Pumpkin Cake Cream Cheese Frosting
This pumpkin cake is a real show-stopper! You won’t believe how easy it is to decorate with pretty color frosting and a few piping tips.
The combination of pumpkin and cream cheese frosting will have everyone wanting a second piece.
I keep it simple and keep the cake in the 13×9 pan I bake it in, but you can easily remove it and place it on a tray, and go ahead and decorate the sides or leave them naked if you prefer.
I chose some fun fall colors that remind me of all the things this time of year, orange, rust, brown, deep red, yellow, green, blue, and white like those cute Cinderella-style pumpkins. At a minimum, I’d use 3 colors, but the more the merrier I think, when it comes to this cake.
I’ve made other similar style cakes check out my pink cake, yellow lemon cake, and this patriotic cake.
This fall pumpkin cake is made with cream cheese frosting, it happen to be 107° that day and I was cooking items all day long and didn’t realize the kitchen wasn’t holding the coolest temperature and the frosting was a bit softer than usual, so the frosting appears softer than normal. I still thought the cake was so… super cute and I wasn’t sure if I was going to have time to remake it to get new photographs. Looking at it over and over I think I like the patchwork style and that the colors and textures blended a bit.
Make swirls and dollops, create… rose shapes, pumpkins, or any pattern to combine the colors and textures to make the cake extra pretty.
Frosting:
I made cream cheese frosting, and it went great on this pumpkin cake, buttercream frosting is another great option. I added some cinnamon to the frosting as it goes so well with the pumpkin cake.
- Piping tips: 2D tip, 857, 195, 4B If you don’t already have some this set of piping tips looks great.
- These Piping bags are great, economical, and easy to use.
- Food Coloring: Americolor food coloring, a thick concentrated gel color and I also use Master Chef Brand gel coloring. They are concentrated and you don’t need much to create vivid colors.
I prefer to double bag the frosting into piping bags, it make it easier if you want to change the piping tip, is less messy if you have to refill the piping bag. Purchasing piping bags in bulk is great for this.
Prepare the bake with a baking spray or use my homemade pan release so the cake will come out of the pan easily.
If you’re taking the cake on the go you could bake it in a disposable 13×9 foil pan.
I often share my baked good with friends or have some in the fridge for a neighbor or midnight snack. I package up slices in these to go containers and include a plastic fork so it’s ready to enjoy.
Store frosted cake in the fridge, be sure to cover any exposed “cut” edge of cake so it does not get dry or go stale, use slices of bread or plastic wrap secure with toothpicks here is an example.
More pumpkin recipes
- Pumpkin Scones
- Chocolate Pumpkin Cupcakes
- Pumpkin Pancakes
- 3 layer 6″ Pumpkin Cake
- Pumpkin Muffins
- Crispy Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
Pumpkin Cake Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 4 large eggs
- 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1 cup canned pumpkin puree
- 1/2 cup butter melted
- 1/4 cup oil avocado or vegetable oil
- 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°
- Prepare a 13×9 pan with baking spray or use my homemade pan release (recipe linked in post)
- In a large bowl whisk sugar and eggs.
- In the bowl of a mixer place flour, milk, pumpkin, butter, oil, baking powder, vanilla, and pumpkin pie spice until smooth.
- Pour into pan and bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Allow the cake to completely cool before frosting.
Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
- 4 oz butter room temperature
- 4 oz cream cheese room temperature
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
Instructions
- In the bowl of a mixer combine butter and cream cheese and mix until smooth and light in texture.
- Add in the powdered sugar, heavy cream, vanilla extract, and cinnamon and mix on medium until well combined.
- Separate the frosting into small bowls, the number of colors you'll be using.
- Add food coloring to each bowl until the desired color is achieved.
- Place each color of frosting into piping bags, then add piping tips to empty piping bags and slip the frosting bag into the bag with a piping tip.
- If the frosting has warmed up while mixing, place bags of frosting into the fridge for 5 minutes.
- Next, swirl and add dollops of each frosting varying the colors and textures until the cake is covered.
- Place the cake in the fridge to set the frosting until it's firm.
- Serve the cake at room temperature. Store the cake in the fridge. Cover the cut edges of the cake with bread, plastic wrap and secure it with toothpicks so the cake does not dry out.
OMG that is freaking beautiful.