This Pumpkin Cake is delightfully moist, filled with a perfect blend of comforting spices, and topped with velvety cream cheese icing!
There is nothing quite like a spicy pumpkin dessert. I love baking up a loaf of my famous pumpkin bread as soon as summer begins to change to fall! These adorable mini pumpkin cupcakes are also a favourite around here. Fall baking season is just so cozy and delicious!
This cream cheese icing is simple and creamy. Only cream cheese and powdered sugar are blended together to create a light frosting to spread over the top of the cake. If you like a frosting with a thicker texture that can be piped, try this recipe for cream cheese frosting that I use on my pumpkin cupcakes.
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⭐️ Why You Need to Make This Recipe
- Simple and easy to make. I know nobody wants to spend more time than necessary to make a dessert for a birthday, Thanksgiving, or a special dinner. This cake is super easy!
- Full of delicious fall flavours. A flavourful blend of spices and real pumpkin make this cake irresistible.
- Enough for a party. Like my Sticky Caramel Apple Spice Cake, this recipe makes an entire 9X13-inch cake.
🧈 Ingredients
Here are the ingredients needed to make this pumpkin cake with cream cheese frosting.
- Oil - Any neutral-flavoured liquid oil such as avocado oil, sunflower oil, canola oil, or vegetable oil.
- Brown Sugar - The molasses in brown sugar adds extra flavour to this cake.
- Eggs - Give structure to the cake.
- Sour Cream - Makes the cake soft and moist.
- Pumpkin Purée - Not pumpkin pie filling! Pumpkin purée also goes by "pure pumpkin" or "canned pumpkin" sometimes.
- Vanilla Extract - For another dimension of flavour.
- Flour - All-purpose flour does the trick!
- Baking Powder & Baking Soda - Leavening agents that make for a fluffy, risen cake. Pro Tip: For best results, make sure baking soda and baking powder are fresh!
- Salt - Salt is very important in bringing out flavour in cakes and other baking recipes.
- Spices - A delicious blend of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and allspice flavours this cake.
- Cream Cheese - I like to use full-fat cream cheese for this frosting.
- Powdered Sugar - Just enough to form a creamy icing.
See the recipe card for measurements.
📃 Instructions
Step 1: Combine the oil, brown sugar, eggs, sour cream, pumpkin purée, and vanilla extract and whisk until smooth.
Step 2: In another bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and allspice.
Step 3: Add the combined dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and whisk just until no streaks of flour remain, being careful not to overmix.
Step 4: Spread the batter into a greased 9X13-inch baking pan.
Step 5: Bake for 45-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Step 6: Blend together the softened cream cheese and powdered sugar to make a smooth and creamy icing.
Step 7: Spread the frosting over the fully cooled cake.
📝 Substitutions
Most of the ingredients for this pumpkin cake cannot be replaced, but here are some helpful substitutes if you find yourself in a pinch!
- Sour Cream - You may use plain, unsweetened yogurt in place of sour cream. However, the fat content in yogurt is lower and the cake might not be as moist.
- Spices - If you do not have each individual spice, you can use a pumpkin pie spice blend in their place.
❄️ Storage
Store the cake covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
I have not tested freezing this cake.
💡 Top tip
A key tip for making a tender and fluffy cake is don't overmix the batter! Mix just until all the streaks of flour are incorporated. A few small lumps are fine, they will work their way out during baking.
❓ FAQ
I have not tested this cake recipe with gluten-free flour, but I would love to hear about it if you try it!
Oil, brown sugar, sour cream, and pumpkin purée work together to make this cake moist.
🎃 More Autumn Recipes
Looking for other cozy fall recipes? Try these next:
Here are more pumpkin recipes from some fellow bloggers!
- German Pumpkin Cheesecake - by Sophie at Dirndl Kitchen
- Pumpkin Pie Thumbprint Cookies - by Kayla at Broken Oven Baking Co.
- Pumpkin and Red Lentil Soup - by Amy at A Red Spatula
If you tried this Pumpkin Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting or any other recipe on my website, please leave a ⭐️ star rating and write a little note telling me how it went in the comments below. Thank you!!
📖 Recipe
Pumpkin Cake with Cream Cheese Icing
Equipment
- 9X13-inch pan
- non-stick cooking spray
- mixing bowls
- measuring cups & spoons
- whisk
- silicone spatula
- electric handheld mixer
- offset spatula
Ingredients
For the Cake:
- ¾ cup neutral flavoured oil (avocado, vegetable, sunflower, etc.)
- 2 cups brown sugar packed
- 3 eggs
- ½ cup sour cream *
- 2 cups pumpkin purée **
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon ***
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground ginger ***
- ¾ teaspoon ground nutmeg ***
- ¾ teaspooon ground allspice ***
For the Frosting:
- 8 ounces full-fat cream cheese softened to room temperature
- 2 cups powdered sugar (confectioners sugar)
Instructions
To make the Cake:
- Preheat the oven to 325℉. Grease a 9X13-inch pan with non-stick cooking spray.
- In a large mixing bowl, mix together the oil, brown sugar, eggs, sour cream, pumpkin puree, and vanilla until combined.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and stir just until no streaks of flour remain.
- Pour batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top with a spatula. Bake in the preheated oven for 45-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let cool to room temperature on a wire rack before topping with the frosting.
To make the Frosting:
- In a large mixing bowl using an electric handheld mixer, beat the softened cream cheese on high speed for 1 minute. Add the powdered sugar and mix on low speed until incorporated before turning the mixer up to high speed and beating for another 1 minute. Spread the frosting onto the fully cooled cake using an offset spatula.
Jenn
This recipe is such a great cake/cupcake recipe! I made it in cupcake form for a thanksgiving gathering and everyone loved them even my sister who hates pumpkin anything! The cake is light and airy not heavy and the spice is completely on point! Topped with a simple cream cheese frosting that completes this sweet treat so well!
Naomi
Thank you so much for this wonderful review, I really appreciate it!! I am glad this recipe was such a success!
Naomi