Pumpkin Cake

Content… The Secret to Incredible Pumpkin Puree Recipe Ingredients How to Make It Recipe Variations Tips and Tricks Make-Ahead Instructions Serving and Storage Instructions FAQs What to Serve More Decadent Fall Recipes to Try Conclusion Watch How to Make It

The Secret to Incredible Pumpkin Puree

Pumpkin puree is cooked pumpkin blended or mashed to create a smooth pulp. However, store-bought canned pumpkin puree gives you a smoother finish than what a home blender, or even a Vitamix, gives you. Most canned pumpkin purees are made with different varieties of winter squashes, such as sugar pumpkins or Dickinson squash. But they all work in this recipe.

Recipe Ingredients

1. Eggs – They make the cake moist and well-structured.
2. Sour Cream – Activates the baking soda with its acidity and adds moisture.
3. Sugar – I used white and brown sugar because brown sugar gives the cake that beautiful rich color.
4. Pumpkin Puree – The base flavor for our cake, pumpkin puree, makes it tasty and super moist. You could make your own, but canned puree is smoother for some reason.
5. Butter – Melted butter keeps our crumbs moist and buttery.
6. Flour – I used all-purpose flour to complement the thick and wet batter.
7. Leavening Agents – Baking and baking soda make the cake rise beautifully.
8. Pumpkin Pie Spice – Essential spices give you that warm fall flavor. You can substitute cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves or create your own pumpkin spice.
9. Frosting – Toasty and tangy, it elevates the flavors of the cake and will have you licking the spoon!

How to Make Pumpkin Cake

The Pumpkin Cake

• Wet Ingredients – Mix eggs, sour cream, sugar, pumpkin, and butter in a medium bowl. (Photos 1-2)
• Dry Ingredients – In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice, and salt. (Photos 3-4)
• Combine – Add the wet ingredients to the dry. Then add the vanilla extract and stir. (Photos 5-7)
• Bake – Pour your cake batter into a 9×13-inch baking pan and bake for 25-30 minutes or until slightly brown, and set aside to cool. (Photos 8-9)

The Caramel Cream Cheese Frosting

• Make the Caramel – Combine butter, brown sugar, heavy cream, and salt in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring the mixture to a boil and, once boiling, reduce the heat to low and simmer for 3-4 minutes. (Photos 10-11)
• Cool – Pour the caramel into a mixing bowl and let it sit at room temperature for 10 minutes so it can cool. It should thicken slightly, but if the caramel gets too hard and is difficult to work with, add another tablespoon of heavy cream.
• Cream Cheese Ingredients – In a separate bowl, combine the cream cheese, powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and softened butter. (Photos 12-15)
• Combine Caramel and Cream Cheese – Stir the caramel sauce into the cream cheese mixture until combined. (Photos 16-17)
• Frost – Once cooled, smooth the frosting over the pumpkin cake with a spatula. It’s best to do it as soon as possible. (Photos 18-22)

Recipe Variations

1. If you can’t find pumpkin pie spice, substitute 1½ teaspoon cinnamon, ½ teaspoon nutmeg, ½ teaspoon ground ginger, and ⅛ teaspoon ground clove. Or you can use plain cinnamon if that’s all you have on hand.
2. For bake sales or class picnics, it’s fun to top this cake with candied pecans or candy corn for more delicious fall yumminess!
3. As strange as it sounds, sweet potato puree can substitute for pumpkin puree! Bake the sweet potatoes until soft, let them cool, then remove the peel and puree. I won’t tell if you don’t!

Tips and Tricks

1. Bringing the refrigerated ingredients, such as eggs, cream cheese, and butter, to room temperature before using them will make your cake lighter and your frosting creamier.
2. As tempting as it is to frost and eat the cake right out of the oven, allow the cake to cool completely first. Frosting the cake when it’s too warm gets a bit messy.
3. Pumpkin puree adds lots of moisture to a cake, which means it can be hard to tell when it’s done. I suggest using a probe thermometer (the cake should reach 200°F/93℃) or a skewer to test the thickest part of your cake.

Make-Ahead Instructions

Part of this cake’s charm is that it’s so easy and forgiving. You can bake it, store it overnight on the counter, or store it in the fridge for 2-3 days before serving. You can frost it before you stick it in the fridge, or refrigerate it unfrosted and frost it after it’s reached room temperature.

Serving and Storage Instructions

This cake is a dream to freeze, even if it’s frosted! It can be stored in the freezer for three months and then thawed overnight in the fridge.

FAQs

What to Serve With Pumpkin Cake

Decadent candied pecans make a great cake topping. And if you’re as big a pumpkin fan as I am, you can pair this cake with pumpkin spice latte or, another fall favorite, homemade apple cider. Talk about a perfect teatime combination!

More Decadent Fall Recipes to Try

1. Pecan Pie
2. Sweet Potato Pie
3. Pumpkin Banana Bread
4. Buttermilk Pound Cake
5. Fluffy Pumpkin Pancakes

Conclusion

Celebrate fall in style with this irresistibly spiced pumpkin cake with caramel cream cheese frosting! What is your favorite pumpkin recipe? Let me know in the comments. ❤️

Watch How to Make It

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This blog post was originally published in October 2019 and has been updated with additional tips, new photos, and a video.