This Pumpkin Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting is perfect to celebrate the tantalizing flavours of Fall! It’s light and fluffy, packed full of delicious pumpkin flavour and warming spices. The cake is paired with a silky cream cheese frosting which makes it truly irresistible.
Pumpkin Cake
It’s quite funny to me now just how much I love pumpkin cake and pumpkin pie. Really any and all pumpkin desserts. Because back home in New Zealand, pumpkin in desserts is not a thing at all. It’s strictly used as a savory ingredient and always makes an appearance on the Sunday roast table. So now I’ve been living in New York City for 8 years, I’m fully embracing all the pumpkin sweets.
I especially love this pumpkin cake because of how perfect it turns out every time. The pumpkin gives the cake a wonderful moist crumb, and the combination of spices are a delight on the tongue. It also holds up extremely well: it stays fresh a lot longer than other cakes, and can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 5 days!
Ingredients needed for Pumpkin Cake:
- Canned pumpkin. Make sure to get the 100% pure pumpkin, not pumpkin pie filling.
- 1 & 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- Spices: for this recipe I use a mixture of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and cloves. Use all of these for optimal flavour.
- Baking powder
- Baking soda
- Salt
- Brown sugar
- Granulated sugar
- Vegetable oil
- 4 large eggs
- Vanilla extract
Ingredients needed for cream cheese frosting:
- 8 oz cream cheese. Make sure to use the full-fat version here.
- Butter
- Confectioners sugar
- Vanilla extract
- Dusting of cinnamon (optional)
- Chopped walnuts for decoration (optional)
Tips for a lump-free cream cheese frosting:
- Beat the cream cheese and butter on medium speed with a hand-held or stand mixer until smooth and creamy.
- Sift your confectioners sugar before adding it to the cream cheese mixture. This will ensure there are no lumps.
Pumpkin Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
Equipment
- 9×13 inch pan
Ingredients
- 1¾ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup brown sugar
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 4 large eggs
- 1 (15oz) can pumpkin
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 8 oz cream cheese full-fat, at room temperature
- ¼ cup (113g) unsalted butter room temperature
- 3½ cups confectioners sugar sifted
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ cup chopped walnuts for sprinkling optional
- ground cinnamon for dusting optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (176°C). Spray a 9 x 13 inch baking pan with non-stick baking spray.
- In a medium bowl, sift the flour, spices, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Whisk to combine. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine granulated sugar, brown sugar, vegetable oil, eggs, pumpkin and vanilla extract. Using an electric mixer, beat on medium speed until well incorporated.
- Pour flour mixture into pumpkin mixture and mix on low speed until just combined.
- Pour batter into prepared pan. Tap pan on counter several times to release any air bubbles.
- Bake in preheated oven for 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Place cake on a wire rack to cool completely in pan.
Make the cream cheese frosting:
- In a large mixing bowl using an electric mixer, whip together cream cheese and butter until creamy. Add the sifted confectioners sugar and continue to whip until combined. Add vanilla extract and continue to beat until smooth and fluffy, about 4 minutes.
- Using an offset spatula, frost cooled cake and then cut into squares and serve.
Notes
- Frosted cake can be left to sit at room temperature for up to 4 hours if not serving right away.
- If you need to refrigerate the cake, allow it to come to room temperature before serving.
- Cake can be stored in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Yum Yum Yum Living in N.Z. not sure if I can get Pure Pumpkin filling , Definitely will look for it. This cake sounds absolutely amazing and delicous
Yum Yum Yum Living in N.Z. not sure if I can get Pure Pumpkin filling , Definitely will look for it. This cake sounds absolutely amazing and delicious