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
May I ask why the eggs need to be room temp?
In most baking recipes, eggs should be at room temperature. The ingredients come together more readily and you will have more consistent results in baking.
Thank you 🙂 Do you have a secret of how to bring eggs to room temperature more quickly?
Yes! I put them in warm water (just warm, not hot), for 10-15 minutes and that does the trick. I lightly towel dry them before using 🙂
Turned out delicious! Thanks for the great recipe!
LOVE your recipes……….CANNOT get them to print :(:( does not stay in view long enough to print them…Anita
Hi Anita, can you tell me which print button are you pushing (the one towards at the top of the post or at the bottom of the post in the print friendly section?) Also, what browser are you using and what device (desktop, laptop, phone)? Thanks!
Take a picture
Delicious!!!! Second time making it in three weeks😉 First time made with your cream cheese frosting and we love the fluffy consistency and taste. I forgot to buy cream cheese this week so I’m going use a brown butter frosting. Fingers crossed that it turns out as good as the first time. Thank you Natasha for such a wonderful, easy, crowd pleasing cake.
That’s so great! I’m so happy you’re enjoying it so much 🙂
I made this in October for Canada’s Thanksgiving Day and it was a huge success, no left over! Thanks for sharing and posting all your fun :). The only modification is reducing the sugar both in the cake and frosting. We all “licked” our dessert plates:)
Nikky, thank you for such a nice review, I’m so glad you liked it 😬.
I made this last night & loved it! How long will it stay good for??
Hi Julia, you can cover and refrigerate for 5 to 7 days. It does keep very well in the fridge 🙂
I made this cake last week for Halloween.
I slightly adjusted the list of ingredients and added some carrots with “spice mix” spice (it mainly consists of ginger, nutmeg, cinnamon). It was a hit! We had guests over for that day and they went for the second round not even finishing the first!
I definitely will make this cake again – it is a very hearty and warm cake – that is what we miss here in London on a regular basis.
Thank you Natasha!
Thank you for your wonderful review! I’m so happy you enjoyed it 🙂
So easy and quick to make! And in our opinion – better than a pumpkin pie! Thank you so much for this recipe!
You are very welcome Vesi and thank you for such a nice review 😁.
Mine is in the oven now, I added streusel topping & going to skip the frosting because my family wants it for breakfast…. so I figured I’d make a coffee cake by adding streusel. Can’t wait to try. As far as the prep, it was super easy & fast, so far 5 stars…
I hope you love it! I’m curious to know how it works out with the streusel 🙂
Thank you for sharing this recipe. My grandson asked me today to make him a “pumpkin pie” cake for his birthday tomorrow! I have everything set out to make it first thing in the morning. I’m sure it will be a hit. I’ll be back to rate this and let you know what he says.
Your cake was a great success, my grandson said I must have magic because I turned a pumpkin pie into a cake! This is definitely a 5 star recipe.
I’m so happy to hear that!! Thank you for the wonderful review 🙂
I look forward to hearing from you!! 🙂 I hope you both love it!
Made if for the second time tonight!! First was the sheet cake and this time I made cupcakes for my baby shower tomorrow! Love how it’s not too sweet and the whipped cream cheese just adds the perfect flavor & sweetness! My in laws were fighting over the last piece!! Also, I subbed the olive oil for coconut oil (I saw someone’s comment above) and it turned out great! Super moist and fluffy 🙂
Hi Christina! How many cupcakes did the recipe make? Can you tell I want to try that next?! 🙂
this cake is super easy to make , it turned out so good, specially on a second day and cold …yummy , my daughter and husband were kind of fighting about last piece ( who was going to eat it for breakfast) what I like about this cake: its tasty, but doesn’t have very strong taste of pumpkin, it tastes like a good carrot cake. the cream goes very well with the cake, cake is so moist and soft. just perfect !!! going to make it more often now , thanks for the good recipe Natasha !
I’m so happy to hear that! Thank you for the wonderful review! 🙂
This recipe is to die for! First time making it andit came out to be super good!!! I am definitely doing it again!!!! Thank you Natasha!!!
I forgot to give this recipie a 5 star! So im doing it now!!
Thank you so much! 🙂
Oh awesome!! I’m so happy you loved it! 🙂
This cake looks delicious. I would like to add some walnuts and raisins. Also I will try doing cupcakes. And I love pumpkin seeds. Maybe stick some on top of the cake or muffins.
I think I will skip the frosting…less sugar .
And see the end results.
I hope it all sounds ok . …
Hi Farida, I hope you love it. I haven’t tested those modifications so I’d be curious to know how it turns out for you 🙂
Could I substitute coconut oil (non-flavored) for the regular oil in this recipe? I do not consume any of the processed, refined oils on the market, and my olive oil is way to expensive to put a cup of it in this cake. Coconut oil would be ideal. Thanks!
Hi Denise, to be honest, I haven’t tested it with unflavored coconut oil so I can’t say for sure how it would affect the recipe. I imagine it would work and if you test it out, please let me know how it works out. Others may have the same question. Thank you so much and I hope you love it!
Thank you!!! I am pregnant and was craving something, this was it! I might have it for breakfast😀
Let me know how it turns out 😀.
Hi, Natasha)
this past week my girl went to pumpkin patch with her class, where she got a cute little pumpkin. i promised that i will help her make your version of pumpkin cake. So, we made pumpkin puree following your instructions. Ended up having two 15 oz zip bags of puree. My daughter, who is 5, made it with my help. she decorated it with walnut pieces on top of cream) yum!yum!
mois, fluffy and just the right amount of pumpkin in the cake)
thanks for another no-fail recipe)
be blessed!
Awww!! That is the sweetest thing ever! 🙂
Natasha, I saw in another comment you made this cake into a roll. Do you some quick instructions on how to do that to share with me?? 🙂 I made this and brought half to work and it was an enormous hit! I’d like to try a fancier look. Thank you! You and your husband have a gift and we have always enjoyed every recipe we’ve tried- and we’ve tried a lot 🙂
Hi Marta! I’m so happy you liked it! It’s been awhile since I tried it that way and I even forgot that I had made it into a roll! I really need to do it again! It would be perfect timing. Thanks for the reminder! 🙂
I’m wondering why there is no salt in this recipe? I also would add more spices, clove and ginger…
Hi Ann, it isn’t necessary in this recipe but you are welcome to add salt or whatever spices you like 🙂
Hello,Natasha. Thank you for this recipe, I made it couple days ago and we liked it. God bless you Natasha. 🙂
Thank you! 🙂 I’m so happy you liked it 🙂
Just wondering if this cake will freeze well? Thank-you!!
Hi Mary-Kate! I haven’t tried freezing it so I can’t say for sure, but I think it would work to freeze it.
I froze the cakes I made and they thawed beautifully and tasted wonderful! I made homemade purée which kept the cake so light! The only critique I got from my husband and a few others was that the icing kind of undermined the deliciousness of the cake which they said was so good it didn’t need icing! I ended up using my extra icing on some drier/ denser zucchini bread. Anyway, thanks for an amazing recipe. I will definitely be using this one again!