Pumpkin Cake With Cream Cheese Frosting

5 from 2 votes
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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.

A tall slice of pumpkin cake.

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!

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.

Pumpkin Cake with cream cheese frosting.

If you love cozy Fall recipes, check out our Old Fashioned Fresh Apple Cake Recipe, Beef Stew Without Wine, 3 Cheese Mac and Cheese, 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.

For the full list of ingredients with measurements, check out the recipe card below.

How To Make Pumpkin Cake

Make the batter: Whisk together the dry ingredients then add the wet ingredients and whisk to form a batter.

Pumpkin Cake batter in a bowl.

Pour the batter into a buttered baking dish and level the top.

Pumpkin Cake Batter in 9 by 13 pan.

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.

Baked Pumpkin Cake.

Make the cream cheese frosting and spread on the cake.

Spreading cream cheese frosting on pumpkin cake.

Drizzle caramel sauce on top. Now this is a completely optional step but highly recommended.

Caramel drizzled on pumpkin cake.

Slice and share.

Slices cut out of pumpkin cake.

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 topped with cream cheese frosting.

Pumpkin Cake Recipe FAQs

Why is my pumpkin cake too moist?

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.

How do you ice a cake with cream cheese frosting?

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.

What goes well with pumpkin?

Pumpkin, when used in baked goods goes well with a variety of spices including cinnamon, nutmeg, orange zest, cloves, and ginger.

Slices of pumpkin cake on small plates.

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:

If you make this recipe please leave a star rating below. Your rating helps others find the recipe plus I love hearing from you! Thank you!

A tall slice of pumpkin cake.

Pumpkin Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

5 from 2 votes
This Pumpkin Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting is perfectly spiced, moist and that cream cheese on top is everything. I love this Pumpkin Cake recipe!
Prep: 15 minutes
Cook: 30 minutes
Total: 45 minutes
Servings: 12 servings

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.

Notes

Sugar: This recipe uses significantly less sugar than most recipes. If you would love a sweeter cake, feel free to add the sugar.
Pumpkin puree: You can use canned pumpkin puree or homemade pumpkin puree for this recipe. My favorite canned brand to use is Libby’s.
Caramel sauce: Completely optional but highly recommended as it makes for a prettier presentation and brings in the autumn vibes.

Nutrition

Calories: 376kcal | Carbohydrates: 16g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 0.2g | Saturated Fat: 0.03g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.02g | Sodium: 0.4mg | Potassium: 22mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 0.1g | Calcium: 3mg | Iron: 1mg

Additional Info

Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American, Western
Calories: 376
Tried this recipe?Mention @preciouscore or tag #PreciousCore!

About Precious

Welcome to my core! I am Precious Nkeih, the recipe developer and writer right here on my blog, Precious Core. My goal is to show you insanely delicious recipes you can replicate in your kitchen. And I love to tell stories too. Hope you find recipes here that will make cooking easier for you! Check me out on YouTube at YouTube.com/PreciousKitchen.


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