This Easy Pumpkin Cake is our favorite, fluffy, moist, and absolutely delicious. It’s perfectly spiced with a tender, moist, and delicate crumb. The marshmallow-like whipped cream cheese frosting takes this pumpkin cake recipe over the top.
This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy.
Helpful Reader Review
“Very easy to make, cake was moist and delicious. I loved the cream cheese frosting because it wasn’t so sweet. Was loved by all the ladies at the luncheon.” – Mandy ★★★★★
Pumpkin Cake Video Tutorial
I’ll show you how easy it is to make the pumpkin cake and cream cheese frosting. If you aren’t a major pumpkin fan yet, you will be after trying this! We are quite smitten with this cake. It is on the regular rotation at our house in the Autumn. Plus, it’s not overly sweet, so there’s no avoiding that second helping ;).
Pumpkin Cake Recipe
This pumpkin sheet cake recipe was shared by one of my readers, Yulia. Thank you so much for sharing this treasure of a recipe with us! I now use the same base for my Pumpkin Bread Recipe, and some of our favorite recipes have been shared by our readers. I love it when you all write in and share your favorite recipes and tips. Those are my favorite kinds of emails! Thanks for thinking of me :).
The first time I made this, I invited all 4 of my sisters and their families over for dinner, and everyone really enjoyed it, especially the kids. I polled my sisters about whether they would be more likely to remake this as a fancy double-decker cake or this easy-peasy sheet cake, and the consensus was: keep it EASY. Like 4 steps easy, including frosting!
Ingredients for Easy Pumpkin Cake
- Pantry Staples – All-purpose flour (measured correctly), baking powder, baking soda (sifted to get rid of lumps), cinnamon and salt. You can add 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg and 1/4 tsp cloves for a more spiced flavor in the cake.
- Granulated sugar – Many of you have asked if it works to reduce the sugar, so I tested reducing it from 1 1/2 to 1 cup, and it still works, although it will be less sweet.
- Eggs – you can quickly bring these to room temperature by placing them in warm water for 10 minutes.
- Oil – use a neutral oil like extra light olive oil, vegetable or corn oil
- Pumpkin puree – use one 15 oz can homemade pumpkin puree.
Ingredients for Cream Cheese Frosting
My homemade cream cheese frosting is so versatile. It has a deeper flavor than buttercream and complements the pumpkin beautifully.
- Cream Cheese – 1, 8 oz package, at room temp, cut into quarters
- Unsalted butter – at room temperature. If you dice it up, it will soften faster.
- Powdered sugar – sweetens the frosting without being gritty.
- Real vanilla extract – I use homemade but storebought is fine
How to Make Easy Pumpkin Cake
Prep: Preheat oven to 350˚F. Using cooking spray or oil, grease a 9×13 non-stick baking pan or a Glass pyrex dish. Tip: If you’re serving it out of a metal pan, line it with parchment paper so you don’t scratch up your pan when serving.
- 1. In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients: 2 cups flour, 1 1/2 cups sugar, 1 tsp baking soda, 2 tsp baking powder, 2 tsp cinnamon and 1/2 tsp salt.
- In a second medium bowl, whisk together wet ingredients: 3 large eggs, 1 cup oil and 1 can pumpkin, until well combined.
- Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and whisk until smooth. Transfer to prepared baking dish and bake at 350˚F for 35-40 min (my oven took 35 mins), or until a toothpick poked in the center comes out clean. Let the cake cool completely in the pan.
How to Make Whipped Cream Cheese Frosting:
- Combine all of your frosting ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer and, using the whisk attachment, beat on medium speed until combined, then beat on high speed 2-3 min or until fluffy, scraping down the bowl as needed.
- Once the pumpkin cake has cooled to room temperature, spread the frosting over the top.
To make the cake more festive and fun for special occasions, I like to decorate with chopped nuts or sprinkles.
Make-Ahead and Storage
- Make-Ahead Cake: You can pre-bake the cake the day before, let it cool to room temperature, then cover and store at room temperature overnight, or refrigerate up to 2 days. You can also tightly wrap in plastic wrap and foil and freeze for up to 3 months.
- Make-Ahead Frosting: Cover and refrigerate up to 3 days. To use, let it sit at room temperature for about 1 hour or just until spreadable or pipeable.
- Storing the Assembled Cake: Once the cake is frosted, it will keep well, covered in the refrigerator, for up to 4 days.
For the past 10 years, this is the cake I make most often for Fall family gatherings because it’s so well-loved and comes together fast. This one’s a keeper and is a perfect go-to for Thanksgiving and the holidays.
Easy Pumpkin Cake
Ingredients
Ingredients for Pumpkin Cake:
- 2 cups all-purpose flour, *see note on measuring
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar, *
- 1 tsp baking soda, sifted to get rid of lumps
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 2 tsp cinnamon, *
- 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
- 3 large eggs, room temp
- 1 cup oil, extra light olive oil, vegetable or corn oil will work
- 15 oz pumpkin puree, can
Ingredients for Frosting:
- 8 oz cream cheese, room temp, cut into quarters
- 8 Tbsp unsalted butter butter, room temp
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- Pecans to decorate, optional
Instructions
How to Make Pumpkin Cake:
- Prep: Preheat oven to 350˚F. Grease a 9×13 non-stick baking pan or a Glass Pyrex dish.** In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients: 2 cups flour, 1 1/2 cups sugar, 1 tsp baking soda, 2 tsp baking powder, 2 tsp cinnamon and 1/2 tsp salt.
- In a second medium bowl, whisk together wet ingredients: 3 large eggs, 1 cup oil and 1 can pumpkin, until well combined.
- Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and whisk until smooth. Transfer to prepared baking dish and bake at 350˚F for 35-40 min (my oven took 35 min), or until a toothpick poked in the center comes out clean. Let cake cool completely in pan then spread the top with frosting (see below).
How to Make Whipped Cream Cheese Frosting:
- Combine all of your frosting ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer and using the whisk attachment, beat on medium speed until combined, then beat on high speed 2-3 min or until fluffy, scraping down the bowl as needed.
- Once the pumpkin cake has cooled to room temperature, spread the frosting over the top, then decorate with chopped nuts or sprinkles if desired.
Notes
*If you prefer a less sweet cake, you can use 1 cup of sugar, and the recipe will still work.
*Several of you have reported great results adding 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg and 1/4 tsp cloves for a more spiced flavor in the cake.
**If you’re serving it out of a metal pan, line it with parchment paper so you don’t scratch up your pan.
Nutrition Per Serving
Filed Under
More Dreamy Pumpkin Recipes
If you love cozy pumpkin recipes, you will find some new favorites in this list:
- Pumpkin Cupcakes
- Pull-Apart Pumpkin Bread
- Pumpkin Cheesecake
- Pumpkin Flax Granola
- Pumpkin Pancakes
- Creamy Pumpkin Soup
- Pumpkin Cake Roll
- Pumpkin Pie
- Fluffy Pumpkin Waffles
Natasha I can’t tell you how much my family enjoys the cake! This cake is perfect for any time of year especially in the fall!!! The store I went to did not have pumpkin purée so it took a while to find it at different stores, but that just proves how much I wanted to make the cake!!!!!! It is one of the best cakes and actually super simple. Thank you so much for sharing these recipes, I probably could not live with you and your channel!!lol
Hi Ruth, so great to read your comments and feedback. Thank you so much for sharing your experience making this cake with. I’m glad you enjoyed it and loved it!
Hi, I was wondering if this was able to be made into a round two layer cake? If so, what would u recommend in terms of baking times and temperature (convection oven) to ensure it stays super moist. I love all of your recipes and I’m so excited to try this one!
Hi Rebecca, I have not tried this as a layer cake so I can’t say for certain. I think you could make it work for a 2-layer 8 or 9″ cake and you may need to make some adjustments to the bake time since it will be 2 thinner layers.
Will do! I’ll try it out this weekend, thank you so so much!
Made this tonight for my family. It turned out amazing! Thank you so much! This has become an instant family fav
Aww! That is the best when the entire family loves what we mos make! That’s so great!
Made this recipe yesterday. Best pumpkin cake ever! I didn’t have powdered sugar, so I made your Swiss meringue buttercream frosting. It was the best.
Thank you so much for your great review, Carla!
Hi, if I don’t have pumpkin puree, can I just grate a pumpkin as alternative? Thank you!
Hi Charity, I haven’t really tried that yet to advise if it would give the same result. You might have to do an experiment on that one. If you give it a try, please share with us how it goes!
Hi Natasha!
I love all your recipes and really enjoy your humorous videos.
Q: Which oil do you use? You gave three different options. I want to make the cake the way you do.
Thank you!
I usually go for extra light olive oil
Hello,
You stated that you put in the notes what the name of the can opener was. However, I can not find it. Please can you tell me the name of the can opener
thank you b
Hi Crystal, here is the can opener we use and enjoy. It opens the lid without creating a sharp edge.
This cake is awesome. The last time i made this cake was at a memorial service and there were so many desserts there that I almost took the cake home but at the end of it all to my surprise the cake was almost gone. This recipe is AWESOME. Thanks Natasha
You’re welcome Michael! I’m so happy you enjoyed that!
Excellent recipes. First time I cooked a chicken in the Instant pot. Came out great. Took the juices the next day and made chicken and dumplings.
Oh that’s a great idea! Thank you so much for sharing that with me Linda!
Could I use pumpkin instead of pumpkin puree in some recipes that call for pumpkin puree
Hi Brenda, I’m not sure what you mean by “pumpkin” – is it a pumpkin pie filling? It really depends on the recipe. I have also made my own homemade pumpkin puree and that would work.
NICE I TRIED THIS RECIPIE ONCE AND MY OH MY WAS IT LIKE BEING IN HEAVEN FOR THE FIRST TIME KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK NATASHA
Love it! Thanks for sharing your experience with us and I hope you love every recipe that you try.
thanks
cant find the link for can opener
Hi Debra, here is the can opener we use and enjoy. It opens the lid without creating a sharp edge.
Love your videos and I enjoy making your recipes. I ordered your book to write your recipes in And I’m ready to start using it!
I’m curious do you have a printed cook book of your recipes?
Hello Barbara, I am currently writing a cookbook however it’s taking me slow to finish it but I’ll definitely share it with you all when it’s ready.
I have made this cake so many times that my upper management Nurses have begun requesting it for bake sales and personal use! Is there any way to make this cake Keto friendly and still be just as amazing? Would love to expand my coworker cake fans. Thanks
Sounds like you found a new favorite Tasha! I’m so glad you’re enjoying this recipe! I haven’t tried it with almond flour. But one of our readers did mention making this gluten and dairy-free and loved it! Unfortunately, they did not specify the exact type of flour used.
Insanely good, I am no cook and was was looking for a slightly healthier sponge for my kids. I even used wholemeal flour and it turned our so well!! Thank you so much.
You’re welcome! I’m so happy you enjoyed it Caroline!
Pumpkin cake isn’t that common here in Australia but it will be once people taste this. I doubled the recipe to feed a bunch of hungry nurses at work. Followed it otherwise exactly Except I used pumpkin from my garden and OMG perfect. It will be a favourite here. Thanks so much. Loved the frosting too, chopped walnuts and dried pumpkin seeds to sprinkle over the top.
That’s just awesome!! Thank you for sharing your wonderful review, Lee!
I just wanted to let you know what my nursing colleagues said about the pumpkin cake. They were RAVING about it, lots of OMGs and even a ‘phenomenal’!!!! My cakes usually get a positive response but this was far beyond the usual
Thank you!!!!
Wow thanks you so much for your great review. I am so glad to know that your colleagues loved what you made. Thanks for sharing and happy baking/cooking!
Made this last night. Nice and simple to make and tasted great. My batter was not as thin as yours, Natasha. I did cut the sugar to 1 cup, could that be the reason. But it still came out great and tasted good too.
I’m so glad that worked out for you! Thank you for sharing that with me.
Hi Can i replace sugar with honey? If yes how much?
Hi Mallika, I have not tried that substitution to advise. If you experiment please let me know how you like that.
Hi Natasha, loved this cake without the icing and cut the sugar in half (used brown sugar)… going to try it with carrots and butternut-squash later…
just wondering, can I add more baking powder instead of soda??
don’t like the soda taste..
Thank you so much for sharing that with me.
thanks for reply..
just wondering, can I add more baking powder instead of baking soda??
don’t like the baking soda taste..
Hi Leila, You might try adding more baking powder but without testing that myself, I can’t really recommend it. If you try it, keep in mind, baking soda is 3 to 4 times stronger than baking powder.
This cake is really good. However the frosting is lacking powdered sugar. I looked up a similar recipe for this frosting and it calls for 4 cups of powdered sugar not one. It was so bad that we had to scrape the frosting off before we could eat eat the cake. You might want to review this. My apologies if you intended it to taste like this.
Hi Judy, 1 cup of powdered sugar is correct which compliments the sweet cake well. We also don’t love overly sweet frostings. I wonder if maybe your ingredients were too warm for the frosting? If they are too warm, the frosting doesn’t whip up and hold the right consistency – it will get loose. We used the same frosting on our popular pumpkin cupcakes where we used 2 cups of powdered sugar for a slightly sweeter frosting, but I think 4 cups would be very very sweet.
This is my new favorite recipe for pumpkin bread and muffins. Thank you! All of your recipes are great!
I’m so glad to hear you’ve enjoyed this recipe, Amy! Thank you for that wonderful review!
My daughter and I made this delicious cake this evening! It’s melt in your mouth amazing!! The only alterations I made were substituting the sugar with Splenda and for the powdered sugar I substituted with a Splenda cornstarch mixture. Thank you for the delicious recipe, we will definitely be making this again!!! Looking forward to trying some of your other recipes!
I’m so glad to hear you enjoyed this! Thank you for sharing that with me!