Pumpkin Spice Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
🍁🧡😋 Moist pumpkin cake is topped with a creamy homemade cream cheese frosting. This easy fall dessert is perfect for Thanksgiving, Halloween, and more!
Servings: 9
Calories: 462cal
Equipment
Ingredients
Cake
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- ½ cup canola or vegetable oil
- 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt or to taste
Frosting
- 6 ounces cream cheese softened to room temperature (do not use lite or whipped cream cheese products; use full fat cream cheese sold in a brick like Philadelphia)
- ¼ cup unsalted butter softened to room temperature
- 1 ½ cups confectioners’ sugar sifted if it's particularly lumpy
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon salt or to taste
Instructions
Make the Cake
- Preheat oven to 350F. Line an 8×8-inch pan with aluminum foil and spray with cooking spray; set aside.
- To a large bowl, add the eggs, sugar, pumpkin, oil, pumpkin pie spice, vanilla, and whisk to combine.
- Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and stir until just combined, don’t overmix.
- Turn batter out into prepared pan, smoothing the top lightly with a spatula. Bake for about 35 to 40 minutes (I baked 36 minutes) or until center is set and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs, no batter.
- Set cake aside on a cooling rack to cool completely before frosting it so the frosting doesn’t melt.
Make the Frosting
- Tip: To save time, you can buy a tub of store bought cream cheese frosting sold in the baking aisle near boxed cake mixes.To make your own frosting, to a large bowl (or to the bowl of a stand mixer) add the cream cheese, butter, confectioners’ sugar, vanilla, salt, and whisk until smooth and fluffy or beat with an electric mixer (or use the paddle attachment of a stand mixer).
- Turn frosting out onto cooled cake and spread into a smooth, even, flat layer using a spatula or knife.Tip - If you have a small amount of frosting leftover, it will keep airtight in the fridge for at least 2 weeks when store separately.
- Slice and serve.
Video
Notes
Storage:
At room temp: Cake will keep airtight at room temp for up to 4 days or in the fridge for up to 1 week. I’m comfortable storing cream cheese frosting at room temp, but if you’re not store in the fridge noting cake will be more prone to drying out in the fridge.
In the freezer: The cake and frosting can be stored in separate airtight containers for up to 3 months. When ready to assemble and eat, thaw overnight in the fridge.
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 462cal | Carbohydrates: 57g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 25g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 11g | Trans Fat: 0.3g | Cholesterol: 69mg | Sodium: 443mg | Potassium: 116mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 44g | Vitamin A: 4702IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 64mg | Iron: 1mg
