Pumpkin Spice Cake
intro
A warmly spiced, ultra-moist single-layer pumpkin cake slathered in tangy cream cheese frosting, a cozy, beloved fall treat for gatherings.
Ingredients
Steps
Prep oven and pan
Preheat your oven to 175°C (350°F). Grease a 9-inch round cake pan with a thin layer of butter or nonstick baking spray, then line the bottom with a precisely cut circle of parchment paper to prevent the cake from sticking during baking.
Whisk dry ingredients
In a medium mixing bowl, combine 240g (2 cups) all-purpose flour, 2 tsp ground cinnamon, 1 tsp ground ginger, 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg, 1/4 tsp ground cloves, 1 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp baking soda, and 1/2 tsp fine salt. Whisk vigorously for 30 seconds until all ingredients are evenly distributed.
Mix wet batter base
In a large mixing bowl, stir together 425g (1 15-oz can) unsweetened pumpkin puree, 200g (1 packed cup) light brown sugar, 120ml (1/2 cup) neutral vegetable oil, 2 room-temperature large eggs, and 1 tsp pure vanilla extract. Stir for 1 minute until the mixture is completely smooth with no lumps.
Combine and pour batter
Add the dry ingredient mixture to the wet pumpkin mixture in 3 equal, small additions, stirring gently just until no dry flour streaks remain (do not overmix, to keep the cake tender). Pour the smooth, thick batter evenly into the prepared cake pan, smoothing the top surface with a spatula.
Bake and cool cake
Place the pan on the middle oven rack and bake for 32 to 35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the cake’s center comes out with 2-3 moist crumbs attached (no runny wet batter). Let the cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn it out onto a wire rack to cool completely to room temperature, about 1 hour of inactive cooling time.
Make cream cheese frosting
While the cake cools, beat 225g (8 oz) softened full-fat block cream cheese and 57g (4 tbsp) softened unsalted butter in a medium bowl with a hand mixer on medium speed for 2 minutes until light and fluffy. Add 180g (1.5 cups) powdered sugar, beating on low speed for 1 minute until completely smooth with no lumps.
Frost and serve cake
Once the cake is fully cooled to room temperature, spread the cream cheese frosting evenly over the top (and sides, if desired) with an offset spatula. Slice the cake into 8 equal wedges and serve at room temperature.
Tips
2.Wait until the cake is completely cooled to room temperature before applying frosting; warm cake will melt the cream cheese, causing the frosting to slide off and turn runny.
3.Avoid overmixing the batter after adding dry ingredients; over-stirring develops gluten in the flour, resulting in a tough, dense cake instead of the desired tender, soft crumb.
OMG this classic pumpkin spice cake was a total game changer for our fall family dinner! I was worried it would be too fussy since I’m not a huge baker, but the difficulty said easy and they weren’t kidding. Took exactly 50 minutes in my oven, let it cool the full hour while I made cream cheese frosting, and my kids literally fought over the last slice. 10/10 will be making this for our church potluck next month!
SO good. I brought this to my office fall party yesterday and every single person asked for the recipe. I used a little homemade maple cream cheese frosting on top instead of the regular and it paired perfectly. The crumb is so moist, not dry at all like so many pumpkin cakes I’ve tried over the years.
Made this last night for my roommate’s birthday, he’s obsessed with all things pumpkin spice. Turned out perfect even though I forgot to let the eggs come to room temp first? Wild. Didn’t even need fancy ingredients, just stuff I already had in the pantry. Super straightforward.
Wait, has anyone made this at high altitude? I’m in Denver and I always have to adjust my bake times and flour amounts, would love to hear if anyone has tips before I waste a whole can of pumpkin on a flop 😅
My toddler is the pickiest eater on the planet and he ate two whole slices of this cake after dinner last night. I was shocked! I cut the sugar back by 1/3 cup because I don’t like super sweet desserts, and it was still perfectly spiced and sweet enough for us. Will absolutely be adding this to our regular fall rotation.
Made this on Sunday to have as a little treat throughout the work week, and it’s held up perfectly in an airtight container for 4 days now! Still super moist, the spices taste even better after sitting for a couple days honestly. So easy to throw together even on a busy meal prep Sunday.
I’ve been making pumpkin cake for 40 years and I have to say, this recipe is better than my old go-to! The spice balance is perfect, not too much clove which I always think makes pumpkin desserts taste like soap. My grandkids gobbled it up when they visited over the weekend.
Wait a second — I misread the recipe and used pumpkin pie filling instead of plain canned pumpkin, is this going to be ruined? It’s in the oven right now, I’m panicking a little because I’m supposed to bring this to my friend’s Halloween party in a few hours 😭
Super easy, came out exactly as the recipe said. I added a handful of chocolate chips to the batter because chocolate and pumpkin are a match made in heaven, 10/10. No issues with cook time, 50 minutes exactly at 350, cooled perfectly in an hour.
Is there a way to make this gluten free for my sister who has celiac? I want to make it for Thanksgiving this year so she can have a dessert option too, she’s usually stuck with just fruit while everyone else eats all the good stuff.
Brought this to our neighborhood block party last weekend and it was the first dessert gone! People were coming back for seconds before half the other dishes even got opened. I topped it with a little cinnamon whipped cream and some toasted pecans for crunch, chef’s kiss.
Not usually a pumpkin guy but my girlfriend begged me to make this with her last weekend, and I’ll admit it was actually really good. Way less complicated than I thought it would be, we didn’t even have to pull out the stand mixer, just a hand whisk and a bowl. Solid recipe.
Help! I took my cake out after 50 minutes, let it cool for the full hour, but when I went to take it out of the pan half of it stuck to the bottom! What did I do wrong? I was so excited for this 😭
My house smelled like absolute fall heaven while this was baking! The spice mix is so warm and cozy, I wanted to curl up with a slice and a hot coffee the second I pulled it out of the oven. My husband said it’s better than the expensive bakery pumpkin cake we buy every year.
Made this for our dorm fall festival last week and it was such a hit! We’re all broke college students so we loved that the ingredients were super cheap and easy to find at the campus grocery store, no fancy specialty stuff required. Even our RA who’s a total food snob said it was amazing.
Has anyone tried making this vegan? I usually swap eggs for flax eggs and butter for vegan butter in baking, but I don’t want to mess up the texture since pumpkin cake is so moist as written.
Packed slices of this for our fall hike last weekend, and it was the perfect trail snack! Held up great in my backpack, didn’t get squished, gave us that little sugar boost we needed to get to the summit. The spices were so nice and warm even when it was cold out on the trail.
I’m usually not a huge pumpkin spice fan because I think it’s too overdone, but my cousin made this for our family get together and I had two slices. It’s not overly spiced, the pumpkin flavor is front and center instead of just tasting like a clove and cinnamon bomb. So impressed!
Threw this together last night after work in like 10 minutes of prep time, popped it in the oven, helped the kids with homework while it baked, let it cool while we ate dinner, and had dessert ready with zero stress. Perfect for busy weeknights when you want a little fall treat without all the hassle.