Layered Pumpkin Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting is not only a show-stopper, it is super easy to make! Moist, delicious and bursting with pumpkin and pumpkin spice flavor!
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You will love this layered Pumpkin Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
I am beyond excited to share this pumpkin spice cake with you all!! Not only is it a show-stopper, it is actually really easy to make and frost! I was sure to take step-by-step photos of the assembly and decoration process to show you just how simple it is. If I can make this layered pumpkin spice cake, you can too!
First, let's talk about this pumpkin spice cake recipe. It is moist and packed with pumpkin and pumpkin spice flavor. The cream cheese buttercream is also out of this world. I wanted it to lean more towards a buttercream but still have that cream cheese tang we all love with pumpkin.
Pumpkin Spice Layer Cake Ingredients
For the Cake
- Sugar
- Vegetable Oil
- Pumpkin Puree
- Eggs
- Maple extract
- Vanilla extract
- All-purpose flour
- Baking powder
- Baking soda
- Salt
- Cinnamon
- Cloves
- Nutmeg
For the Cream Cheese Buttercream
- Cream cheese
- Butter
- Maple extract
- Cinnamon
- Nutmeg
- Powdered sugar
- Cream or milk
How to make this Pumpkin Spice Cake Recipe
For the Cake
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Combine sugar, oil, pumpkin, eggs, and extracts. Mix well.
- Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices.
- Combine gradually with wet ingredients.
- Mix together until just combined, do not over mix.
- Divide the batter between two 8-inch or 9-inch round cake pans (see note) that have been greased and the bottom lined with parchment.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out with a few crumbs on it.
- After cakes have been removed from the oven, gently level them by pressing the tops lightly with a towel until level.
- Allow to cool completely. If possible, wrap and keep in the freezer for at least 1 hour.
For the Cream Cheese Buttercream
- Combine cream cheese, butter and maple extract.
- Whisk until smooth and combined, 1-2 minutes (I use a hand mixer, a kitchen-aid or by hand works too).
- Add spices and powdered sugar.
- Whisk until fluffy, adjusting the consistency with the cream 2-3 minutes. -- You may not need all of it so add it gradually, 1 teaspoon at a time.
- The consistency of the icing should be smooth but hold it’s shape.
- This recipe fills three 10-inch pastry bags (plus a bit extra) and that is enough to ice the cake as pictured.
For Assembly
- After cakes have been chilled, carefully cut each layer in half so that you have 4 full circle cake layers.
- This is easiest when the cake is on a flat surface and you have a very sharp knife. Cut into the cake about ⅓ of the way, and then gently rotate your knife around until you have cut completely through.
- Place one layer on your cake stand and spread about ½ of a cup of frosting out so it goes over the edge. Repeat with all of the cake layers.
- Spread a thin crumb coat over the whole cake.
- After your crumb coat is on, add a thicker final coat of frosting. Smooth this layer out.
- Decorate as desired. I did swirls on the top and pressed pecans onto the bottom layer of the cake. After that, I drizzled caramel sauce and more chopped pecans over the top.
I used just about all the icing my recipe made on this cake. The icing recipe filled three 10-inch pastry bags with a small bit left over.
I used 8-inch cake pans for this recipe because I wanted the cakes to be a bit thicker since I was going to be cutting the layers in half. You can use 9-inch pans as well, just make sure you're working with an extra chilled cake to make cutting the larger and thinner layers easier.
Assembling and Decorating your layered Pumpkin Cake
Pro-tip: To easily level cakes, gently press them level with a smooth towel after removing them from the oven. After your cakes are level and have cooled completely, brush them with simple syrup to keep them moist, wrap them in plastic wrap, and pop them in the freezer for at least 1 hour.
- Working with chilled cakes is SO much easier than fresh ones. Moist cakes are crumbly, which is great for eating but not decorating. This cooling and storage method gives you the best of both worlds.
- If you want a perfectly iced cake, next you'll do a crumb coat. This is exactly what it sounds like: a coat of frosting to catch all the crumbs! I do this layer as thin as possible.
- Don't confuse crumbs with the spices in the frosting. But you can see how there are a bunch of crumbs trapped in there! And the cake is still visible through the crumb coat layer.
- I don't worry about getting anything super smooth at this stage either. Pop the cake in the fridge for a about 15 minutes before applying the last and final coat.
But now for the greatest baking hack of all time! This tip is also from Amanda at I Am Baker. She has the best baking tips ever!!! She came up with this double bagging technique {link to her post for a much better tutorial} and it is, for real, the only reason I decided to start trying to ice cakes with pastry bags.
You simply fill your pastry bags with icing, stick your tip in an empty bag, cut off the end of the bag with icing and plop it in the bag with the tip. Do you know how easy this makes changing out frosting bags? Do you know how easy this makes cleaning up? Amanda is my hero.
You can also do a more rustic icing job, as I did here. I just smoothed all the icing out with an offset spatial and then created swoops and swirls with the back of a spoon. No crumb coat or chilling. Either method is great.
How to serve Pumpkin Spice Cake
Some great additional toppings for this cake are caramel and pecans, as pictured in this version. So there you have it. Perfectly moist. Perfectly pumpkiny. Perfectly spicey. Perfect Pumpkin Spice Cake.
Storing Pumpkin Spice Layer Cake
At Room Temperature:
Cover and store in a cool, dry place for up to 24 hours.
Refrigerated:
Cover and store for up to 5 days.
How long will pumpkin spice cake last?
Pumpkin spice cake will last in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Pumpkin Spice Cake Recipe FAQ
Not necessarily, but for it to last longer it is advised.
Ideally, yes. But it is safe to leave out for a short period of time.
Pumpkin cake is going to be slightly denser than a typical cake because the pumpkin is a wet ingredient. If your cake is too dense or dry, it has been over-mixed and over baked.
Pumpkin spice cake tastes like a pumpkin cookie with icing.
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Pumpkin Spice Cake
Equipment
Ingredients
For the Cake
- 1 ½ cups white sugar
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 15 ounces can pumpkin puree (1 can, NOT pumpkin pie filling)
- 4 large eggs
- 1 ½ teaspoons maple extract
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon cloves
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon allspice
For the Cream Cheese Buttercream
- 8 oz cream cheese (softened, 1 package)
- 1 cup butter (softened, 2 sticks)
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg
- 6 cups powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoon cream (or milk)
For Decoration
- Pecans (roughly chopped)
- Caramel sauce
Instructions
For the Cake
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Combine sugar, oil, pumpkin, eggs, and extracts. Mix well.
- Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices.
- Combine gradually with wet ingredients.
- Mix together until just combined, do not over mix.
- Divide the batter between two 8-inch or 9-inch round cake pans (see note) that have been greased and the bottom lined with parchment.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes for 9-inch pans, or until a toothpick comes out with a few crumbs on it. 30-35 minutes for 8-inch pans, or until a toothpick comes out with a few crumbs on it.
- After cakes have been removed from the oven, gently level them by pressing the tops lightly with a towel until level.
- Allow to cool completely. If possible, wrap and keep in the freezer for at least 1 hour.
For the Cream Cheese Buttercream
- Combine cream cheese, butter and maple extract.
- Whisk until smooth and combined, 1-2 minutes (I use a hand mixer, a kitchen-aid or by hand works too).
- Add spices and powdered sugar.
- Whisk until fluffy, adjusting the consistency with the cream 2-3 minutes. You may not need all of it so add it gradually, 1 teaspoon at a time.
- The consistency of the icing should be smooth but hold it's shape.
- This recipe fills three 10-inch pastry bags (plus a bit extra) and that is enough to ice the cake as pictured.
For Assembly
- After cakes have been chilled, carefully cut each layer in half so that you have 4 full circle cake layers.
- This is easiest when the cake is on a flat surface and you have a very sharp knife. Cut into the cake about ⅓ of the way, and then gently rotate your knife around until you have cut completely through.
- Place one layer on your cake stand and spread about ½ of a cup of frosting out so it goes over the edge. Repeat with all of the cake layers.
- Spread a thin crumb coat over the whole cake.
- After your crumb coat is on, add a thicker final coat of frosting. Smooth this layer out.
- Decorate as desired. I did swirls on the top and pressed pecans onto the bottom layer of the cake. After that, I drizzled caramel sauce and more chopped pecans over the top.
Alli
Beautiful cake for any occasion!