recuperating, and rewatching Stranger Things, which always gives me warm, fuzzy, and seriously nostalgic vibes, weird given that I was not alive in the 80s.

This chunky pumpkin milk tea cake is made of soft, moist spiced pumpkin cake, soaked in condensed milk tea sauce and frosted with vanilla Italian meringue buttercream.
It’s a perfect and subtle combination, and much superior to a pumpkin spice latte type situation.
I used my smallest piping tips to make cute, spooky little decorations on top. My favorite is the eeny-meeny soot sprite, but I’m also partial to the ghosties.
I literally decorated this cake 4 times, because I had a vision of a neon ghost that just wasn’t coming to life.
Luckily, I had plenty of extra frosting to cover my attempts, so no use crying over spilled milk.

I used the black tea concentrate from Trader Joe’s to get the strong tea flavor, but you can use any cold brew tea (or make your own!) to the same effect. I think I’ll be using this ingredient in a lot more baking in the future, because it is truly delicious, wonderfully complex without being bitter.

Halloween and pumpkin cakes, previously:

Brown butter pumpkin cake with chocolate chili ganache with teeny marzipan pumpkins
Edward Gorey-inspired skeleton cat and bat cookies
Ghosts trapped in chocolate ganache on a pumpkin cake
Pumpkin cake with spiced meringue buttercream and dulcey ganache
Pumpkin and condensed milk cakes, reminiscent of trés leches
Bats, eyeballs, and pumpkin-moji cookies
Old, old peanut butter cup cake with Reese’s
Of course, this ludicrous bleeding heart cake.

Pumpkin Milk Tea Cake
makes 1 3-layer 6-inch square cake or 1 3-layer 8-inch round cake

for the pumpkin cake:
330 grams (2 1/2 cups) AP flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
350 grams (1 3/4 cups) granulated sugar
225 grams (2 sticks, 1 cup) butter
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon cardamom
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/8 teaspoon ground anise
1 teaspoon salt
3 eggs
420 grams (15 ounce can) pumpkin puree
120 grams (1/2 cup) buttermilk
60 grams (1/4 cup) applesauce

for the milk tea sauce:
80 grams (1/4 cup) sweetened condensed milk
45 grams (3 tablespoons) cold brew tea

for the italian meringue buttercream:
4 egg whites
200 grams (1 cup) sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt
120 grams (1/2 cup) water
450 grams (4 sticks, 32 tablespoons) butter
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

directions:
Make the cake: grease and flour 3 8-inch round cake pans.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Place butter in the bowl of a stand mixer with the sugars, spices, and salt.
Whip for 3 minutes until the mixture is homogeneous and fluffy.
Add the eggs one at a time, beating in between additions, until the mixture is thick and glossy.
Whisk flour and baking soda and baking powder together.
Whisk pumpkin, buttermilk, and apple sauce together.
Alternating with the pumpkin mix, add the dry ingredients to the batter.
Scrape the bowl well and mix one last time.
Divide the batter equally among the prepared pans.
Bake for 25-30 minutes, until fragrant and a tester comes out with only a few moist crumbs.
Allow to cool completely.
If carving the cake, wrap and refrigerate the cakes for at least one night.
Carve the cakes into a square shape using a 6-inch template and refrigerate again.
Meanwhile, make the frosting: place egg whites in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment.
Place sugar, salt, and water in a small pot over medium heat, fitted with a candy thermometer.
Begin to whisk egg whites while syrup heats up.
Once syrup reaches 245 degrees F, the egg whites should be at semi-stiff peaks.
Pour the hot syrup into the meringue while beating at high speed.
Whip until the meringue is glossy and cooled to body temp.
Beat in 1 tablespoon of the butter at a time, beating until the frosting comes together into a glossy, fluffy, light mixture.
Divide into bowls and tint as desired.
To assemble, whisk the tea and condensed milk together.
Brush over the cut cakes and allow to soak in.
Frost with a crumb coat and then cover with black frosting.
Decorate as desired.