This is the best pumpkin cake recipe! It’s one of those recipes that is essential during the holiday season— the batter stirs together in just 10 minutes, the cake has a short bake time, and the cream cheese frosting is easy to whip up. I tested this recipe several times over the years to find just the right balance of sweetness, spice, and moisture. It’s fluffy and tender and the cream cheese frosting really sets it apart. The flavor combination of the cozy spices and subtly tangy frosting is just out of this world!
A reader, Denise, says: “This recipe is AMAZING!!! Such a beautiful light and fluffy cake. I have made it countless times over the last couple of years and it turns out perfect every single time…It freezes with the cream cheese icing perfectly.” ★★★★★
Table of Contents
Key Ingredients & Substitutions
These are the main ingredients you need to make this easy pumpkin cake. You can find the full list of ingredients and measurements in the recipe card below.
Pumpkin puree — be sure to use 100% pure pumpkin puree, not canned pumpkin pie filling. And remember that not all canned pumpkin is created equal! Libby’s is my preferred brand as it is thick with rich color and flavor. Different brands may be lighter in color and more watery in their consistency, which can affect the texture of the cake. If your canned pumpkin isn’t thick and easily falls off a spoon when scooped, blot the pumpkin on paper towels to absorb the extra liquid. (Use the same instructions included below for using homemade pumpkin puree!)
Oil — I use vegetable oil, but another neutral-flavored oil like light olive oil would work as well. Oil lends the cake so much moisture, so it remains soft and moist for days. Several readers have told me they substitute half of the oil for applesauce. This will make the cake a little less fluffy, but it will still stay super moist, so it’s a great substitute if you’d like to try it.
Leavening — using both baking powder and baking soda ensures the pumpkin cake gets the best rise, becomes fluffy, and also browns properly. When you use both leaveners in a cake batter, you get a more even rise, so they work together to help bake up a level sheet cake.
Spices — ground cinnamon, ground ginger, and freshly grated nutmeg infuse every bite of this pumpkin spice cake with warm fall flavor. You can replace the individual spices with 1 tablespoon of pumpkin pie spice if desired.
Cream cheese frosting — to make my velvety cream cheese frosting, you need unsalted butter, full-fat cream cheese, vanilla extract, salt, and powdered sugar. Be sure to use brick-style cream cheese, not the spreadable kind in a tub. As I explain in my cream cheese frosting recipe, using the tub kind will yield a runny frosting that also has an unpleasantly gummy texture.
Variations To Try
This classic pumpkin cake can be changed up in a few simple ways: You can add flavorings, different toppings, and bake the batter into cupcakes or even a layer cake!
- Flavorings: Add a teaspoon or two of orange zest to the batter or a teaspoon to the frosting for a little brightness. Replace the nutmeg with ground cardamom, clove, or all-spice. Replace 2 to 3 tablespoons of powdered sugar in the frosting with maple syrup.
- Topping ideas: I love the way sweet-tangy cream cheese frosting enhances the flavors in the pumpkin spice cake, but you have other options to enhance the cake! Swirl caramel sauce into the frosting or drizzle it over the frosted pumpkin cake. Swap the plain cream cheese frosting for chocolate cream cheese frosting or marshmallow frosting. For a lighter option, skip the frosting altogether and dust the cake liberally with powdered sugar instead.
- Use homemade pumpkin puree: If you want to take advantage of fresh pumpkin season, you can make your own. But note that you’ll need about an extra ⅓ cup of homemade puree since you will need to remove excess moisture from it first. If the puree is too watery, it will affect the texture of your pumpkin cake, so don’t skip blotting it! To remove liquid from the pumpkin puree, follow my instructions for blotting it on paper towels in my pumpkin chocolate cookies recipe. Weigh or measure the puree after it has been blotted to ensure you have enough for the cake.
- Bake cupcakes: Divide the batter among paper liners (use about ¼ cup each) and bake for 20 minutes for a yield of 24 cupcakes. Check out my pumpkin cupcake recipe for more details!
- Make a pumpkin layer cake: Divide the batter among two 8-inch cake pans and bake for 25 to 30 minutes.
Can I Make This Ahead Of Time?
Yes, you can make this pumpkin sheet cake a day or two ahead of time. After frosting, cover it and store it in the refrigerator. You must store the cake long-term in the refrigerator due to the dairy in the cream cheese frosting. Allow the cake to come back to room temperature before serving.
Pro Tips For Making A Moist Pumpkin Cake
Measure your flour correctly. Adding too much flour to the batter is the most common mistake that will yield a dry and dense cake. The best and easiest way to measure flour is by using a scale for the gram weight. If you don’t have one, fluff your flour with a spoon, sprinkle it into your measuring cup, and use a knife to level it off. This method prevents you from accidentally overpacking the cup and adding extra flour. I have tested this, and a packed 1-cup scoop easily has 145g of flour in it— that’s almost an additional ¼ cup! The fluff, scoop, and level method is almost exactly 120g every time.
Use room temperature ingredients. Set the eggs and cream cheese out in advance so they mix more easily with the other ingredients. Eggs only need to be set out 30 or so minutes in advance, but the cream cheese and butter need an hour or two to become very soft. Set out the cream cheese and butter at the start of the cake, so it’s soft by the time the cake bakes and cools, and you’re ready to make the frosting. For the eggs, if you don’t have time to wait, soak them in a bowl of warm tap water for 5 to 10 minutes.
Avoid overmixing the batter. After pouring the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, mix them together by hand just until combined. If you continue mixing the batter, you will overdevelop the gluten in the flour, which will cause the cake to turn out tough and dense instead of fluffy. This is why I don’t use an electric mixer.
Only frost the cake once it has cooled. If you try to frost the cake while it’s still warm, the frosting will melt or slide off. Set the cake on a cooling rack after baking to cool completely a little bit faster.
How To Make Pumpkin Cake
Below, I’ve highlighted portions of the recipe in step-by-step process images along with instructions for making pumpkin spice cake. You can find the full set of instructions in the recipe card below.
1. Sift together the all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, spices, and salt in a large bowl and set aside.
2. To another bowl, add the sugar, pumpkin, oil, eggs, and vanilla extract.
3. Whisk the pumpkin mixture well until smooth.
4. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix by hand with a silicone spatula just until there are no dry streaks remaining in the batter.
5. Pour the cake batter into a buttered, floured 9×13-inch prepared pan (or a greased pan lined with parchment paper) and bake at 350°F for 30 minutes. Let the pumpkin cake cool completely on a wire rack.
6. To make the cream cheese frosting, grab your stand mixer and fit it with the paddle attachment. (You can also make the frosting in a large bowl using an electric hand mixer.) Beat the butter until smooth, then add the softened cream cheese and beat on medium-low speed until combined. Scrape down the bowl whenever necessary so everything mixes smoothly, then beat in the vanilla extract and salt.
7. Reduce the speed to low and slowly pour in the confectioners’ sugar until well incorporated. Then change the speed to medium and beat the frosting until fluffy.
8. Ensure the pumpkin cake is completely cool, then spread the cream cheese frosting over the top of the cooled cake with an offset spatula. You can use a cookie scoop to dollop the frosting on the cake before smoothing it out so the whole cake is frosted evenly.
Pumpkin Cake Recipe
Video
Equipment
- Mixer
- Offset spatula
- 9×13-inch cake pan
Ingredients
For the Pumpkin Cake:
- 2 cups all-purpose flour (240g)
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1½ teaspoons ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1½ cups granulated sugar (300g)
- 1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin puree
- 1 cup vegetable oil (240mL)
- 4 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
For the Cream Cheese Frosting:
- ¾ cup unsalted butter room temperature, (170g)
- 8 ounces cream cheese room temperature, (226g)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- pinch of salt
- 3 cups powdered sugar sifted (360g)
Instructions
For the Pumpkin Cake:
- Preheat the oven to 350F. Butter and flour a 9×13-inch cake pan or spray with baking spray with flour.
- In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and salt.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the granulated sugar, pumpkin, oil, eggs, and vanilla, until smooth. Pour into the flour mixture and stir together just until combined. Pour into the prepared cake pan.
- Bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with a few crumbs. Let cool completely on a wire rack.
For the Cream Cheese Frosting:
- In a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter until smooth. Add the cream cheese and beat on medium-low speed until the mixture is well combined, about 2 minutes. Scrape down the bowl as needed. Beat in the vanilla and salt.
- With the mixer on low speed, slowly add in the confectioners’ sugar. Once incorporated, increase the speed to medium and beat until light and fluffy, about 1 minute. Spread over the top of the cooled cake.
Notes
- Add decorations on top! You can use chocolate or candy pumpkins, fall-themed sprinkles, or buy silicone pumpkin molds and make your own candy toppings to decorate. You can also keep it simple with a light sprinkling of cinnamon.
- Storing: Since the cake is covered with cream cheese frosting, you’ll want to refrigerate it after 24 hours. Cover the cake in the pan and keep it refrigerated for up to 5 days.
Nutrition
Storage and Freezing
Storing: Pumpkin cake will keep, tightly covered, in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Because of the cream cheese frosting, you cannot leave it out at room temperature for more than 24 hours. Let leftovers sit out of the fridge for a while to remove the chill before enjoying.
Freezing: You can freeze pumpkin cake, frosted or unfrosted! To freeze a frosted cake, set it on a baking sheet and freeze until the frosting is firm. Then, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and aluminum foil and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before serving.
To freeze the unfrosted cake, simply wrap the cooled cake in plastic wrap and foil and freeze it for 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator, then make the frosting and frost the pumpkin cake before serving.
Frequently Asked Questions
The most common reason for this is underbaking. At 350°F, pumpkin cake should take 30 minutes to bake, but this time can vary slightly depending on your oven. To check for doneness, insert a toothpick into the center of the pumpkin cake. It should come out with a few crumbs. If the toothpick comes out with wet batter on it, pop the cake back into the oven.
Using an incorrect ratio of ingredients can also cause the cake to sink, particularly when using too little flour. This can weaken the cake’s structure, so it collapses in the middle. As I mentioned previously, measure the flour correctly, with a scale if possible.
Yes! One reader, Denise, says she usually makes this recipe as-written but with a gluten-free flour blend, and no one she serves knows the difference! Be sure to use an all-purpose baking blend. Some gluten-free blends need more liquid, so if the cake batter looks very thick, add ¼ cup of milk or water and mix. Since there’s no gluten, you don’t need to worry about over-mixing the batter! Bake as directed.
More Fall Dessert Recipes To Try
If you’re looking for more cozy fall recipes, try these next!
Soft pumpkin bars with cream cheese bars are a firmer, more dense cousin to pumpkin cake! You can control the thickness of the bars by baking them in different pans.
My easy pumpkin roll recipe is basically a very thin pumpkin cake with cream cheese frosting spread onto it, then rolled into a log. Remember to roll the cake while it’s still hot so it’s more pliable!
Moist and loaded with autumnal spices, pumpkin bread needs just 10 minutes of prep time! I love enjoying a slice or two for breakfast with a generous smear of honey butter.
Spice cake has an incredibly moist, tender crumb, and so much warm flavor from cozy spices. Use applesauce to add extra moisture and flavor to the cake.
Easy apple bread is a fall staple in my house! It stays moist for several days and is freezer-friendly, so I can always have some on hand when the mood strikes. Use chopped or grated apples, depending on how uniform you want the texture of the bread!
If you’ve tried this pumpkin cake recipe, then don’t forget to rate it and let me know how you got on in the comments below. I love hearing from you!
Sylvia Adam says
John….once again, you have done it!! This is by far one of the best pumpkin cake recipes I have made!! Super moist and flavorful. Everyone in my family loved it! Even my 18-month old son couldn’t stop eating it! It’s a great fall/holiday cake!!
Rama says
i had to make the puree myself because where i live ( Germany) stores don’t sell canned pumpkin puree, but OMG it was so worth it !! this recipe is amazing thank you for sharing it, you’re such a good chef i just love your recipes
Dorothy says
I just made your Pumpkin Cake. Easy! I followed your directions (almost), and the cake came out delicious! You have great recipes…Thank you~
Denise Marie says
This recipe is AMAZING!!! Such a beautiful light and fluffy cake. I have made it countless times over the last couple of years and it turns out perfect every single time. Family and friends request it all the time. (Right up there with my Italian macarons which tells you how amazing this is) It freezes with the cream cheese icing perfectly. I make with gluten free flour and double the recipe for my larger sheet pan. I follow the recipe exactly as is. People are always shocked that it is gf. John I just adore you! Thank you so much for taking the time to teach us and sharing your recipe’s.