Pumpkin Spice Cake

This pumpkin spice cake is super moist, packed with real pumpkin flavor, and has that perfect balance of warm spices without tasting like a candle. The layers stay soft even after chilling, and the tangy cream cheese frosting keeps it from getting too sweet. If you have the time, my homemade pumpkin puree takes it from good to unforgettable.

Every year around fall, I get flooded with messages asking for the best pumpkin cake, pumpkin sheet cake, pumpkin bundt cake, and pumpkin cheesecake bars. But the only thing I ever crave is a really good pumpkin spice cake recipe that tastes like it came straight from a bakery.

I developed this one back when Avalon was tiny and obsessed with fresh pumpkin everything. It was the first time I realized you could get amazing results from pure pumpkin puree without needing tons of oil or sweetness to cover it up. And since then, this has become the base for all of my favorite pumpkin recipes.

Pumpkin Spice Cake Ingredients

This pumpkin spice cake uses common baking ingredients you probably already have around your house. The freshness of the spices makes the biggest difference in flavor; a jar of cinnamon that has been open for two years will produce a noticeably less fragrant result than a fresh one. I always recommend weighing your ingredients with a digital kitchen scale for the most accurate results.

• All-purpose flour. The structure of the cake. Always weigh your flour rather than measuring by volume so the batter stays balanced.
• Baking soda and baking powder. Pumpkin puree is heavy and full of moisture, so you need both leaveners to get proper lift.
• Cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and ginger. The spice blend is what makes this taste unmistakably like fall. You can swap all of them for pumpkin pie spice, a pre-mixed blend available at any grocery store.
• Salt. Goes in both the cake and the frosting. It sharpens the spices in the cake and keeps the frosting from tasting flat.
• Eggs, room temperature. They whip up nicely and help emulsify the batter. Room temperature eggs incorporate much more smoothly than cold ones.
• Granulated sugar and light brown sugar. They work together to keep the cake soft, and the brown sugar adds moisture plus a subtle molasses depth.
• Pumpkin puree. Canned works perfectly, or make your own homemade pumpkin puree. Do not grab pumpkin pie filling by mistake; it is already sweetened and spiced and will make the cake far too sweet.
• Vegetable oil. Keeps the crumb tender and moist even after the cake cools. You can swap for melted coconut oil or any neutral oil.
• Butter. Melted in the cake, softened in the frosting. In the cake it adds richness and flavor that oil alone cannot provide. For a deeper, nuttier version, try brown butter cream cheese frosting.
• Vanilla extract. Goes in both the cake and the frosting. Ties the spices together so the pumpkin flavor shines rather than getting lost in the spice blend.
• Buttermilk, room temperature. The secret to a beautifully soft, fluffy texture. If you don't have any, use my buttermilk substitute, or swap in yogurt or sour cream.
• Cream cheese, room temperature. Use full-fat for the richest, most stable frosting. Room temperature is non-negotiable; cold cream cheese will not beat smooth no matter how long you mix it.
• Powdered sugar, sifted. Sweetens and stiffens the frosting. Sifting prevents lumps.

Tips and Tricks

• For extra sturdy cake layers for carving or stacking, chill them on a wire rack before trimming, then freeze them before stacking for the cleanest cuts.
• If your pumpkin puree is watery, strain it through a fine-mesh sieve or cheesecloth, or use canned pumpkin for consistency.
• Leftover pumpkin puree freezes beautifully. Store it in an airtight container so you can use it later.

How to Make Pumpkin Spice Cake Step-By-Step

Preheat your oven to 350º F and prep three 8x2-inch cake pans with cake goop or your preferred pan release, then line the bottoms with parchment. Bring your eggs and buttermilk to room temperature before you start. Refer to the recipe card for exact amounts and timing, since this is the high-level version.

1. Whisk together all the dry ingredients. In a large bowl, add your flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, nutmeg, and salt and whisk together to combine. Set aside.

2. Beat the eggs, sugars, and vanilla until aerated and bubbly. In the bowl of your stand mixer, add your room-temperature eggs, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla. Mix on medium to medium-high with the paddle attachment for 1 minute. It should look aerated and bubbly. You can also do this with a hand mixer; just mix for longer and go by look instead of time.

3. Add the wet ingredients and mix until combined. Add in your pumpkin puree, oil, melted butter, and room-temperature buttermilk and mix until combined. Make sure you are using pumpkin puree and not pumpkin pie filling, which has added spices and flavors.

4. Add the flour mixture and mix on low until just incorporated. Slowly add in your flour mixture and mix on low until your dry ingredients are just incorporated and the batter is smooth. Stop the mixer the moment no streaks of dry ingredients remain, because over-mixing at this stage develops gluten and makes the cake dense.

5. Optional step: If adding mix-ins such as chopped pecans, walnuts, mini chocolate chips, or raisins, fold them in gently by hand at this stage with a rubber spatula. Do not return to the mixer.

6. Divide the batter evenly between your pans and bake. Pour batter into three 8x2-inch prepared cake pans and smooth out. Bake the cakes for 30 to 35 minutes or until the center of the cake bounces back when you touch it and a toothpick comes out clean. Cool the cakes for 10 minutes in the pan and turn out onto a wire rack to cool fully before frosting. Trim off the domes with a serrated knife once the cake layers are fully cool. You can wrap the cakes in plastic wrap and freeze to chill them faster.

PRO TIP: The cake is done when the toothpick has moist crumbs, not wet batter. If it comes out wet, give it another 3 to 5 minutes. If it comes out completely clean, you are on the edge of overbaking. Aim for a few moist crumbs.

7. Cream the softened cream cheese and butter until completely smooth. Cream the room-temperature cream cheese with the paddle attachment until smooth. Then add in your softened butter and continue creaming on low until fully incorporated and smooth.

8. Add the powdered sugar gradually, then finish with vanilla and salt. Slowly add in the powdered sugar one cup at a time, letting each cup fully incorporate before adding the next. Add in vanilla and salt. Mix on low for 5 to 6 minutes until silky. For a whiter frosting, add white food coloring. Store leftover frosting in the fridge for up to a week or freeze for up to 6 months.

PRO TIP: If the cream cheese frosting looks too soft to spread after mixing, refrigerate it for 15 to 20 minutes until it firms up slightly. Cream cheese frosting that is too warm will slide off the cake rather than staying in place. This is especially important in a warm kitchen.

9. Make the marzipan pumpkins (optional). Divide your marzipan into 5 to 7 sections and color with food coloring. Roll each piece into a ball, add lines with a modeling tool, form a small stem, and dust with edible food coloring dust for shading.
   

10. Stack the chilled cake layers with cream cheese frosting. Trim the domes off your cooled pumpkin layers. Fit a piping bag with a coupler so you can easily switch between a round piping tip and a leaf piping tip. Add a layer of cream cheese frosting between each cake layer with your offset spatula, aiming for about ¼-inch thick frosting per layer. Add your second layer of cake, add more frosting, and finish with the last layer of cake on top.
    

11. Apply the crumb coat and refrigerate until firm. Cover the whole cake in a thin layer of cream cheese frosting with your offset spatula. This crumb coat seals in the loose crumbs so your final layer of frosting stays clean. Place the cake into the fridge or freezer for about 20 minutes until the crumb coat is firm to the touch. Then apply your final layer of frosting, smooth the sides with a bench scraper, and clean the top with your offset spatula.

12. Pipe the wood grain texture, dollops, marzipan pumpkins, and leaf accents. Use your piping bag with the round tip to pipe a wood grain texture across the sides of the cake. Pipe a border of frosting dollops around the top edge of the cake. Add your marzipan pumpkins on top of the dollops and fill in any spaces with piped leaves using the leaf piping tip. Store your finished cake in the fridge until ready to serve.

Cake Batter And Frosting Calculator

This recipe makes enough batter and frosting for three 8-inch layers. Use the slider on the recipe card to scale the servings up or down, or use the calculator below to work out exactly how much batter and frosting you need for a different pan size.

Common Pumpkin Spice Cake Problems To Avoid

• The batter looks curdled. Your ingredients were too cold. It usually still bakes fine, but the texture won't be as smooth. Room temperature eggs and buttermilk next time.
• The layers domed a lot. Normal with this much leavening. Trim them flat with a serrated knife before stacking, and eat the domes warm. That's the baker's tax.
• The cake came out dense. Either the batter got over-mixed after the flour went in, or your pumpkin puree was watery and thinned it out. Strain watery puree through a fine mesh sieve before using.
• The frosting is too soft to spread. Your cream cheese or butter got too warm. Chill the frosting 15 to 20 minutes, re-mix briefly, and try again.
• The cake is dry. Almost always overbaked. Check your oven with an oven thermometer and pull the cakes the moment the toothpick shows moist crumbs.

Final Thoughts

This is my welcome-to-fall cake. It's the one I start craving the second the weather turns, and it's the recipe every other pumpkin bake on this site got built from. What I love most is how forgiving it is. The layers stay moist in the fridge for a solid week, so you can bake days ahead and it'll still taste like you pulled it out of the oven that morning. Just take it out two hours before you serve it. Cold cream cheese frosting is a much sadder experience, so don't skip that part.

More Fall Baking Recipes to Try