This quick and easy pumpkin cake might be my favorite new fall treat!
It’s fluffy and flavorful, complete with plenty of cinnamon and pumpkin spice. And if that’s not enough, it’s topped with decadently rich cream cheese frosting.
This moist, spice-infused cake perfectly captures the essence of autumn.
All of your fall-loving friends will adore it. Plus, it’s much easier to make than a classic pumpkin roll!
Why You’ll Love This Pumpkin Cake
Seasonal Sensation: If you look forward to fall all year, this cake will quickly become a new favorite. It’s ideal for Halloween, Thanksgiving, and other fall gatherings.
Effortlessly Elegant: This stunning dessert looks and tastes like it came from a professional bakery. But it’s a straightforward recipe with a single-pan preparation.
Aromatic Allure: As the cake bakes, it’ll fill your home with the intoxicating scents of pumpkin pie spice and cinnamon.
Ingredients
- All-purpose Flour: The easiest (in my opinion) flour for homemade cakes. It provides structure and texture without the hassle of other flour varieties.
- Baking Powder & Baking Soda: Use both for an extra fluffy cake.
- Pumpkin Pie Spice & Ground Cinnamon: These warm, cozy spices infuse the cake with quintessential fall flavors.
- Salt: To enhance and balance the cake’s flavors.
- Pumpkin Puree: The essential ingredient for a robust pumpkin flavor. It adds moisture and natural sweetness and is absolutely the star of the show.
- Vegetable Oil: For additional moisture.
- Granulated & Light Brown Sugars: For sweetness and just a hint of caramel flavor to complement the pumpkin.
- Large Eggs: To hold the batter together.
- Vanilla Extract: Another flavor enhancer. It adds depth and warmth to every bite.
- Cream Cheese Frosting: Make it from scratch for the best taste. You need cream cheese, unsalted butter, powdered sugar, vanilla, and ground cinnamon. The result is rich, luscious, and perfectly balanced between sweetness and tanginess.
- Chopped Toasted Nuts: Use pecans or walnuts as an optional garnish. They add a toasted, nutty flavor and a contrasting crunch to the icing’s silky smoothness.
How to Make Pumpkin Cake
Homemade cake recipes always have several steps. This one is no exception. Luckily, they’re easy to follow and don’t require much skill.
1. Prepare. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Generously grease a 9×13-inch baking pan with nonstick cooking spray. Be sure to get the sides and bottom.
2. Mix the dry ingredients. Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, and salt in a large bowl.
3. Mix the wet ingredients. Whisk the pumpkin puree, oil, sugars, eggs, and vanilla in a separate bowl until just combined.
4. Combine. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ones. Mix until just combined.
5. Bake. Spread the batter evenly in the prepared pan and bake for 30 to 35 minutes. The cake is done when a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
6. Cool and start frosting. Let the cake cool in its pan on a wire rack for 45 minutes to an hour. When it’s almost cool, start the frosting. Beat the cream cheese and butter in a large bowl until smooth and creamy.
7. Finish the frosting. Slowly add the powdered sugar, beating until it’s well mixed. Finally, mix in the vanilla and cinnamon.
8. Frost. Spread the frosting evenly over the completely cooled cake. Add the chopped toasted nuts (if using).
9. Chill and serve. Refrigerate the frosted cake for at least 30 minutes. Then, slice, serve, and enjoy!
Tips for the Best Pumpkin Cake
Many of the tips for this recipe are just generic baking tips. You should still find them helpful, though.
- Room temperature is key. Set the eggs, butter, and cream cheese out early. Giving them time to warm to room temperature will make them easier to mix.
- Be accurate! Use proper measuring techniques for the wet and dry ingredients. Even slight variations can throw off the balance of flavors and textures.
- Don’t overmix! This is especially important when mixing the wet ingredients and when combining the wet and dry ingredients. Overmixing leads to dense, dry baked goods, and no one wants that!
- Don’t be impatient. Let the cake cook completely. Don’t try to frost it while it’s still warm. The frosting will melt into the cake or melt and spill down the sides.
- Try a trusty offset spatula. For whatever reason, offset spatulas just result in smoother frosting. A bench scraper will also work well.
- Get a step ahead. Toast the nuts beforehand. Have them already toasted and ready to add to the cake before starting the recipe. To toast them, add them to a dry skillet over medium-low heat. Just 2 to 3 minutes should do the trick.
- Have fun with variations. You can add mix-ins like chocolate chips, chopped nuts, or raisins to the batter. You can also experiment with different frostings. I’ve used both chocolate glaze and vanilla buttercream in the past. Both work nicely.
How to Store
Pumpkin cake freezes well, but cream cheese icing doesn’t.
So, if you know you’ll likely have leftovers, you may not want to frost the entire cake.
To Store: Refrigerate the cake in an air-tight container for up to 5 days. Set it out to warm to room temperature before serving. (You can store the cake even if it’s frosted.)
To Freeze: Cut unfrosted leftovers into individual slices. Wrap each one tightly in plastic wrap, then freeze them in a freezer-safe container for up to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge overnight before frosting and serving.
Pumpkin Cake
12
servings20
minutes35
minutes582
This pumpkin cake with cream cheese frosting is such a tasty treat! It’s quick, easy, and features the best flavors of fall.
Ingredients
- For the Cake
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree
1 cup vegetable oil
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
4 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- For the Cream Cheese Frosting
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
3 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- Optional Topping:
chopped toasted pecans or walnuts
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease a 9×13-inch baking pan with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, and salt.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the pumpkin puree, vegetable oil, brown sugar, granulated sugar, eggs, and vanilla extract until fully combined.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. The batter will be thick.
- Spread the batter evenly into the prepared baking pan. Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
- Remove the cake from the oven and allow it to cool completely in the pan on a wire rack. (About 45-60 minutes)
- While the cake cools, make the frosting. In a large bowl, beat together the softened cream cheese and butter until smooth and creamy. (About 2-3 minutes)
- Gradually add the powdered sugar to the cream cheese mixture, beating until fully incorporated. Mix in the vanilla extract and cinnamon until smooth.
- Once the cake has cooled completely, spread the cream cheese frosting evenly over the top. For an optional topping, sprinkle chopped toasted pecans or walnuts over the frosting.
- Refrigerate the cake for at least 30 minutes to allow the frosting to set. Slice and serve. Enjoy!
Notes
- Have the nuts toasted and ready to use before starting the recipe.
- Use room-temperature ingredients.
- Measure accurately, and don’t overmix.
- Let the cake cool completely before frosting with an offset spatula.
