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Pie meets cake in The Pumpple Cake

Pumpple Cake

I like pie. I like cake. I have to admit that I have never felt a strong desire to combine the two desserts before. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t a market out there for that sort of thing, which is why the Flying Monkey Bakery in Philadelphia invented the Pumpple Cake. This slightly awkwardly named dessert consists of two pies, a pumpkin pie and an apple pie, baked into two cakes, a vanilla cake and a chocolate cake.  The cakes are stacked as they would be in a regular layer cake and whole thing is topped off with very generous amounts of buttercream. When finished, the cake weighs in at 15 pounds, stands more than a foot tall and will feed a pretty large crowd.

The cake is made by partially baking a pumpkin pie and an apple pie a day in advance. The pumpkin pie is placed into a cake pan full of chocolate cake batter and is completely covered. The apple pie is placed in vanilla cake batter. The cakes are baked until everything is set, then thoroughly cooled before being stacked and frosted. It takes about 2 days to make each cake.

I think that I’ll still keep a little distance between my cake and my pie, but this cake is a hit with customers of the bakery and probably a real problem solver for those with families that just can’t agree on what they want for dessert. It’s over the top, but this cake pretty much has it all.

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20 Comments
  • Judy
    October 27, 2010

    Oh my gosh!!! This has to be heaven on a plate! I don’t even want to think about the number of calories…

  • Abby
    October 27, 2010

    That has got to be one of the most scrumptous looking things I’ve ever seen!

  • Fat Fudge
    October 27, 2010

    Looks like a submission for “This is why you’re fat”.

  • Ryan @ Ryan's Baking Blog
    October 27, 2010

    this bakery is right around the corner from me, too bad I’m not a big pie fan 🙁

  • Nicole
    October 27, 2010

    Judy – The news article about the Pumpple Cake said it has about 1800 calories per slice, and each slice should feed four people.

  • Rachel
    October 27, 2010

    a pie in a cake plus another pie in a cake? does that mean eating a slice of this counts as eating 2 pies and 2 cakes? If so, I’ll take it. I’m indecisive about dessert.
    this is like the dessert version of a turducken (something I’ve only heard of and never seen or eaten).

  • the blissful baker
    October 27, 2010

    oh wow, this is a HUGE dessert. it looks great, but i’d probably only be able to eat a very small slice!

  • KB @ Home-Baked Happiness
    October 27, 2010

    OK, did they REALLY invent this? ‘Cause it looks like a ripoff of the Cherpumple to me (unless the ripoff went the other way, I don’t know).

    See here: http://www.bonappetit.com/blogsandforums/blogs/consciouscook/2009/12/the-cherpumple-the-worlds-most.html

  • KB @ Home-Baked Happiness
    October 27, 2010

    Hm, it IS a ripoff — the bakery says they started making theirs a month ago, but the video of the original Cherpumple was posted last year.

  • Laura
    October 27, 2010

    Charles Phoenix created the cherpumple (cake with THREE layers of cherry, pumpkin, and apple pie baked in). There is a video online in which he makes this with cake mix, canned frosting, and frozen pies. It is supposed to be a kitsch thing, I think.
    Here is the link to a mention at Bon Appetit:
    http://www.bonappetit.com/blogsandforums/blogs/consciouscook/2009/12/the-cherpumple-the-worlds-most.html

  • P
    October 28, 2010

    Am I the only one who thinks this looks revolting? I love dessert as much as anyone and I bake all the time, but come on, seriously?! Pie inside a cake stacked on top of another pie inside a cake and coated in an inch-thick layer of sickly, fatty buttercream?! Chocolate + apple + buttercream + pumpkin + vanilla = gag! This kind of idea could only ever sell in America; I can’t imagine a French pastry chef ever creating this crime against desserts!

  • Amanda :}
    October 28, 2010

    to me, this actually looks better that Mr. Phoenix’s Cherpumple cake, which DID come first…. i watched his video a while back and couldn’t really make it all the way through cuz i felt greasy just watching it 🙁 that being said, you couldn’t pay me to eat this Pumpple cake either! i’m a baker and i think this is going overboard.

  • Deborah
    October 28, 2010

    I heard about this on the news. I guess it has like a bazillion calories, but I’d be willing to try it!

  • Lisa
    October 28, 2010

    That is absolutely discusting and unnecessary. No wonder we have an obesity problem in america.

  • ms_kamini
    October 29, 2010

    While this may be a feat of ingenuity, it goes against all things good in the world!

  • itsbecca
    October 29, 2010

    I don’t understand why there’s so much frosting? That has to contribute a hefty amount to the calorie count.

  • Hannah
    October 29, 2010

    OMG this looks so amazing!!!

  • Jenn
    November 2, 2010

    I’m guessing there HAS to be that much frosting between the 2 layers or else they would sink into each other.

    I personally think this sounds gross. Why not put apple pie into an apple coffee cake? Or caramel cake? Or something to enhance the flavor rather than take away from it? Same with the pumpkin pie.

    No way would I eat this – I feel my arteries clogging up as I look at the picture!

  • Johnny Canuck
    November 16, 2011

    It looks amazing if the word amazing has had its definition replaced with the word revolting. What is wrong with people? More is not better in all cases. A simple version of any one of the things crammed into this would be 1000 times more satisfying. Let me ask you this – if you had 2 cakes, 2 pies, a cheesecake and frost – threw them into a bag, shook them around and took out a scoop and put it in a dish would that be any better? This is either a stunt or just one more step for north americans down the path to extinction.

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