I love pumpkins! In my opinion, it’s one of the most underrated fruits! So when my neighbors asked me to provide some goodies for our community bake sale, it had to be pumpkin for a perfect fall treat. However, I needed something I could make a day ahead and was easy to transport. And I wanted it to be memorable! After a few experiments, my son and I came up with a dessert that delivers big on warm fall flavors with a tangy, creamy frosting that takes it over the top. The short ingredient list and the cake’s simplicity made it ideal for the bake sale. It was one of the first desserts to sell out, and the feedback was a huge YUM!
Recipe Ingredients
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
Tips and Tricks
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.
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
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
[adthrive-in-post-video-player video-id=”jGJoZC2G” upload-date=”2022-09-30T10:08:56.000Z” name=”PUMPKIN CAKE.mp4″ description=”Pumpkin Cake, a warm, comforting, perfectly-spiced cake topped with a sweet yet tangy caramel cream cheese frosting, is pure heaven.” player-type=”collapse” override-embed=”false”] This blog post was originally published in October 2019 and has been updated with additional tips, new photos, and a video.
Preheat oven to 350℉/177℃. Grease two round 9" cake pans.In a medium bowl, mix eggs, sour cream, sugar, pumpkin, and butter.In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice, and salt.Stir the wet ingredients into the dry. Add vanilla extract and mix.Divide the batter between two prepared cake pans and bake for about 35 minutes or until slightly brown, and set aside to cool.
