• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Recipes
    • Recipes
    • Breakfast
    • Lunch & Dinner
    • Desserts & Baking
  • About Me
  • Contact
  • Work with Me
  • Cookbook

Home » Recipes » Desserts & Baking

pumpkin spice cake with cream cheese frosting

October 30, 2018 10 Comments

Jump to Recipe - Print Recipe

Pumpkin Spice Cake is moist, fluffy, delicious and feeds a crowd! Perfect for Halloween, Thanksgiving, or any fall gathering. Oh, and did I mention that there’s Cream Cheese Frosting?

Pumpkin spice cake with cream cheese frosting. this recipe

Pumpkin. Spice. Cake. This is happening. All my childhood memories of Halloween are centered around this recipe. Every Halloween, my mom would bake a batch of these and make a pot full of her amazing vegetable beef soup (recipe here).

Cream cheese frosting.

After eating plenty of cake + soup, my brother and I would come home from trick-or-treating, dump our candy out on the floor, and start to organize it into extremely detailed piles.

We’re talking regular Reese’s in one pile and Pumpkin-shaped Reese’s in ANOTHER pile.

After the sorting, we would engage in some intense candy-trading deals. I’m sure my parents were a little concerned about our candy-tactics, but we sure had fun.

Pumpkin spice cake with cream cheese frosting.

It’s kind of sad to be too old for trick-or-treating. I have no adorable nieces/nephews/cousins living nearby that I can borrow to take trick-or-treating in the hopes of earning some candy for myself. Not that I would try that or anything.

This pumpkin cake and It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown are all I need for the most perfect Halloween night. And, it makes not being able to trick-or-treat a little less sad.

This cake is light, fluffy, and super moist, which is everything you want in a pumpkin spice cake. Trust me. I’ve done my research. (In other words, I made this and fed it to myself and friends and we approved.) Also, cream cheese frosting. Let’s talk about this creamy dreamy situation.

Pumpkin spice cake with cream cheese frosting.

CREAM. CHEESE. FROSTING. This stuff is magic. Use brown butter if you want to kick it up a notch! (Instructions in recipe notes).

If you have a bit of frosting left over and you just want to go ahead and eat that straight from the bowl, I won’t tell.

Slices of pumpkin spice cake with cream cheese frosting on plates.

Happy Baking friends! And, Happy Halloween, if you’re celebrating.

Did you make this recipe? Snap a photo and leave a comment! 

Be sure to follow bluebowlrecipes on instagram and tag #bluebowlrecipes with your photo! You can also post a photo of your recipe to the bluebowlrecipes Facebook page. I’d love to see what you make! Be sure to leave a comment + rating if you make this recipe so I can see how you liked it!

Pumpkin Spice Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

5 from 2 votes
Print Pin Rate
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: Dessert
Keyword: Fall Dessert, Halloween Recipes, Pumpkin Bars, Pumpkin Cake, Pumpkin Dessert, recipes for a crowd
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 50 minutes
Servings: 20 slices
Calories: 315kcal
Author: Stephanie Simmons

Ingredients

For the Cake

  • 4 eggs
  • 1 and 1/2 cups granulated sugar
  • 1 cup vegetable oil
  • 1 15 oz. can pumpkin NOT pumpkin pie filling
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 and 3/4 tsp cinnamon
  • 3/4 tsp nutmeg
  • 1/4 tsp cloves
  • 1/8 tsp ginger
  • 1/8 tsp salt
  • 1 tbsp real maple syrup

For the Frosting

  • 6 ounces cream cheese
  • 1 stick (1/2 cup) salted butter
  • 2 tsp vanilla
  • 3 cups powdered sugar
  • 3 tbsp real maple syrup

Instructions

  • Prep: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9x13 or 10 x 15 pan with parchment paper or spray with nonstick spray. 
  • Make the cake: In a large mixing bowl, mix eggs, sugar, oil, and pumpkin with electric mixer until just combined. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, spices and salt. Add dry mixture to the wet ingredients in 2 additions, mixing well after each. Add the TBSP of maple syrup and mix. 
    Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. (It may have some moist crumbs on it - but shouldn't have wet batter). Let the cake cool completely before frosting. 
  • Make the frosting: While the cake bakes, make the frosting. Soften cream cheese and butter together in the microwave for 20-30 seconds. (See note if browning the butter). Cream well with mixer. Add vanilla, powdered sugar, and maple syrup and mix until combined. 
  • Serve + Store: Frost the cake when cool. Use the back of a dinner spoon to make swirls in the frosting, if desired. Store leftovers, covered tightly, in the fridge for up to 4 days. 
  • Make ahead tips: The cake can be made a day in advance. Bake as directed, and let it cool completely. Cover well with plastic wrap/foil and leave at room temp. Frosting can be made a day ahead too - cover well and store in the fridge. Let frosting sit out for 10 minutes before frosting so it's pliable. If the top of the cake tears a little when you try frosting it, cover it and chill in fridge for 15 minutes. 

Notes

NOTE: If using a 10 x 15 pan, start with 5 minutes less on the bake time (20-25 mins). 
NOTE: If you want to use brown butter in the frosting - follow the below steps. 
  • In a nonstick pot or pan over medium heat, melt the butter. Turn the heat to medium-low and continue cooking the butter - stirring constantly. The butter will get foamy, then turn golden, then start to turn brown and develop a nutty/caramely sort of aroma. Once it reaches a deep golden color, remove from the heat and let cool in the freezer for 15 minutes. 
  • Beat the cooled (it won't be totally cold - if it's a little warm that's fine) melted brown butter with the softened cream cheese. It will be lumpy at first, but just keep mixing and it will smooth out after 1-3 minutes. Continue with frosting steps as directed in recipe above. 

Nutrition

Calories: 315kcal
 

This post was originally published in October of 2017, but I updated it this fall to make it even better

The One-Bowl Baker

Order my new book:

The One-Bowl Baker

today!

One-Bowl recipes for incredible cookies, brownies, cakes, and breads made easy enough for anyone to bake!

Order Now:

Walmart // Amazon // Barnes & Noble // Target // Booksamillion // Bookshop // Indie Bound // Book Depository

Get the Bonus e-Book!

Share21
Pin1K
Tweet
Share
1K Shares

More Desserts & Baking

  • cranberry apple slab pie with maple glaze
  • cheesy garlic herb pull apart rolls
  • simple + amazing homemade applesauce
  • the best pumpkin bread

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Comments

  1. Nancy Giboney says

    October 06, 2019 at 12:04 pm

    I was searching for a pumpkin cake to make for Halloween and decided to try yours – I don’t think I can wait that long though!

    Reply
    • Stephanie Simmons says

      October 06, 2019 at 6:10 pm

      It is SO delicious – I wouldn’t blame you one bit if you made it now ?

      Reply
  2. jen says

    November 04, 2018 at 2:12 pm

    5 stars
    This looks delicious! Pinning it for later! Thank you for sharing!

    Reply
    • Stephanie Simmons says

      November 28, 2018 at 9:52 am

      Thank you!

      Reply
  3. The Passive 100 says

    November 04, 2018 at 11:22 am

    This looks SO good! Bookmarked. Definitely making this in November.

    Reply
    • Stephanie Simmons says

      November 28, 2018 at 9:53 am

      Thanks! ❤️

      Reply
  4. Aaron (@1dish4the4road) says

    November 01, 2018 at 11:19 am

    5 stars
    Well I’m a big fan of carrot cake, so this looks a fantastic seasonal alternative! Thanks for the recipe!

    Reply
    • Stephanie Simmons says

      November 28, 2018 at 9:56 am

      Thanks Aaron!

      Reply
  5. Ya says

    November 01, 2018 at 9:21 am

    Omg, that looks delicious! I must try this. I JUST became a pumpkin spice lover! lol

    Reply
    • Stephanie Simmons says

      November 28, 2018 at 9:56 am

      Thanks!

      Reply

Primary Sidebar

Hi. I’m Stephanie

I’m a Mom & Grandma-taught cook + baker, and I’m excited to share my love of all things food with you!

Learn more

Order my new book

One-Bowl recipes for incredible cookies, brownies, cakes, and breads made easy enough for anyone to bake!

Order now

Reader Faves

A straight on view of a slice of banana cake topped with maple cream cheese frosting.

gluten-free banana cake with maple cream cheese frosting

A salad bowl full of fresh greens, sliced pears, pomegranates, mandarin oranges, and walnuts.

winter salad with pears, pomegranates, and walnuts

chocolate cherry pie cookies

creamy chicken wild rice soup

salted chocolate peanut butter tart

maple bacon cupcakes with brown butter frosting and candied bacon

Seasonal Picks

Thick, soft raspberry sugar cookies are stuffed with a creamy raspberry cheesecake filling and drizzled with white chocolate. These cookies are absolutely packed with flavor and can be made ahead & frozen until ready to bake! #raspberry #raspberrycookies #cheesecake #cheesecakecookies #raspberrycheesecake #whitechocolate #cookierecipes #christmascookies #valentinesdesserts #springdesserts #bluebowlrecipes | bluebowlrecipes.com

white chocolate raspberry cheesecake cookies

A skillet brownie topped with vanilla ice cream.

fudgy triple chocolate skillet brownie

A stack of broken open cookies, showing their gooey insides with chocolate puddles.

jumbo bakery-style chocolate chip cookies

A tray full of chocolate truffles.

homemade black forest chocolate truffles

classic taco salad with cilantro lime dressing

Short ribs on a bed of cheddar mashed potatoes, on plates.

beer braised short ribs with cheddar mashed potatoes

Subscribe for recipes

Footer

  • Privacy Policy
Blog Meets Brand

© 2023 Blue Bowl Recipes. All Rights Reserved.