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
Can I use my kitchen aid stand mixer to whip ingredients?
Hi Melody! We find it’s easy to over-mix this batter if using a mixer. If you do, be very careful to just mix until combined.
Can I use butter instead of oil??
Hi Maria, We recommend sticking with oil in this recipe for the best texture – using butter would result in a more dry cake.
I’m curious if I’m going to make a three tiered cake using this recipe. Is it too moist for that? Obviously will be putting support rods. Or would you say your cupcake recipe is better for stacking?
Hi Mike, This should work great for a tiered cake. Let us know how it turns out!
Can I add chocolate chips to this
Hi Terri, Yes you can! We suggest between 1 and 1.5 cups of chocolate chips with no other changes to the recipe.
Thanks!! Your recipes are always the best!
OMG best pumpkin cake ever…thank you
Hi Sally,
I plan to make 3 cakes in total to drop off at my clinic sites, what adjustments would you make if I were to use a throw-away foil pan?
Hi Helen, you can adjust the baking time for smaller pans. We’re not sure of the exact baking time, as it will depend on the size, but it will be shorter. Keep a close eye on them and use a toothpick to test for doneness. Otherwise, no other adjustments are needed.
OMG this was the best pumpkin cake hands down..I made it during the week just craving something pumpkin, my niece came over and couldnt stay out of it…the cake was gone in two days..she had me make another to take in to work.l did use store icing but jazzed it up..overall amazing!!!
I can’t wait to make this recipe. Do you happen to know if it will work with 1 to 1 all purpose gluten free flour? Thank you.
Hi Bernadette, we haven’t tried it ourselves, so we’re unsure of the outcome using a 1:1 gluten-free flour. If you give us a try, we’d love to know how it goes!
this cake was really, REALLY good but mine just turned into… pie? the toothpick came out clean even tho it seemed super soft and i did a cream cheese frosting and it has the texture of pie.
How can I convert the baking time and temperature for 6in round pans? Thanks
Hi Tess, our pumpkin cupcakes recipe makes the perfect amount for a three layer 6 inch cake. You can use our 6 inch cakes post as a guide for baking times. Enjoy!
Looks like a great recipe! Do you find that the cake is as moist when baked in 2 layers rather than 1 layer? Thanks in advance!
Hi Laura, absolutely — equally as moist and delicious!
Made this cake followed the recipe exactly,baked for 30mins but was not real real moist ,where did I fail,should I have added the pumpkin spice to this , next time maybe bake for 28 mins.
Hi Mary! The most common culprit for dry cakes is simple over-baking. All ovens are different so make sure to check on your cake to ensure it isn’t baking too quickly. Also always be careful to spoon and level your flour when measuring to avoid packing too much in – this can also lead to a dry cake. Hope this helps!
Love your recipes! Can I use this cake recipe to make a 4 layer cake? Is it dense enough to hold up?
Hi Ella! This cake would work best as a two layer cake – see recipe note for details, we’re unsure about 4 layers but let us know if you try it!
Hello.. This recipe looks wonderful .. I see you made adjustment to make for cupcakes .. any way you could increase to make for 12×18 pan? I think the pan holds 16 cups of batter. Making for church event.
Hi Sarah! Here is everything you need to know about converting recipes to different Cake Pan Sizes. Hope it’s a hit!
Hi Sally,
I have several frozen bags of pumpkin purée in my freezer from last year. Will they still be good to use or should I use canned pumpkin purée?
Hi Nancy, Pumpkin puree is usually best in the freezer for up to 3 months. You may wish to start with a fresh can.
Hi Nancy,
I just used 5 year old pumpkin puree from my freezer and it was great! (One year I went a little pumpkin crazy…) I just make sure all the air is out the bag when freezing. It’s one of the few things that doesn’t seem to get freezer bunt for me.
I love this recipe so much, as do my coworkers and my boyfriend! This year I subbed out half of the allspice for 1/4 teaspoon of cardamom, it was subtle but delicious. I, also, made a brown butter butter cream (with a touch of cardamom as well) and toasted pistachios it was mind blowing!
The brown butter added a really nice contrast to the cake and took away the issue I have with most frostings being overly sweet. This cake remains my favorite cake to both eat and make 🙂
Having never made a cake from scratch before, I tried this one and it came out perfectly!
I am 5843ft above sea level, I did not change a thing and it was perfect.
My roommate who is extremely picky and brutally honest said this one was a huge win, and ate almost the whole thing over the past few days!
Can I use olive oil instead of canola?
Hi Mary, you can in a pinch, but since it’s not as neutral as canola oil it may leave a slightly different taste in the cake.
Thank You for this explanation
Can I make these into cupcakes? Thank you!
This pumpkin cake was excellent. Easy to make I followed the recipe exactly as written. My husband could not stop raving about it. Very moist and delicious.
Okay, so my crazy question. Can you make this without cinnamon and spices? I would love to use pumpkin to make the cake moist, but I don’t want a spice cake, I want a vanilla cake. Thoughts?
Hi Jenn, you can omit the spices if you’d like, but the cake will still have a prominent pumpkin flavor. For a moist vanilla cake, we’d recommend our best vanilla cake instead. Hope this helps!
Thank you for the quick reply! I actually like the sweet pumpkin flavor!
I love all your pumpkin recipes, but was curious if I can substitute coconut oil for the vegetable oil?
Hi Natasha, sure can! Melted coconut oil is a wonderful replacement for the vegetable oil here.
I recently made this cake and it turned out awesome! Everyone loved it. So easy and it looks lovely too. 🙂
This cake is super yummy. It is moist, tasty, and fairly easy to make. I made it recently and caught my husband in the kitchen eating it directly from the pan, after he’d scarfed down about a third of the entire cake. LOL
I made this for a small dinner party this weekend and it was a delicious hit! I used two round cake pans. 25 minutes in the oven was perfect. After frosting the cake, I decorated it with several marigolds and a squash flower from my garden. I find with cream cheese frosting the secret is to beat the heck out of it until it’s light and fluffy. I’ll definitely make this cake again!
Will canned pumpkin work verses canned pumpkin puree?
Hi Debbie, you’ll want canned pumpkin puree here that is 100% pumpkin. Pumpkin pie filling has other added ingredients that change the taste and texture of the mixture.
Can I use this recipe to make pumpkin donuts?
Hi Debbie, we have a great recipe for pumpkin donuts.
Thank you kindly. Can’t wait to try. My grandchildren love pumpkin donuts.
Hi, can you explain why there is so much leavening in the recipe? (Seems like a lot of baking soda?)
Absolutely! Pumpkin is a very heavy ingredient and this is a very thick batter. To lift the dense batter into a cake-like texture, you need enough leavening. I wouldn’t reduce the baking soda but if you’re concerned about the amount of leavener, feel free to slightly reduce the baking powder.
Such a great recipe. The cake came out so moist. I halved the recipe and I used an 8 in cake pan. My total cook time was 37 minutes. I also used my own pumpkin purée, and it was incredible.
Hi Yvonne, We are so glad you loved this!
Any change in the recipe for high altitude (4,500’)?
Cindy
Hi Cindy, We wish we could help, but we have no experience baking at high altitude. We know some readers have found this chart helpful: https://www.kingarthurflour.com/learn/high-altitude-baking.html
I followed it exactly other than cutting the sugar in the cake down by 1/3, I always do that, we are at 7800’ and it came out perfect. Literally everyone was asking for the recipe.