Pumpkin Cake With Cream Cheese Frosting
Published Nov 22, 2017
Updated Oct 30, 2023
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Pumpkin Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting is perfectly spiced and moist and you can’t go wrong with cream cheese frosting. It is sweet, tangy and so good.
To take the cake to the next level, drizzle some caramel sauce on top of the frosting and feel all the autumn vibes.
Your Fall or Thanksgiving table won’t be complete without this tasty pumpkin cake. Everything about this cake just screams fall, warmth, and comfort.
You’ll love the flavor and texture of this cake. You’ll also love how easy it is to make. This cake is large enough to feed up to 16 people, making it the perfect cake for potlucks, brunches, holiday parties, and other gatherings.
After Pumpkin Chocolate Chips Pancakes, this Pumpkin Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting is right up my alley! And my Pumpkin Roll Cake is always a stunner!
Table of Contents
Pumpkin Cake Recipe
When the weather gets cooler, it’s time to whip out all the pumpkin and apple recipes. This recipe for pumpkin cake is very easy to execute.
With this beginner-friendly recipe, there are no hard techniques to master. This is seriously the easiest cake ever which can be adapted to make pumpkin muffins.
Everyone needs a pumpkin recipe they can make on cool Fall days. Bookmark this one weather for breakfast, Thanksgiving morning, or for snack time with a cup of Ginger Drink.
This cake transports easily too so it is perfect for sharing with friends and family.
If you love cozy Fall recipes, check out our Old Fashioned Fresh Apple Cake Recipe, Beef Stew Without Wine, and Easy Cornbread which we’ve been making on repeat.
The Ingredients
The recipe for this Pumpkin Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting requires regular cake ingredients with the addition of pumpkin puree and warm spices.
Here are some notes on key ingredients:
- Pumpkin puree: Your pumpkin puree can be homemade or store-bought if you live in the United States. My favorite brand of pumpkin puree to use is Libby’s.
- Spices: A combination of cinnamon powder and ground nutmeg adds flavor and spice to pumpkin cake. You can use pumpkin spice instead if you like.
- Oil: Adds moisture and lightness to the cake. Any flavorless oil like light olive oil or vegetable oil would work. This cake only uses butter in the frosting and not in the batter.
See the recipe card below with a detailed list of ingredients and instructions.
How To Make Pumpkin Cake
Make the batter: Whisk together the dry ingredients then add the wet ingredients and whisk to form a batter.
Pour the batter into a buttered baking dish and level the top.
Bake until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean. Let the cake cool completely before proceeding with the next step.
Make the cream cheese frosting and spread on the cake.
Drizzle caramel sauce on top. Now this is a completely optional step but highly recommended.
Slice and share.
This Pumpkin Cake With Cream Cheese frosting is moist. It isn’t dry at all. It melts in the mouth and makes a good side to tea or coffee.
Pumpkin Cake Recipe FAQs
Your pumpkin cake will turn out too moist if you add too many wet ingredients like oil or milk. Also, make sure you follow the recipe carefully and don’t underbake the cake.
Cream cheese frosting is one of the easiest frostings to make. You only need cream cheese, butter, and powdered sugar for the frosting. You could add vanilla extract for flavor. Beat all the ingredients with an electric beater to create a fluffy frosting.
Pumpkin, when used in baked goods goes well with a variety of spices including cinnamon, nutmeg, orange zest, cloves, and ginger.
Expert Tips
- To make spreading the cream cheese frosting easier, refrigerate the cake first.
- For a deeper flavor use brown sugar in place of granulated sugar.
- Place leftover cake in a bowl with a tight-fitting lid and store it in the fridge for up to 1 week. Bring to room temperature before serving.
- Stay away from pumpkin pie filling for this cake as it has other ingredients in it. Make sure you’re getting pumpkin puree which only contains pumpkin.
- If you would love to omit the cream cheese frosting, sprinkle powdered sugar on the cake instead or eat as is!
More Cake Recipes
Love this Pumpkin Cake recipe? Also, check out the following cake recipes:
Thanksgiving Recipes
If you are making this cake for Thanksgiving you might want to check out the following Thanksgiving recipes:
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Pumpkin Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon powder
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 15 oz pumpkin puree
- 3 eggs (large)
- 1 cup vegetable oil
For the frosting
- 8 tablespoons butter softened at room temperature
- 8 oz cream cheese softened at room temperature
- 1 cup icing (powdered) sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Garnish
- Caramel sauce for drizzling over cake Optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C). Butter a 9 by 13 inch baking pan.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, salt, cinnamon powder, and ground nutmeg then set aside. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, oil, and pumpkin puree. Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture and whisk until well combined.
- Pour batter into the prepared baking pan and level the top. Place in the oven and bake for 30 to 35 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean. Place the cake on a cooling rack to cool.
- Make the cream cheese frosting: Add the butter, cream cheese, powdered sugar and vanilla extract to a large mixing bowl. Whip using an electric beater until well combined.
- Evenly spread the cream cheese frosting over the cooled cake. Drizzle with caramel sauce if desired. Slice and share. Wrap leftovers in the baking dish tightly with plastic wrap and store in the fridge for up to a week.
