This layered pumpkin spice cake is not only a show-stopper, it is super easy to make! Moist, delicious and bursting with pumpkin and pumpkin spice flavor!
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.
I used just about all the icing my recipe made on this cake. The icing recipe filled three 10-inch pastry bags + 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.
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 a fresh one! Moist cakes are crumbly, which is great for eating but not decorating. This cooling and storage method gives you the best of both worlds.
Next, stack them up. I like frosting, but not an excessive amount between cake layers. I used about one pastry bag full of frosting while building the layers up. And if your cake is a little lopsided like mine, just shore it on up with some extra frosting 🙂 .
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 – ha. 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. Now, the final frosting coat!
Ta-da! No more crumbs. But still not perfectly smooth because I just can’t change who I am. If you’re looking for perfect, you’ve got the wrong blog! I used another pastry bag of frosting for the final coat.
The cake is still slightly visible through my final layer at the bottom, but since I was edging {is that the proper term? I feel like that is only applicable in landscaping…} the pumpkin spice cake with pecans, I wasn’t worried about getting it covered.
See? Perfect. I just roughly chopped some pecans. I wanted them to be chunky but not huge.
The easiest way to apply an edge like this is to cup whatever you’re edging with in the palm of your hand and gently press it upwards onto the cake. Some will fall, but just go all the way around, add to the bare spots, and then gently remove the excess from the cake stand. A pastry brush works well for the removal process.
Up until this step, I just cut the end off of the pastry bag and didn’t worry about using an icing tip since I was just getting a good layer on the cake and then smoothing it with my offset spatula and a bench scraper.
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.
I also learned that you can cut a circle out of parchment for the bottom of your cake pan by folding it and making one cut. HOW DO I HAVE A MASTER’S DEGREE AND NOT KNOW THIS??? Additionally, how is it possible for me to not get it right the first time? I don’t want to talk about how much parchment paper I used figuring it out.
And yeah. I eventually had to watch a YouTube video.
You guys. I can’t even with myself sometimes. #soeducated
Anyways. I added these fun little swirls to the top. And they were really off center. HA. But it’s ok – I figured out how to do it better for next time! And the beauty of a good crumb coat + outer layer of frosting is it’s not a big deal to scrape it off and try again.
But as I mentioned before, I was not going for perfect. So they ended up a little lopsided still. Oh well.
Now, you could just stop here and have a perfectly beautiful and delicious cake. But when have I been known to “just stop there?”
I had some caramel sauce in my fridge just begging to be used on this cake. And the top looked lonely without any pecans.
So this happened. And, while optional, I highly recommend giving the caramel a try. Pumpkin + caramel is life changing.
So there you have it. Perfectly moist. Perfectly pumpkiny. Perfectly spicey. Perfect Pumpkin Spice Cake.
And no. That’s not an exaggeration.
Is it a problem that it’s only one week into September and I’ve already used 6 cans of pumpkin?
Never mind. Don’t answer that. I like living in ignorance and bliss.
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Layered Pumpkin Spice Cake
Ingredients
For the Cake
- 1 1/2 cups white sugar
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 15 ounces can pumpkin puree 1 can, NOT pumpkin pie filling
- 4 large eggs
- 1 1/2 teaspoons maple extract
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon cloves
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
For the Cream Cheese Buttercream
- 8 oz cream cheese softened, 1 package
- 1 cup butter softened, 2 sticks
- 1 1/2 teaspoons maple extract
- 2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
- 6 cups powdered sugar
- 2 tbsp 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, 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 1/3 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 1/2 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 says
Beautiful cake for any occasion!