Pumpkin Spice Cake
Serves 12
30 mins prep
25 mins cook
55 mins total
This pumpkin cake is soft, moist, flavorful, and topped with an ultra creamy, flavorful brown butter cream cheese frosting. The cake comes together in one bowl without an electric mixer. The frosting is ultra creamy, tangy, and has a nutty, caramel flavor. The perfect pumpkin cake for any fall or Thanksgiving party.
Cake
Frosting
Cake
Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Line a 9” by 12” or 9” by 13” pan with parchment paper. Leave parchment paper handles so that you can easily lift the cake out after baking.
In a large bowl, add melted butter, vegetable oil, and sugar. Whisk well to combine.
cup butter
cup vegetable oil
cup brown sugar
Add pumpkin puree, vanilla extract, and salt. Whisk until smooth.
cup pumpkin puree
tbsp pure vanilla extract
tsp sea salt
Add eggs and whisk until fully incorporated. Add sour cream and whisk.
large eggs
cup sour cream
Sift flour, baking soda, baking powder, and pumpkin spice right into the same bowl. Gently fold with a spatula or whisk until no more dry streaks remain.
cup flour
tsp baking soda
tbsp baking powder
tbsp pumpkin spice
Transfer batter into the prepared baking pan and smooth the top. Make the frosting while the cake bakes and cools.
Bake for 22-27 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cake comes out mostly clean with a few crumbs attached. Let the cake cool completely inside the cake pan.
Frosting
Make brown butter by melting the butter in a medium saucepan or pan on medium-low heat.
cup butter
Keep on heat, stirring constantly so that it doesn’t burn. It will start to foam and then the foam will go away and you will see it bubble. It’s ready when the specks at the bottom turn golden-brown and a foam starts to appear on the surface again.
Remove from heat and transfer to a heat safe bowl to cool to room temperature. Pop in the fridge to cool faster if needed. It’s cooled and ready when the butter becomes opaque and is thick and creamy.
Using a stand or electric mixer, beat cooled brown butter until creamy in a large bowl. Add about half of the powdered sugar in stages, beating until combined.
cup powdered sugar
Add vanilla and salt. Add softened cream cheese a few tablespoons at a time and beat until creamy. Add more powdered sugar until desired texture is achieved. Beat until creamy and fluffy.
tsp pure vanilla extract
tsp sea salt
oz cream cheese
Set aside about ¾ cup frosting in a small bowl and ¼ cup frosting in a separate bowl. Add orange food coloring to the bowl with more frosting and green into the bowl with less frosting.
Orange gel food colouring
Green gel food colouring
Transfer the orange and green frosting into separate piping bags (without piping tips) or into disposable plastic bags. Cut the end off both piping bags, making sure that it’s a small hole.
Lift the cooled cake out of the pan by the parchment paper handles and place onto a cutting board or serving plate.
Spread the white frosting on top of the cake, all the way to the edges. Smooth it out with an offset spatula.
To make the pumpkins, pipe a circle with orange frosting. Fill in the middle with lines like the segments of a pumpkin. Add two lines on the outside of the circle to widen it and make it look more like a pumpkin.
Pipe stems on top of the pumpkins with the green frosting. Pipe a vine on each stem.
Slice the cake and serve! Make sure to wipe the knife after every cut for clean slices. Store in the fridge and serve at room temperature.
