1. Preheat oven to 350F. Spray a 9×13 baking pan with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.

2. In a large bowl, add the oil, sugars, eggs, and pumpkin, Using a whisk, mix until ingredients are well combined. Add in the dry ingredients (cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, ginger, salt, baking powder, baking soda and flour). Whisk the ingredients together until just combined and batter is mostly smooth. Don’t overmix the batter. It will lead to a dense cake.

3. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 18-22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow cake to fully cool

4. While the cake bakes, make the caramel sauce. To make the caramel sauce, add sugar to a skillet over medium heat, stirring constantly. Once sugar is melted, stand slightly back from skillet and carefully add butter into skillet (caramel can bubble when butter is added). Stir in butter until completely melted.

Once the butter is melted and combined, stir constantly and slowly pour in the heavy cream. Once the heavy cream is added, stop stirring allow to boil for 1 minute. If you want to be precise, the temperature of the caramel should reach 220F.

Remove from heat. Allow to cool before using. Caramel thickens as it sits. To speed up the cooling process, you can place caramel in the refrigerator.

5. Make the frosting. In the bowl of a stand up mixer, or using a handheld mixer, add softened butter and shortening. Beat until combined and creamy. Turn the mixing speed to the lowest setting and slowly pour in the powdered sugar. Add in the milk and vanilla and beat the frosting until smooth and fluffy.

6. Assembling the cake. Using a dowel rod or the handle of a spoon/fork, poke holes in the cake. I poked 24 holes in my cake. Add your cooled caramel to a zip-top bag. Snip one corner off of the zip-top bag. If the caramel is not super thick, use your thumb and index fingers to pinch the open end of the zip-top bag so the caramel doesn’t run out. Squeeze the caramel into each hole in the cake.

Spread the vanilla frosting on the cake, slice and enjoy! If you have leftover caramel sauce, you can always add some extra sauce to the slices of cake when serving.