Pumpkin Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
This post may contain affiliate links. Read my full disclosure policy.
Topped with swirls of cream cheese icing, this pumpkin cake is easy to make and 100% kid-approved — the perfect fall treat for potlucks, bake sales, and holiday parties.
Topped with swirls of tangy cream cheese frosting, this pumpkin cake recipe is a dessert version of my grandmother’s now-internet-famous pumpkin bread and pumpkin muffins. Just like the originals, it’s packed with warm spices and comforting flavors that scream fall. Not only does the cake keep beautifully for days, but it’s also simple to make, easy to transport, and 100% kid-approved—the perfect treat for potlucks, bake sales, and holiday parties.
Table of Contents
“Get ready for constant compliments if you make this for a pot-lock! Truly the most delicious and moist cake you could make!”
What You’ll Need To Make Pumpkin Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
- All-Purpose Flour: Provides structure to the cake, giving it the right texture and support. To ensure accuracy, measure by spooning it into the measuring cup and leveling off to ensure accuracy.
- Baking Soda & Baking Powder: Work together to help the cake rise, resulting in a light, airy texture.
- Cloves, Cinnamon & Nutmeg: These warm spices infuse the cake with classic autumnal flavors, complementing the pumpkin. While I prefer using the individual spices, you can substitute them with an equal amount of pumpkin pie spice (1 tablespoon).
- Butter: Adds richness and moisture to the cake, making it tender, and also contributes creaminess and smoothness to the frosting.
- Granulated Sugar: Sweetens the cake and contributes to its soft crumb.
- Eggs: Bind the ingredients together and provide structure, helping the cake to rise and hold its shape.
- 100% Pure Pumpkin: The star ingredient; adds moisture, flavor, and a dense, rich texture to the cake. I use canned pumpkin, but if you’d prefer to use fresh pumpkin, opt for smaller varieties like sugar, cooking, or pie pumpkins. For guidance on making pumpkin purée, check out this detailed piece from King Arthur Flour. Avoid pumpkin pie filling which is already pre-sweetened and spiced.
- Cream Cheese: Provides a tangy flavor and creamy texture to the cake’s frosting, balancing the sweetness.
- Vanilla Extract: Enhances the flavor of the frosting with its aromatic richness.
- Confectioners’ Sugar: Sweetens and thickens the frosting, creating a smooth, spreadable consistency.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
Step-by-Step Instructions
Begin by combining the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cloves, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a medium bowl.
Whisk well to combine.
In a large bowl of an electric mixer, combine the melted butter and sugar.
Beat on medium speed until just combined.
Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
Add the pumpkin puree.
Beat until combined.
Add the dry ingredients.
Mix on low speed until well combined.
Turn the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top.
Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until a cake tester or toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Set the cake on a wire rack to cool completely.
Meanwhile, make the frosting. Combine the butter and cream cheese in a large bowl.
Beat on high speed until smooth and creamy, about 1 minute, then beat in the salt and vanilla. 
Add the confectioners’ sugar and beat on low speed for 30 seconds.
Switch to high speed and beat until light and creamy, about 2 minutes.
Spread the frosting on the cooled cake. I really like using an offset spatula to frost cakes, particularly cakes that are served right from the baking dish like this one. These angled spatulas make easy work of spreading frosting onto the corners of the cake.
Create swirls in any pattern you like.
Cut into squares and serve. Cover any leftover cake tightly with aluminum foil and store in the fridge for up to 4 days. Bring to room temperature before serving.
You May Also Like
Pumpkin Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
For the Cake
- 2 cups all-purpose flour, spooned into measuring cup and leveled-off
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¾ cup unsalted butter (1½ sticks), melted
- 1½ cups granulated sugar
- 4 large eggs
- 1 15-oz (425-g) can 100% pure pumpkin
For the Frosting
- 10 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature
- 4 oz cream cheese at room temperature
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3¼ cups confectioners' sugar
Instructions
For the Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C) and set an oven rack in the middle position. Grease a 9x13-inch (22x33-cm) baking dish with butter or nonstick cooking spray.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cloves, cinnamon, and nutmeg; set aside.
- In a large bowl of an electric mixer, beat the melted butter and sugar on medium speed until just combined. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the pumpkin. Add the dry ingredients and mix on low speed until well combined.
- Turn the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Set the cake on a wire rack to cool completely.
For the Frosting
- In a large bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter and cream cheese together on high speed until smooth and creamy, about 1 minute. Beat in the salt and vanilla. Add the confectioners' sugar and beat on low speed for 30 seconds, then switch to high speed and beat until light and creamy, about 2 minutes. Spread the frosting on the cooled cake. Cut into squares and serve. Cover any leftover cake tightly with aluminum foil and store in the fridge for up to 4 days (bring to room temperature before serving) or at room temperature for up to 2 days.
Notes
Nutrition Information
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
See more recipes:
Comments
Add a Comment
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
Can this be made into a bundt cake?
Hi Max, For a Bundt cake, I suggest using this recipe from my cookbook. It’s very similar. Hope you enjoy!
I just wanna day that all of Jennifer’s recipes are a home run. Ever since I started making anything in her blogs I they are all delicious. I made this yesterday and did not disappoint. Perfect amount of flavor and texture. The only thing I changed was a 1 tsp of baking powder since I like my cakes fluffy. My reputation and popularity is strong that I am an awesome baker lol thanks to Once Upon a chef.
🥰
If I want to double this recipe, is there anything I should adjust in the measurements other than just multiplying by 2? Also, if I want to reduce the sugar a bit in the cake or in the frosting, how much can I reduce sugar by, 10%? Your recipes are the best! You are my go to website. Going to make my way through your cookbook now.
Hi Chitra, So glad you like the recipes! 💗 Assuming you’re using two 9 x 13-inch baking dishes, you can double this recipe with no modifications (although they may need an extra 2 – 3 minutes in the oven). And you can get away with cutting the sugar by 10% for both the cake and the frosting. Hope you enjoy!
Can this recipe be converted into cupcakes?
Hi Amanda, If you want to make cupcakes, I’d suggest this recipe. Because they have a streusel topping, the muffins themselves contain less sugar (which would be good if you will be icing them). You can skip the streusel and ice them instead. The recipe makes 12 muffins, but I’d put less batter in each well and make a total of 18. Hope that helps!
I made this for my office, in celebration of my 5 years since my breast cancer diagnosis, being officially cancer-free now. This cake was the biggest hit! Everybody loved it! The only change I made to the recipe was that I dyed the frosting pink, to go with my “pink celebration” theme.
Happy 5 years, Jill!!!
This was wonderful and very easy. I’ve never baked a cake and it came out perfect. Husband loved it.
I made this for a group dinner and everyone thought it was delicious. The only change I made was to add chopped, lightly toasted pecans on the top of the cake. The recipe is extremely clear, as are all of Jenn’s recipes, and because it is not very complicated this cake is a perfect choice for a novice baker.
Delicious! Light, moist and very tasty. Easy to prepare, too. Used my stand mixer – a breeze.
Hi Jen, I don’t have confectioners sugar. Is it ok to use regular cane sugar for frosting?
Hi SK, Unfortunately, confectioners’ sugar is a must here. Sorry!
Thank you Jenn
Delicious!
I can’t even begin to explain how big of a hit this was on Thanksgiving. My boyfriend nearly ate the entire cake prior to us leaving the house! Everyone was so pleasantly surprised by the flavor – we even are thinking of skipping the pumpkin pie going forward for this dessert.
I did not have the specific cake pan that Jenn used in her recipe/ photos from Sur La Table. I do actually have a similar set, but couldn’t find the specific dimensions she used. I ended up using a Wilton heart shaped cake pan that we got around Valentines Day. It worked really well, but had to bake for about 20 extra minutes, so we clocked in around an hour or so in the oven at 350.
As for the frosting – going forward I would actually prefer to use less sugar, and probably cut the entire recipe in half. We did a thin layer and it was great – any more would be too sweet in my opinion, but that’s easily adjustable.