This moist pumpkin cake has a delicious pumpkin flavor, is filled with warming spices, and is topped with a luscious cream cheese frosting, creating a crowd-pleasing dessert that is perfect for any Fall occasion.
Preheat the oven to 350℉ and grease a glass 9x13 baking dish with butter or cooking spray.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the sugar, eggs, pumpkin puree, oil, and vanilla together until well combined.
Over a separate mixing bowl, sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and pumpkin pie spice. Give the dry ingredients a quick whisk to combine.
Slowly fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, stirring gently with a spatula to just combine, or until no flour pockets remain. Be careful to not overmix or your cake will be tough.
Pour the pumpkin cake mixture into the greased baking pan and spread the cake batter out evenly in the pan.
Bake for 28-35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
Place the pan on a cooling rack and let cool completely before icing the cake.
For the Icing
In a large bowl, beat butter and cream cheese together until creamy and smooth. Add in vanilla extract and 1 tablespoon of milk and quickly beat again.
Add 2 ½ cups of powdered sugar and beat until smooth. If needed, add up to 1 tablespoon of additional milk and ½ cup of powdered sugar, a little at a time until you reach the desired consistency. You are looking for a thick frosting that is easily spreadable.
Spread the frosting over the cooled cake.
You can serve the pumpkin cake immediately once frosted OR refrigerate it for 12 hours prior to serving, which I find gives you a more flavorful result.
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Notes
Baking Time: Every oven is different, hence the variance in bake time. For best results, position a rack in the middle of the oven and fully preheat before baking the cake. Check the cake after 28 minutes if the cake jiggles in the center set the timer for an additional 5 minutes. If the cake looks set, test it with a toothpick. If the toothpick is dry remove the cake, if it is wet bake for an additional 2 minutes and recheck until fully set.Using Homemade Pumpkin Puree: Place the pumpkin puree in a fine-mesh strainer lined with cheesecloth over a large bowl. Refrigerate for a couple of hours. Measure out 1 ⅞ cup of the strained pumpkin puree to use in place of the 15 ounces of canned pumpkin puree.Pumpkin Pie Spice: Use 2 teaspoons cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon ginger, and ⅛ teaspoon each of nutmeg, allspice, and cloves.Storage: Refrigerate cake iced or uniced cake covered tightly in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.Halving the Recipe: This cake can be halved and baked in an 8x8 cake pan for the same amount of time with great results.