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This Easy Pumpkin Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting is a lot easier than a pumpkin cake roll but tastes just like it! It's moist, full of pumpkin spice, topped with a dreamy cream cheese frosting and perfect for fall!

Easy Pumpkin Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 35 minutes
Total Time: 50 minutes
Servings: 12 +
Author: Malinda Linnebur
This Easy Pumpkin Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting is a lot easier than a pumpkin cake roll but tastes just like it! It's moist, full of pumpkin spice, topped with a dreamy cream cheese frosting and perfect for fall!
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Ingredients

Pumpkin Cake

  • 2 cups (250g) all purpose flour
  • cup (330g) sugar
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon, optional
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup (240ml) vegetable or canola oil
  • 1 (15 oz) (425g) can pumpkin puree (or 2 cups fresh pumpkin puree)
  • 4 eggs, beaten
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla

Cream Cheese Frosting

  • 1 (8 oz)(226g) package cream cheese, softened
  • ¼ cup (56g) butter, softened
  • 2 cups (200g) powdered sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • pinch of salt

Toppings

  • ½ cup (60g) chopped pecans
  • cinnamon for dusting, optional

Instructions

Pumpkin Cake

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C).  Lightly grease a 9x13 baking pan and set aside.
    In a large bowl combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon and salt.  Whisk well to incorporate.  Add in the oil, pumpkin puree, eggs, vanilla and mix until well combined.  Spread into prepared pan.  Bake for 25-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.  Cool completely before frosting. 

Cream Cheese Frosting

  • In a large bowl or the bowl of your stand mixer combine the cream cheese and butter until smooth.  Add the powdered sugar, vanilla and salt and beat for 2 minutes.  Spread over cooled cake and top with chopped pecans and cinnamon if desired. 

Notes

  1. Store leftover cake covered in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. 
  2.  You can use 2 cups of fresh pumpkin puree instead of canned.
  3. This cake can be made in advance!  You can bake the cake up to 2 days in advance.  Store covered tightly in the refrigerator and bring to room temperature before serving.  It's also good cold too. Or you can bake the cake and once it has cooled wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and freeze for up to 3 months.  Let thaw completely before frosting.
  4. If you would like to make a layered cake instead, bake the cake batter in two 9" round cake pans for 25-30 minutes.  Use 1/2 cup butter (instead of 1/4 cup) and 3 cups powdered sugar (instead of 2 cups) for the frosting.
  5. This can also be used to make cupcakes.  It will make about 26 cupcakes filling about 2/3 full.  Bake for about 18-20 min