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Moist Pumpkin Spiced Cake with a Sweet Cream Cheese Frosting. The best Fall pumpkin layered cake recipe!
Oh, how I love pumpkin season. If you’ve been following along on Modern Honey, you know I live in Arizona so we don’t get to experience much Fall weather. But I dream of it.
This is the time of year that I get the travel bug and I just crave experiencing some resemblance of Fall. So while I wait for my next travel fix, I make the most wonderful layered pumpkin cake with creamy sweet cream cheese frosting.
It’s Fall, so we need to squeeze in as many pumpkin recipes as possible into a few months so I am embracing the challenge.
The beauty of this Pumpkin Cake is that it is ridiculously moist. The homemade cream cheese frosting seeps into the layers and keeps it perfectly moist for days. It is amazing that even three days later, the cake is still tender and moist.
To make the best pumpkin spice cake, there are some key components. I have experimented with both oil and butter and found that by using oil, you create the moistest cake. Leave the butter for the frosting!
This recipe calls for an entire 15-ounce can of pure pumpkin puree. Now this is straight pumpkin. Don’t go reaching for a can of pumpkin with all sorts of spices and fillers added. We want all-natural pumpkin puree in this cake.
Also, you’ve got to add some pumpkin spice to this cake. Pumpkin spice is usually a mix of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves and brings so much warmth and depth of flavor to this cake.
An interesting little tidbit is that homemade cake recipes don’t dome in the center like cake mix recipes, making them so much easier to stack, layer, frost, and work with.
The sweet Cream Cheese Frosting is made with sweet cream butter, cream cheese, powdered sugar and vanilla. It is super simple but pairs perfectly with the pumpkin cake.
How to make the Best Pumpkin Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting:
- Start by mixing the oil and sugar together and cream them for at least 3-4 minutes. Add eggs and vanilla and mix for 1 minute longer. This allows the sugar to incorporate into the oil and become smooth.
- Add the pumpkin puree. Make sure it is completely pure pumpkin puree –no fillers added!
- Fold in the dry ingredients. You don’t want to overmix the cake batter which will create too much gluten and will result in a tough cake. We want a tender pumpkin cake!
- Pour into greased cake pans. I always use LIGHT COLORED cake pans. Dark colored cake pans attract too much heat and can burn the cakes on the outer edges before the center is completely baked. Also, make sure to spray the pans with non-stick cooking spray.
- To make the frosting, make sure the butter and cream cheese are at room temperature to allow it to fully cream together.
Here are some of my favorite baking tools:
USA 8-inch light-colored cake pans (these are hands down my favorite cake pans)
IF YOU LOVE PUMPKIN, CHECK OUT SOME OF THESE POPULAR PUMPKIN RECIPES:
The BEST Pumpkin Pie Recipe — award-winning!
Pumpkin Bread with Brown Sugar Streusel
Pumpkin White Chocolate Chip Cookies
Pumpkin Sheet Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
Pumpkin Cupcakes with Salted Caramel Frosting
Pumpkin Dump Cake
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
Pumpkin Pancakes
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Pumpkin Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup Oil (such as canola oil)
- 2 cups Sugar
- 4 large Eggs
- 2 teaspoons Vanilla
- (1) 15-ounce can Pure Pumpkin Puree
- 1 teaspoon Pumpkin Spice
- 2 cups Flour
- 1 teaspoon Baking Powder
- 1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda
- 1 teaspoon Salt
Cream Cheese Frosting:
- 1 cup Butter (softened)
- (1) 8-ounce pkg. Cream Cheese (softened)
- 4 to 4 1/2 cups Powdered Sugar
- 1 Tablespoon Heavy Cream or Milk
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla or Vanilla Bean Paste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, mix oil and sugar for 4 minutes. Add eggs and vanilla and mix for 1 minute longer. Stir in pumpkin puree.
- Fold in flour, baking powder, baking soda, pumpkin spice, and salt.
- Spray three 8-inch cake pans with non-stick cooking spray. Evenly pour the cake batter into each pan. Bake for 18-23 minutes or until the toothpick comes out clean. Let cool and then remove cakes from pans. Set aside.
Cream Cheese Frosting:
- In a mixing bowl, cream together softened butter and cream cheese for 2-3 minutes. Stir in powdered sugar and vanilla.
- Once the cake layers have cooled, spread each layer with cream cheese frosting.
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This cake was really delicious. Thank you so much for sharing the recipe !
This cake is amazing!!!
This cake is absolutely delicious! I made (3) 6” round layers with this recipe. Mine took double the time to bake, but they still turned out perfect! Super moist and a great flavor.
I am looking to bake 3 6in cakes to stack. How long did you end up baking? Was it a steady enough base to stack & decorate? Thx in advance!
The cake was amazing! I only did. two layers and they turned out wonderfully. But the frosting was wayyyyy too sweet for me. I had to almost double the cream cheese & butter to be able to eat it without almost crunching on powdered sugar particles. Not sure if I did something wrong there or if it’s just a matter of difference in taste
This cake is SO MOIST yummy
This cake is AMAZING!!!
The perfect fall cake! It has just the right amount of spice and cream cheese frosting! Amazing!!
I made this cake today for thanksgiving and the cake and frosting were so good. My mom begged me not to make this because she said she’s hated every pumpkin desert she ever tried, but I made it anyway lol. But when she tried the cake she loved it so much, it was the first time she ever liked a pumpkin desert. Also since I didn’t have pumpkin spice I just substituted it with 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon and a pinch of nutmeg, and it still came out great!
How Much Flour? I Like Cream Cake With Cheese Frosting.
Amazing look and Wonderful Recipe
Thanks For Sharing……..
Wow, the very delicious cupcake is and looking good. It can give a surprise for any occasion And thank you for sharing