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    Home · Recipes · Cakes · Pumpkin Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

    November 8, 2023

    Pumpkin Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

    In the spirit of pumpkin season, we bring to you our gorgeous Pumpkin Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting! Super easy to make and soft and moist for days, this fall treat will be your new favorite dessert.

    Full view of pumpkin cake with icing on a white cake stand, topped with candy pumpkins

    If layers are what you're after, this cake delivers. It has dreamy, whipped cream cheese frosting on the outside and warm pumpkin spice layers on the inside; perfect to bring to a holiday party or to add to your Thanksgiving menu!

    Slice of Pumpkin Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting on a white dessert plate

    ABOUT THIS PUMPKIN CAKE RECIPE

    Pumpkin Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting is a slice of autumn heaven on a plate. As soon as you start baking this pumpkin cake, your whole house fills with warm, cozy scents of cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves. It's like a fragrant hug from fall itself.

    The flavors of Pumpkin Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting are a perfect blend of sweet, spicy, and earthy flavors. The combination of pumpkin, cinnamon, ginger, and other spices create a taste that is both comforting and indulgent.

    Pumpkin puree adds moisture and tenderness to the pumpkin spice cake, making each bite incredibly soft and delicious.

    If you enjoy pumpkin desserts, be sure to try Pumpkin Spice Cookies and Pumpkin Coffee Cake.

    PUMPKIN CAKE WITH CREAM CHEESE FROSTING INGREDIENTS

    Flour | Use all-purpose flour for this cake recipe. Do not sub self-rising or cake flour.

    Baking Powder | Baking powder is a MUST for this recipe! Do not accidentally substitute baking soda. The two ingredients do not behave the same way.

    Homemade Pumpkin Spice | For this easy pumpkin cake recipe we make our own pumpkin pie spice mix, giving just the right amount of cinnamon, ginger, and cloves to set off the fall flavors in this cake!

    Eggs | You will need 4 large room-temperature eggs.

    Butter | This cake calls for room-temperature, unsalted butter. This step is extremely important so that the butter can properly cream with the sugar.

    Sugar | You need granulated sugar for this Pumpkin Cake with Cream Cheese Forsting. Using granulated sugar over brown sugar keeps the cake unbelievably light and fluffy and allows all those fall spices to shine!

    Vanilla | We highly recommend using pure vanilla extract over imitation. It'll cost you a bit more, but it makes a huge difference in flavor.

    Pumpkin | Be sure to use canned pumpkin puree and not pumpkin pie filling.

    Sour Cream | Sour cream adds moisture to the cake without thinning out the batter. It's also best if this ingredient is at room temperature before going into the cake batter.

    CREAM CHEESE FROSTING INGREDIENTS

    Cream Cheese | Use full-fat, block-style American cream cheese for this recipe. You want the cream cheese to be softened but not melted.

    Butter | Just like with the pumpkin cake, it is important that your butter is at room temperature. If it is too cold, it will not properly blend with the cream cheese.

    Powdered Sugar | This recipe calls for lots of powdered sugar -- 2 bags of confectioner sugar! The last thing you want is to run out of icing when decorating your cake!

    Spices | The simple additions of cinnamon, cloves, and salt take this cheese frosting from good to gourmet in about .5 seconds!

    HOW TO MAKE PUMPKIN CAKE WITH CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

    To kick off your easy Pumpkin Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting recipe, preheat the oven to 350°F.

    Grease your 9-inch cake pans with either butter or baking spray. Then, line the bottom of each pan with parchment paper. Set aside and move on to the dry ingredients!

    Combine all-purpose flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves in a medium-sized mixing bowl. Whisk to combine.

    Hand mixer mixing the dry ingredients

    Now, mix up your wet ingredients, starting with the eggs! Crack all the eggs into a small bowl and use the tines of a fork to whisk.

    In a large mixing bowl, combine unsalted, room-temperature butter and granulated sugar using a handheld mixer on medium-high speed to mix for 2-to-3 minutes.

    It is important to mix until it appears fluffy and visibly lightened. You want that butter and sugar properly creamed for a white and fluffy cake!

    Add the vanilla and mix to combine.

    The next thing to do is add in the canned pumpkin purée and sour cream. Mix in these ingredients until they're well-combined. Don't worry if the mixture appears slightly curdled. This is just from the moisture of the pumpkin, and it is totally normal!

    Hand mixer mixing ingredients of the cake
    Sour cream being poured in to the cake mixture

    Add in your dry ingredients and mix on low until the dry ingredients no longer appear dry. Take care not to over-mix; that can result in a tough cake!

    Divide the batter between the 2 cake pans and transfer to bake in the center of the oven for 15 minutes. At the 15-minute mark, you'll rotate the cake pans and bake them for an additional 20 minutes.

    As soon as a toothpick inserted comes out either clean or with just a few crumbs after being inserted into the center of the cake, it is ready to pull from the oven.

    Set it aside on a cooling rack for about 20 minutes. Then, turn the cakes out on the rack and allow them to cool completely, for at least 30 minutes.

    HOW TO MAKE WHIPPED CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

    This whipped cream cheese frosting comes together quickly and easily! Combine room-temperature butter and softened cream cheese in a large mixing bowl and mix on medium-high speed until well combined.

    Then, add in the powdered sugar, cinnamon, cloves, and salt. Begin mixing on low until the powdered sugar appears mostly combined, and then crank up the speed to medium height and mix until perfectly smooth and fluffy!

    Hand mixer mixing the icing ingredients

    HOW TO DECORATE PUMPKIN CAKE WITH CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

    Once your pumpkin cake is completely cooled, begin decorating!

    For flat even layers, use a serrated knife to trim the cooled cakes so they are flat.

    Uniced pumpkin cake being sliced with a serrated knife on a cooling rack

    Next, add a small dollop of icing to a cake round or serving plate and place one of your cakes cut side-up, centered on top of the icing.

    Spatula with icing in the center of a cake stand

    Spoon or pipe about ¾ cup of the icing on top of the cake and use an offset spatula to smooth over the top. Place the second cake round on top of the icing cut side down.

    Icing being piped onto one later of the pumpkin cake atop a cake stand
    Second layer of the uniced pumpkin cake being set atop the first layer of cake and cream cheese center

    Coat the cake layers with a thin layer of icing and use an offset spatula to spread the icing evenly along the sides and the top of the cake. This is called the crumb coating.

    Cream cheese icing being piped onto the sides of the two-layer pumpkin cake

    Transfer the cake to the refrigerator and allow the icing to chill and harden. After about 30 minutes, your icing should be set. Remove the cake from the refrigerator to add your final layer of frosting.

    Spatula smoothing out icing on the pumpkin cake

    I like to use a large open-star pastry tip to pipe dollops of frosting along the top perimeter of my cake.

    Dollops of icing being piped on top of the pumpkin cake

    For a special touch, place a candy corn pumpkin in the center of each dollop. People go crazy for this look!

    Iced pumpkin cake topped with candy pumpkins

    MAKE-AHEAD AND FREEZING INSTRUCTIONS

    If making this Pumpkin Cake with Cream Cheese Icing ahead of time, keep the uniced cake fresh until it’s ready to pretty up. Let the cake cool completely — if you wrap it while it’s warm, you’ll end up with steam, which will not keep it fresh.

    Wrap the cake with plastic when cooled to room temperature. It's best to wrap the cake by itself and not on a plate or platter. Be sure the plastic seals on all sides.

    The cake can be kept in a dry place at a cool temperature for a few days.

    Pumpkin cake will also keep in the freezer for up to a month. Just allow ample time to thaw before using.

    Pro Tip: Factor in the fillings! Even if the cake itself can sit out at room temperature, you’ll need to refrigerate it if you ice with the cream cheese icing recipe.

    Because there is cream cheese in this icing, do not leave the cake out at room temperature. It will spoil. Instead, cover it and place in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

    You can freeze this cream cheese icing, but freezing cream icing does change the texture (and not for the better most times).*

    These instructions can be followed when making our Pumpkin Cupcakes as well!

    Pumpkin cake being sliced to show the multi-layered center

    6 MORE PUMPKIN RECIPES YOU’LL LOVE

    • Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
    • Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins
    • Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins
    • Spiced Pumpkin Muffins
    • Pumpkin Pie
    • Easy Apple Pumpkin Butter
    • An overhead look at a batch of Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies on a white surface.

      Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

    • A pumpkin cream cheese muffin on a wooden surface with other muffins behind it.

      Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins

    • A close up shot of Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins with the muffin liner peeled back on a cooling rack.

      Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

    • Easy Pumpkin Muffins

      Easy Pumpkin Muffin Recipe

    • Homemade Pumpkin Pie

      Pumpkin Pie | Recipe

    • Easy Apple Pumpkin Butter Recipe

    *Source

    “How to Store a Cake: Tips for Iced & Uniced Cakes.” Craftsy, 23 Dec. 2013, www.craftsy.com/post/how-to-store-a-cake/. Accessed 5 Nov. 2023.

    5 from 1 vote
    Pumpkin cake being sliced to show the multi-layered center
    Print
    Pumpkin Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
    Prep Time
    45 mins
    Cook Time
    35 mins
    Cooling Time
    1 hr
    Total Time
    2 hrs 20 mins
     

    Warm, spicy fall flavors combined with creamy indulgence - that's what you get with this easy Pumpkin Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting!

    Course: Dessert
    Cuisine: American
    Keyword: Pumpkin Cake
    Servings: 16
    Calories: 672 kcal
    Author: Kelly Anthony
    Ingredients
    FOR THE PUMPKIN CAKE:
    • 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
    • 2 teaspoons baking powder
    • ¾ teaspoon fine sea salt
    • 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
    • 2 teaspoons ground ginger
    • ½ teaspoon ground cloves
    • 4 room temperature large eggs, slightly beaten
    • 1 cup room temperature, unsalted butter
    • 2 cups granulated sugar
    • 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
    • 1 (15-ounce) can ( = to 1 ½ cups) pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
    • ½ cup sour cream, room temperature
    • 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
    FOR THE CREAM CHEESE FROSTING:
    • ⅔ cup room temperature, unsalted butter
    • 1 ¾ cup (14 ounces) block-style, softened cream cheese
    • 7 cups powdered sugar
    • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
    • ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
    • ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
    Instructions
    MAKE AND BAKE THE CAKE:
    1. Preheat the oven to 350°F and grease two 9-inch cake pans with butter or baking spray. Line the bottom of each cake pan with a parchment paper round and set aside until ready to use.

    2. Add the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves to a clean, medium-sized mixing bowl and whisk to combine. Set the dry mix aside.

    3. Add the eggs to a small bowl and use the tines of a fork to whisk and combine. Set aside until ready to use.

    4. Add the butter and granulated sugar to a large mixing bowl, and using a handheld mixer on medium-high speed, mix for 2 to 3 minutes. Once the mixture appears fluffy and visibly lightened in color, add in the eggs and vanilla mix until well combined.

    5. Next, add the pumpkin and sour cream and mix until combined. Do not worry if the mixture appears slightly curdled. This is from the pumpkin and is normal. Add the dry ingredients and mix with the mixer on low until just combined. Discard or save any leftover pumpkin for another use.

    6. Divide the batter amongst the two prepared cake pans and bake at 350°F for 15 minutes. Rotate the pans in the oven and bake for an additional 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out either clean or with a few crumbs clinging to it.

    7. Remove the pans from the oven and set aside on a cooling rack for about 20 minutes. Turn the cakes out on the rack and allow them to cool completely.

    MAKE THE CREAM CHEESE FROSTING:
    1. Add the butter and cream cheese to a clean, large mixing bowl, and mix on medium-high speed until well combined.

    2. Add the remaining frosting ingredients, and with the mixer on low, mix until mostly combined. Increase the speed to medium-high and mix for 2-to-3 minutes more, until completely smooth and fluffy.

    ICE THE CAKE:
    1. If necessary, use a serrated knife to trim the cooled cakes so they are flat. Add a dollop of icing to a cardboard cake round, serving plate, or cake stand. Place one of the cake rounds cut side up centered on top of the icing.

    2. Spoon or pipe about ¾ cup of the icing on top of the cake and use an offset icing spatula to smooth over the top. Place the second cake round, cut side down, on top of the icing.

    3. Use another cup or so of icing to add a thin layer of frosting on top of the cake and across the sides. This is called the crumb coating. Transfer the cake to the refrigerator until the crumb coating is set and slightly hardened, about 30-to-45 minutes.

    4. Use the remaining frosting to frost the top and sides of the cake and to add any decorative piping across the top. Serve and enjoy!

    Nutrition Facts
    Pumpkin Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
    Amount Per Serving
    Calories 672 Calories from Fat 279
    % Daily Value*
    Fat 31g48%
    Saturated Fat 18g113%
    Trans Fat 1g
    Polyunsaturated Fat 1g
    Monounsaturated Fat 8g
    Cholesterol 121mg40%
    Sodium 248mg11%
    Potassium 198mg6%
    Carbohydrates 97g32%
    Fiber 2g8%
    Sugar 79g88%
    Protein 6g12%
    Vitamin A 5167IU103%
    Vitamin C 1mg1%
    Calcium 83mg8%
    Iron 2mg11%
    * Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
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    I’m Kelly Anthony — a baker, home chef, and mom with a passion for food and an adoration for entertaining.

    Comfort food is my specialty, and it is truly my pleasure to share these recipes with you. If you’d like to get to know me a little better, click here.

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