This is the BEST, most perfect pumpkin cake!! It has layers of soft and moist spiced pumpkin cake stacked with layers of silky brown butter cream cheese frosting for PLENTY of warm and toasty flavor. To complete the package, it's decorated with the cutest little frosting pumpkins!
what makes this the best ever pumpkin cake?
- super easy to make: Whisk together dry ingredients - whisk together wet ingredients - combine. That's all you need to do to make the cake batter! You also don't need to bring any of the ingredients for the cake up to room temperature - so you can start working on it as soon as the craving hits!
- MOIST: This cake batter is made with just oil which makes for an extra tender and soft cake that lasts for days. Don't worry though - we're going to get plenty of richness and buttery goodness from the frosting! The pumpkin puree, brown sugar, and sour cream also help make this cake so unbelievably spongy.
- brown butter cream cheese frosting: This takes the cake to the next level. It really isn't your standard pumpkin cake. Brown butter makes the cream cheese frosting taste extra toasty and gives it a depth of flavor that pairs so perfectly with the oil cake! It also gives the frosting a beautiful light brown hue and you can see the little speckles of browned butter dispersed throughout.
- decorations: Tell me those little pumpkins aren't the cutest little things!! I go into more detail on the decorations below, but they really deserved their own shoutout here.
best pumpkin to use for cake
Unless your recipe says otherwise, the best pumpkin to use for baking is just 100% pure canned pumpkin puree. The puree should not have any additional ingredients aside from pumpkin. Pumpkin puree should not be confused with pumpkin pie filling, which contains added sugar and spices and can throw off the cake's flavor and sweetness!
For a fluffy and tender cake, avoid organic or homemade pumpkin purees - these typically have a softer consistency because they contain more water. The additional water can make cakes dense, tough, and goopy!
how to make perfect pumpkin cake
Make the pumpkin cake:
1. Whisk together dry ingredients in a bowl. Set aside.
2. Whisk together wet ingredients in a separate bowl.
3. Combine the wet and dry ingredients. Mix together until streak free.
4. Divide the batter between your cake pans and bake. Cool for a few minutes in the pan, then invert onto a wire rack and set aside to cool completely.
Make the frosting:
1. Start with browning the butter. While the cake cools, cook butter until it browns and then transfer into a bowl or cup. Cool for a little bit on your counter until it's no longer piping hot, then chill in the fridge for about 30 to 60 minutes or until it solidifies and becomes the consistency of softened butter. If you accidentally let it chill for too long and it becomes overly firm, let it sit out on your counter for a few minutes to resoften.
2. Whip together brown butter, cream cheese, salt, and vanilla until lump free.
3. Gradually mix in powdered sugar. As you add more of the sugar, the frosting will become creamier and silkier!
4. Frost and decorate the cake!
how to decorate pumpkin cake
I NEED to give a huge shoutout to the inspiration behind the ADORABLE pumpkin decorations on the outside of this cake!! I saw a Pinterest post by Baking Butterly Love last year with this same decorating idea and took a screenshot (only to lose the screenshot and forget the name of the person who posted it lol).
But I'm resourceful! And I found her tutorial for how to make the pumpkin buttercream decorations on YouTube - so now we have a dang adorable cake. She does an amazing job showing and explaining how to decorate the cake in detail, so I recommend checking her video out to guide you along if needed! But basically, here's the gist of it:
- Color the frosting: You'll need about 1 cup of frosting colored orange, and then 2 tablespoons of brown and 1 tablespoon green colored frosting. I always recommend using gel food coloring because you won't need a whole lot to achieve a rich color. Avoid liquid food coloring as it can make the frosting too runny.
- Fill piping bags: The brown and green frostings can just be dropped into a plain, tipless bag. Then snip a tiny hole from the top and those are all set. For the orange food coloring, I like to fit the bag with a large star tip, but you can also use an open star tip or basically any sort of tip that'll give you a similar lined pattern.
- Pipe: You can see photos for what I'm about to describe right below this text! Starting with the orange, position your piping tip on the bottom of the cake. Pipe a line going up the cake while curving slightly outwards to form a semi-oval. Repeat with another semi-oval but this time curving the opposite direction. So basically leaving you with an orange oval with a gap in the center. Pipe one line going up the center to cover the gap and complete the base of the pumpkin. Finally, use the brown frosting to pipe a little stem on top and then use the green to pipe leaves.
working with soft cream cheese frosting
Cream cheese frosting isn't as firm as buttercream, but that doesn't mean it can't still be used to pipe detailed and sharp designs (like the pumpkins on this cake)! If it's too soft, my favorite trick for making cream cheese frosting easier to work with is to simply pop it into the fridge for about 30 minutes. Once it's partially chilled, it should be firmer and easier to work with! If you find the frosting is softening as you decorate, just take a pause, and throw everything into the fridge to allow it to firm up enough to work with again.
check out these other recipes!
• Pumpkin Pie Cheesecake Bars
• Pumpkin Spice Latte Cupcakes
• Super Moist Pumpkin Bread
• Chewy Pumpkin Cookies
Lastly, if you made this or any of my recipes, be sure to leave a comment and review below! I love hearing your thoughts! Also tag me on Instagram @eatsdelightfulblog so I can see what you're making.
Print
Perfect Pumpkin Cake
- Total Time: 2 hours 30 minutes
- Yield: 8" layer cake
Description
This is the BEST, most perfect pumpkin cake!! It has layers of soft and moist spiced pumpkin cake stacked with layers of silky brown butter cream cheese frosting for PLENTY of warm and toasty flavor. To complete the package, it's decorated with the cutest little frosting pumpkins!
Ingredients
For the pumpkin cake:
- 3 cups (360g) all-purpose four, spooned and leveled
- 3 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
- 1 & ½ teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 (15 ounce) can pure pumpkin puree (about 1 & ¾ cups)*
- 1 cup (200g) dark brown sugar, packed
- ¾ cup (150g) granulated sugar
- 1 cup (240mL) vegetable oil, or any neutral flavored oil
- 4 large eggs
- ½ cup (120g) full-fat sour cream
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
For the brown butter cream cheese frosting:
- 1 cup (225g) unsalted butter
- 16 ounces (450g) block cream cheese**, at room temperature
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 6 cups (780g) powdered sugar
- orange, brown, and green gel food coloring (optional - for decorating)
Instructions
Make the pumpkin cake:
- Preheat your oven to 350F. Butter 3 (8 inch) round cake pans and line the bottoms with parchment paper rounds. Lightly dust the sides of the pans with flour and tap out any excess. Set aside.
- In a medium sized bowl, combine flour, pumpkin spice, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Whisk together and set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together pumpkin puree, brown and granulated sugars, oil, eggs, sour cream, and vanilla to combine.
- Add the dry ingredients and mix together until you no longer see any dry streaks of flour. Take care not to overmix! The batter will be lumpy.
- Divide the batter between your cake pans and spread into an even layer. Bake the cakes in the center of your preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean with a few moist crumbs.
- Let the cakes cool for about 10 minutes in the pans then flip onto a wire rack. Set aside to cool completely to room temperature before frosting.
Make the brown butter cream cheese frosting:
- Brown the butter: Add butter to a medium sized saucepan. Place on medium heat to melt the butter. Once melted, continue cooking the butter on medium heat, whisking constantly, until it starts to bubble, foam, and eventually darkens to a rich brown color. The whole process will take about 5 to 7 minutes. Immediately pour the butter into a heat safe bowl or measuring cup - leaving it in the hot pan will cause it to burn.
- Set the butter aside to cool slightly so it's no longer piping hot. Transfer to the fridge and chill the butter for about 30 to 60 minutes or until it solidifies and is the consistency of softened butter. The surface of the butter will set before the center, so take a spoon or spatula and mix the butter to make sure there aren't any pockets of melted butter. If you accidentally let it chill for too long and now it's too solid, set it out on your counter to soften up again.
- In a large bowl, combine the soft brown butter, cream cheese, salt, and vanilla. Use an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment to whip together until they're smooth and combined.
- Add about 1 cup of powdered sugar and mix on low speed until the sugar is dissolved. Continue adding in the powdered sugar 1 cup at a time, mixing after each addition, until all the sugar is added in and you have a smooth and silky frosting.
- If the frosting is too soft to work with, pop it into the fridge for about 30 to 60 minutes or until firm enough to use.
- If you want to decorate the cake with pumpkins on the outside, set aside about 1 cup + 3 tablespoons of frosting.
- Use the rest of the frosting to layer and frost the cooled cake. Lay 1 cake on your serving platter and spread on about 1 cup of frosting. Lay the second cake on top and spread another cup of frosting over it. Lay the last cake on top and frost the outside of the cake. If the frosting gets too soft to work with at any time, pop it into the fridge for a few minutes to firm it up.
- To the reserved frosting, color 1 cup orange, 2 tablespoons brown, and 1 tablespoon green. Use the orange to pipe the base of the pumpkin, brown for the stem, and green for the leaves (see post for photos + more detailed instructions).
- Keep the cake stored in the fridge until you're ready to slice and serve!
Notes
* Make sure you're using pure pumpkin puree (without any additional ingredients listed on the can) and NOT pumpkin pie filling (which can make the cake overly sweet and spicey!)
** Use cream cheese that's sold in bricks or blocks for the frosting. Avoid cream cheese spread, which is softer and will make the frosting difficult to work with.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Bake Time: 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 5 minutes
- Category: Cakes
Enjoy!
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