• Preheat oven to 345°F. Prepare (4) 6 inch cake pans or (3) 8 inch cake pans with baking spray or a homemade pan release. You can also use parchment paper rounds at the bottom of the pans for extra insurance.
• In a microwave-safe bowl, microwave the butter at 15-30 second intervals until completely melted. Set aside until ready to incorporate into your recipe.
• Measure sour cream and milk into a small, microwave-safe bowl. If not already at room temperature, microwave for 30 seconds to bring to room temperature and set aside.
• If eggs are not room temperature, add whole eggs into a bowl with warm water and let sit for 5-10 minutes. Crack eggs into a separate bowl, and set aside. Doing this gives you a chance to fish out any unwanted egg shells!
• Add the flour, sugar, yellow cake mix, nutmeg, cloves, cinnamon, and salt to a large mixing bowl. Use a whisk or spoon to gently combine the ingredients until they are evenly distributed.
• Combine all ingredients into the bowl containing the dry ingredients. Don't forget to add the vegetable oil, pumpkin puree, and vanilla extract!
• Mix ingredients together with an electric hand mixer, starting on low and increasing speed to med-high. Scraping bowl periodically to make sure all ingredients are incorporating and not stuck on the bottom. Mix until batter is smooth and fluffy, usually 1-2 minutes!
• Pour batter into prepared cake pans. If you can, use a food scale to evenly distribute batter between pans for consistent cake layer size.
• Bake for 30-32 min for 6 inch pans, and 28-30 min for 8 inch pans. Use a toothpick or knife and insert into the center of the cake – if it comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs, it’s good to go. You can also gently press your finger into the top of the cake, if it springs back slowly, it’s done!
• Let cakes cool in pan for 10-15 minutes, and transfer to a wire cooling rack to finish cooling.

Instructions for Cream Cheese Buttercream

• Start by adding the room temperature butter and cream cheese to a stand mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment. Whip the butter on a medium speed for about 1-2 minutes, scraping the sides of the bowl at least once during this time.
• Add 2 tablespoons of heavy cream or milk to the butter and cream cheese mixture, along with the vanilla extract and salt.
• Turn mixer on medium speed until these ingredients are incorporated. This should only take about 30 seconds. Scrape the bowl.
• Lower mixer speed to the lowest setting, now start adding the powdered sugar in increments. Adding a tablespoon of heavy cream or milk between each.
• Slightly increase the mixer speed to help blend these ingredients, but do not turn on too high or you will whip too much air into the buttercream.
• Remember to scrape the sides and bottom of the mixing bowl to make sure all of the ingredients are incorporated!
• When finished adding all powered sugar and heavy cream, finish by adding the 2 teaspoons of white gel food coloring. (This step is optional, and only necessary if you want a bright white buttercream)
• Mix on low-medium until all ingredients are incorporated, at this point you should have perfectly white, smooth cream cheese buttercream!