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 cream cheese icing, this pumpkin cake is a dessert version of my grandmother’s now-Internet-famous pumpkin bread and pumpkin muffins. Not only does the cake keep well, but it’s also easy to make, easy to transport, and 100% kid-approved — making it the perfect fall treat for potlucks, bake sales, and holiday parties.
What you’ll need to make pumpkin cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
If canned pumpkin isn’t available where you live, or you’d just prefer to use fresh, that’s not a problem. For baking, the most flavorful pumpkins are smaller than those typically associated with Jack-O-Lanterns. They’re usually in the 4 to 8-pound range and are referred to as sugar, cooking, or pie pumpkins. This detailed piece from King Arthur Flour provides guidance on how to convert a whole pumpkin into purée that can be used in this cake (or any of my other pumpkin recipes).
While my preference in this recipe is to use cloves, cinnamon, and nutmeg to spice the cake, many readers have asked if these three spices can be replaced with pumpkin pie spice. Although the mixture of spices in pumpkin pie spice is not an exact match (pumpkin pie spice often includes ginger and/or allspice), it’s fine to use it here. Just replace the individual spices with an equal amount of pumpkin pie spice (1 tablespoon).
How to Make Pumpkin Cake with cream cheese Frosting
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.
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.
If you’d prefer a cake that you can remove from the baking dish, feel free to give my Glazed Pumpkin Pound Cake a try (it’s made in a Bundt pan).
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.
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 Scones with Spiced Pumpkin Glaze
- Perfect Pumpkin Pie
- Pumpkin Pecan Streusel Torte
- Pumpkin Cheesecake with Gingersnap Crust & Caramel Sauce
Pumpkin Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
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.
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
- 1½ sticks (¾ cup) unsalted butter, melted
- 1½ cups granulated sugar
- 4 large eggs
- 1 (15-oz) 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 and set an oven rack in the middle position. Grease a 9-x-13-inch 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.
- Make-Ahead Instructions: The cake can be made and frosted up to two days ahead of time. Cover tightly with aluminum foil and store in the refrigerator; allow the cake to come to room temperature before serving.
- Freezer-Friendly Instructions: Freeze the unfrosted cake, tightly wrapped, for up to 3 months. When ready to serve, defrost the cake to room temperature, make the frosting, frost, and serve.
Nutrition Information
Powered by 
- Per serving (16 servings)
- Calories: 417
- Fat: 20 g
- Saturated fat: 12 g
- Carbohydrates: 58 g
- Sugar: 44 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 4 g
- Sodium: 229 mg
- Cholesterol: 96 mg
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.
What a great recipe! Delicious and beautiful. Thank you, Jenn. Well done!
PS… it made a gorggggg layer cake. 🥰
I did some teensy adjustments (based on preference, what I had, and the fact that pumpkin spice was cheaper than buying the others separately 😊) but it was absolutely delicious. I would MOST DEFINITELY be willing to make this again- I don’t think my family would mind either, haha!
Hi Jenn!
Would this work as a layer cake? If so, would the amount of frosting be the same?
Thank you very much for your help!
Hi Chloe, Yes, I do think it would work as a layer cake and that you should double the frosting (you may end up having a bit of frosting leftover).
Thank you! So excited.
So easy I was able to make this with a one and a two year old ‘helping’ me. I first made this as a birthday cake because my youngest didn’t like anything sweet at the time but she loved pumpkin and it was a hit with all of the kids. I don’t use as much sugar in the frosting as I don’t like it as sweet and it’s still great!
i made a pumpkin quickbread from an ‘oven bake recipe’ & it came out very good..do you think i could make this in my breadmaker, w/this recipe? i have many cans of pure pumpkin puree.
thank you
I’ve never used a breadmaker so I can’t say confidently whether or not this would be appropriate for one (but I’d be inclined to say no). Sorry!
My son has already requested this again for Christmas dinner! Terrific cake.