This pumpkin cake is soft, extra moist, and full of pumpkin and a generous dose of spice flavor. Smooth, tangy cream cheese frosting is the perfect finishing touch. Bake the batter as an easy 9×13-inch sheet cake or divide it among round pans for a pumpkin layer cake.
I originally published this recipe in 2017 and have since updated it with new photos and additional success tips.
This is the pumpkin cake I come back to every fall. The batter is easy to mix, the cake stays wonderfully moist, and you can dress it up or keep it simple depending on the occasion. For an easy dessert to transport and serve, bake it in a 9×13-inch pan and spread the frosting right on top. For a birthday or holiday celebration, use the same batter to make a towering layer cake.
Always love options!
Either way, you get plenty of pumpkin, cinnamon, and brown sugar flavor in every bite. And while the cake is delicious on its own, I always look forward to the cream cheese frosting.
Pumpkin Cake Details
Here’s what to expect from today’s recipe.
- Flavor: Pumpkin, brown sugar, cinnamon, and pumpkin pie spice give this cake its familiar fall flavor. The cream cheese frosting balances the sweetness and complements the spices.
- Texture: This cake is soft and “stick-to-your-fork moist,” thanks to the pumpkin and oil in the batter. If you’ve made these pumpkin cupcakes, you can expect a similar texture… they’re essentially the same recipe with a smaller yield!
- Ease: You need just 2 mixing bowls to prepare the batter, and no mixer until it’s time to make the frosting. The sheet cake is especially simple because there’s no stacking or assembly. The layer cake takes a little more time to frost, but starts with the very same batter.
Key Ingredients You Need & Why
- Flour: All-purpose flour gives this moist cake enough structure without making the crumb heavy. Stick with all-purpose flour rather than swapping in cake flour; cake flour is simply too light to support the pumpkin and oil.
- Pumpkin: You’ll use an entire 15-ounce can of pumpkin puree, so there’s no partial can left over. Be sure to use pure pumpkin puree, not pumpkin pie filling, which already contains sugar and spices. You can use homemade puree, but I prefer the consistent flavor and texture of canned pumpkin in this cake.
- Cinnamon + pumpkin pie spice: A combination of both gives the cake plenty of spice flavor. Use store-bought or a homemade pumpkin pie spice blend, or substitute the individual spices listed in the recipe notes below.
- Oil + eggs: Oil keeps the crumb soft and moist, while eggs help give the cake structure. I use both in these pumpkin bars, too, but with fewer eggs for a less cakey texture.
- Brown sugar + granulated sugar: Both sweeten the cake, but most of the sugar is brown sugar for its light molasses flavor.
You’ll also need to grab baking soda, baking powder, salt, and vanilla.
Prep Your Cake Pans
For the quarter sheet cake, grease a 9×13-inch metal or glass baking pan. For the layer cake, grease three 8-inch round pans, line the bottoms with parchment paper rounds, then grease the parchment. You could also make this a 2-layer 9-inch cake. Lots of options for this versatile batter!
Whisk the dry ingredients in one bowl and the wet ingredients in another. Combine the two, mixing just until the batter comes together. Spread it into the 9×13-inch pan or divide it evenly among the round pans, then bake as directed below.
Here is the 3-layer cake version:
Let the cake cool completely before frosting. This is especially important with cream cheese frosting, which softens quickly on a warm cake. After frosting, a little time in the refrigerator helps the cake slice neatly.
Same Pumpkin Cake Batter, 2 Ways
One of my favorite things about this recipe is that you can choose the cake’s shape without changing the batter.
9×13-inch sheet cake: Bake the batter in one pan, let the cake cool, and spread the frosting on top. This is my go-to option for an easy fall dessert, potluck, or Thanksgiving gathering.
Layer cake: Divide the batter among three 8-inch round cake pans or two 9-inch round cake pans. Once the layers have cooled, stack them with cream cheese frosting between each layer, then frost the top and sides of the cake. If you need help with this part, see my post (with video tutorial!) on How to Assemble a Layer Cake.
A 2-layer and 3-layer cake require different frosting amounts, so see the recipe Notes below for details.
Cream Cheese Frosting & Decorating Options
Cream cheese frosting is my first choice for this cake, just as it is for carrot cake, hummingbird cake, and banana cake. It’s smooth and creamy, with just enough tang to balance the sweet, spiced cake.
If you’d like to try a different topping, here are a few options:
- Brown butter cream cheese frosting from spice cake
- Chocolate cream cheese frosting from zebra cake
- Classic vanilla buttercream or chocolate buttercream
- Brown sugar cinnamon buttercream from snickerdoodle cake
You can leave the frosted cake as is, or add little candy pumpkins or fall sprinkles before serving. I got the pictured candy pumpkins from Etsy, and on the layer cake, I added some Biscoff cookie crumbs around the base and on top.
Pumpkin Cake
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 4 hours (includes cooling)
- Yield: serves 12
- Category: Cake
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
This pumpkin cake is soft, extra moist, and full of pumpkin and a generous dose of spice flavor. Smooth, tangy cream cheese frosting is the perfect finishing touch. Bake the batter as an easy 9×13-inch sheet cake or divide it among round pans for a pumpkin layer cake.
Ingredients
- 2 cups (250g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons store-bought or homemade pumpkin pie spice*
- 1 cup (226g/240ml) vegetable oil (or avocado oil)
- 4 large eggs
- 1 cup (200g) packed light or dark brown sugar
- 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
- 1 (15-ounce/425g) can pumpkin puree*
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 8 ounces (226g) full-fat brick cream cheese, softened to room temperature
- 1/2 cup (8 Tbsp; 113g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 3 cups (360g) confectioners’ sugar, plus an extra 1/4 cup if needed
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C) and grease a metal or glass 9×13-inch baking pan. (For a layer cake, see instructions below.)
- Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and pumpkin pie spice together in a large bowl. Set aside.
- Whisk the oil, eggs, brown sugar, granulated sugar, pumpkin, and vanilla extract together until combined. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and use a mixer or whisk until completely combined. The batter will be thick.
- Spread batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 30-36 minutes. Baking times vary, so keep an eye on yours. The cake is done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. If you find the top or edges of the cake is/are browning too quickly in the oven, loosely cover the cake with aluminum foil.
- Remove the cake from the oven and set the entire pan on a wire rack. Allow to cool completely.
- Make the frosting: In a large bowl using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle or whisk attachment, beat the cream cheese and butter together on high speed until smooth and creamy. Add the confectioners’ sugar, vanilla, and salt. Beat on low speed for 30 seconds, then switch to high speed and beat for 2 minutes. If you want the frosting a little thicker, add the extra 1/4 cup of confectioners sugar. Spread the frosting on the cooled cake. Refrigerate for 30 minutes before serving to help set the frosting.
- Cover leftover cake tightly and store in the refrigerator for 5 days.
Notes
- Make Ahead Instructions: Prepare cake through step 5. After the cake cools, cover it tightly and refrigerate for up to 2 days or freeze up to 3 months. Bring to room temperature, make the frosting, frost, and serve. Frosted cake freezes well, up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator, bring to room temperature or serve cold.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): 9×13-inch Glass Baking Pan or Metal Baking Pan | Glass Mixing Bowls | Whisk | Cooling Rack | Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand)
- Cupcakes: This batter yields about 24-28 cupcakes. Same oven temperature, fill the cupcake wrappers 2/3 full, and bake 18-21 minutes or until baked through. For 1 dozen cupcakes, use my pumpkin cupcakes recipe.
- Bundt Cake: This batter will fit into a 9.5- or 10-inch Bundt pan. Same oven temperature. But for ease, I suggest using my pumpkin Bundt cake recipe. Same great flavor and texture as this cake!
- Layer Cake: You can make this as either a 2-layer or 3-layer cake. For a 2-layer cake, divide the batter evenly between two greased and lined 9-inch round pans and bake at 350°F (177°C) for 26–30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. For a 3-layer cake, divide the batter evenly among three 8-inch round pans and bake for 22–26 minutes. To make enough frosting for a 3-layer cake, scale the frosting above by 1.5x. So you’ll need 12 oz (340g) cream cheese, 3/4 cup (12 Tbsp; 170g) butter, 4 and 1/2 cups (540g) confectioners’ sugar, 1 and 1/2 tsp vanilla, and a scant 1/4 tsp salt. Before assembling the layer cake, refrigerate the prepared frosting for at least 30 minutes so it’s sturdier and can hold up the layers. I decorated the pictured layer cake with icing pumpkins and Biscoff cookie crumbs.
- Pumpkin Pie Spice: You can find pumpkin pie spice in the baking aisle of most grocery stores or make your own homemade pumpkin pie spice. If you don’t have either and want to use individual spices, use 1/2 teaspoon each: ground allspice, ground ginger, ground nutmeg, and ground cloves. This is in addition to the 1 and 1/2 teaspoons of cinnamon—you will still add that to the batter.
- Oil: Instead of 1 cup of oil, try 1/2 cup (90g) unsweetened applesauce and 1/2 cup (113g/120ml) oil. The cake is just as moist.
- Pumpkin: I strongly recommend using canned pumpkin puree over homemade in this recipe, though 2 cups of homemade would work just fine in a pinch. If using fresh, blot out as much excess moisture as you can using a clean towel. Overall, I found the flavor better with canned. I prefer Libby’s brand for this cake.
Reader Comments and Reviews
Hi Sally! What changes need to be made in order to make this pumpkin cake recipe as cake pops? I usually have trouble with cake to frosting ratio and would love your input to try to make these a success.
Hi Monica! You can cut this recipe in half and bake in one 9-inch round cake pan. Same oven temperature, bake for 25 minutes or until baked through.
You can read this post on Cake Pops for instructions on assembly, but since half of this pumpkin cake is smaller than the cake pop recipe you will need less frosting. Remember when making cake pops– you need less frosting than you think to get that cake pop consistency! Let us know if you try it!
Made this as a two layer cake and it came out perfect! Such a good cake!
Another great Sally recipe! And so easy. Tasted even better the next day.
Super yummy, just made it into cupcakes, baked for 18mins at 350.
Thanks Sally!
So this really *is* the best pumpkin cake I’ve ever had. Yum! I actually added 1tsp pumpkin pie spice to the frosting- it helped cut down on the sweetness, and enhanced the flavor.. Sooo good!
I would love to make this in a gluten free version for family – what would you suggest for the type of flour, and quantity?
Thank you!
Hi Christine, We do not have much experience using gluten free flour. Although some readers report using an all purpose 1:1 gluten free flour in many of our recipes with success, you should expect slightly different results.
Hi Sally and Trina,
I haven’t tried this recipe yet, but the insides of my cakes/ cupcakes normally turn out “stick on the fork” moist which I find a bit too mushy/ undercooked for my taste. Any advice for avoiding this without burning the top? Also, I don’t have pumpkin spice or ground ginger in my spice cabinet. Could I use minced (micro-planed) fresh ginger for this? If so, how much should I use? Thx!
Hi Jen, If you’d like to bake your cake for longer without burning the tops, you can simply loosely cover the top of your pan with aluminum foil toward the end of your bake time and bake until the center is baked all the way through. We haven’t tested this recipe with fresh ginger but the general rule is For every ¼ tsp. ground ginger, use 1 tsp. fresh grated ginger (ground ginger is stronger). Happy baking!
The best indeed! Will definitely make again!
Hi Sally,
I was going to have a *fall cake* competition this weekend with my friend Lauren, So I Wasser thinking about making this recipe!
Question: Just wanted to check, but I would have to double or triple this recipe for two six inch cakes, and one 9inch cake? And just a fun one, Have you ever heard of Rosanna Pansino
Thank you for creating quality easy find recipes for everyone!
Thanks, Ava
Hi Ava, This recipe is exactly enough batter for two 9-inch round cake pans. Same oven temperature, bake for 25 minutes or until baked through. This frosting is enough for a 2 layer cake. You could certainly make it again in three 6-inch pans, but we recommend making separate batches rather than doubling (or more) in order to prevent over mixing (which leads to a dense textured cake). Have fun!
I subbed 1/2 the oil for the applesauce. But I still found the cake way too heavy and flat. Not fluffy at all. It felt done when baking but upon eating the next day it had a layer of what looked undone or squished batter running along the bottom. Maybe something was off? Or needed more baking time? Frosting is yummy though.
Hi Sally! I was wondering what your thoughts were about turning the cream cheese frosting into a chai spice cream cheese frosting! Would that be weird? How much chai spice would you recommend? Thanks!
Hi Anna, that sounds incredible! You can add 1-2 tsp chai spice (to taste). Let us know how it goes!
Hello! I love your recipes! Can you recommend what changes you would make to make this vegan friendly?
Hi Sarah, we haven’t tested a vegan version of this cake, but if you give any substitutions a try, we’d love to know how it goes for you!
Can you layer this cake? I am making it for a birthday and I need 3 layers.
Hi Mia, absolutely! This batter will work in two 8 or 9-inch round cake pans. Same oven temperature, bake for 25 minutes or until baked through. If you wish to make three layers you can but they would be thinner layers and the bake time would be shorter.
Hi, Can you use Libbys canned pumpkin, or does it have to be pumpkin puree?
I always have a difficult time finding pumpkin puree.
Thanks
Hi Donnamarie, Libby’s canned pumpkin works great. Just make sure it is 100% pure pumpkin (pumpkin listed as the only ingredient) and not pumpkin pie filling (which contains other sugars and ingredients). Hope this helps!
Hi Sally, do you think half of the ingredients will work for 8 inches square baking pan?
Hi Irina! Yes, that should work for this recipe.
Should I double this recipe to make a 2 layer 10 inch cake?
Hi Mimi! Here is everything you need to know about converting recipes to different Cake Pan Sizes.
This cake was not for us. We felt it had to much of an oil flavor and was lacking something. The smell is really nice, it was super moist and fluffy. But over all definitely not for us.
Jessica,
I used extra light tasting olive oil and you couldn’t taste oil at all and it was super moist.
Hi dear Sally I want to try this delicious recipe but I can’t find canned pumpkin purée,
So if I want to use homemade pumpkin purée,first I should measure 2 cups and then blot out the extra water and moisture or first I should blot out the extra moisture and water and then measure 2 cups?
Hi Sara! We would measure before blotting. A can of pumpkin has about 1.8 cups of pumpkin, so squeezing out the extra moisture should get you to just about the right amount.
OMG I made this for my 10 year olds birthday!! I got three thumbs up! So delicious!
So glad it was a hit, Jen!
Do you think it would be OK to add chocolate chips to this recipe? If so, would any of the other ingredients have to change?
Hi Marie, Yes you can! We suggest between 1 and 1.5 cups of chocolate chips with no other changes to the recipe.
A question: why are both baking powder and soda called for? I don’t see anything in the ingredients list that is particularly acidic to activate the soda, but I’ve found that most pumpkin baking recipes call for both as well.
Hi Dana, brown sugar is our acidic ingredient here. Without baking soda, this pumpkin cake is quite flat. By trying to add more baking powder to make up for that loss of rise, the cake begins to have a bitter aftertaste. Stick with the baking soda/baking powder blend listed.
How sturdy is this cake? Would it work well for cake decorating? The cake will be small but coffee cup shaped so maybe 4 or 5 layers.
Hi Marissa, this cake works well as a layer cake. See recipe notes for a 2 layer cake, or, you could use smaller pans (filling them half way). Hope it’s a hit!
I made this yesterday. Wow. So delicious. A few changes: 1. I used 1/2 cup oil and 1/2 cup of apple butter instead of applesauce (yum!); 2. Reduced the amount of cinnamon to 1 tsp because of the apple butter; 3. Used four extra-large eggs because that’s what I had; and 5. Topped it with a maple frosting. I have to say that today it’s even better than it was yesterday. Incredibly moist, so fluffy – really a delight. The maple frosting I used was reminiscent of a salted caramel and was almost like a glaze. The cake was really tall, I think from the extra-large eggs. I’m so glad I used the apple butter. Definitely make this cake!
This pumpkin cake recipe is the best….made this cake for my niece’s 16th birthday (loves pumpkin)…everyone loved it…substituted 1/2 cup applesauce for 1/2 cup oil and it worked great…cake was so moist….thank you for wonderful recipe…
This is my second weekend making this cake. It was such a hit with my family that they all requested it again. Great recipe!! This one is a keeper for sure.
Wow! I made this for a small get together and everyone loved it – kids and adults. Super moist, perfect ratio of frosting to cake, wonderful amount of pumpkin spice. Sally you never let me down!
Hi Sally,
At times, I’ve come across a grainy/crunchy sandlike texture in pumpkin recipes (mainly, just recently in your pumpkin bread recipe, which is DIVINE). I just can’t figure out why. I sift my flour, and both sugars are fresh; I thought perhaps it was that the sugar just wasn’t dissolved enough, but I’m certain that isn’t the issue , as it’s thoroughly incorporated into the wet ingredients.
I recently heard that Libby’s pumpkin purée has left baked goods with a grainy/sandy texture. Have you come across this? Could it be that, or something else that I’m just not thinking of?
Thanks for any help you can provide!
Hi Julian! We’ve heard that from other readers, though we haven’t experienced it ourselves. So strange!
Julian – I’m wondering if you, by chance, use Trader Joe’s sugar? I ask because it tends to stay a little crunchy in the recipe. I don’t notice it so much in the cake, but in the frosting.
Hi Sally, my mom is allergic to apples. What would be a good replacement? More pumpkin?
My daughter is gluten free and I was going to use the King Arthur 1:1 flour substitute. Do you think it will taste the same?
Hi,
You suggest using the Bundt recipe for a bundt pan, the recipe is slightly different. What is the difference in the cakes? I just want a “prettier” cake with cream cheese frosting.
Hi Alanna, the Bundt cake recipe has the same great taste and texture and the ingredients are very similar, just scaled slightly differently to better fit the Bundt pan. You can use the Bundt recipe and top with the cream cheese frosting from here. Hope you enjoy it!
Thank you!!
Hi, love this recipe, love all your recipes! Your website is my go to baking site and your recipes never fail. I have made this before and love it. A friend wants me to make her a large 12″ cake. I am curious how to go about it though, any tips? I’d like to use my spring form pan for this and was thinking of just doubling the recipe to do so. What do you think? Thanks!
Hi Devan, our cake pan sizes and conversions guide will be helpful for scaling this recipe. For best taste and texture, we always recommend making separate batches rather than doubling for larger yields. Hope this helps!
Would you be able to substitute 1/2 cup butter for 1/2 cup of the oil?
Hi Pat! We recommend sticking with oil in this recipe for the best texture – using butter would result in a more dry cake.