Easy Pumpkin Cake Recipe – Love and Lemons

My family can’t get enough of this easy pumpkin cake. Moist, warmly spiced, and topped with tangy cream cheese frosting, this is a delicious fall dessert!

This pumpkin cake recipe is my family’s new favorite fall dessert. I made this for my mom and my sister’s family when we all got together a few weeks ago, and it disappeared within minutes of me putting it on the table. The adults couldn’t stop raving about the moist texture and rich, spicy flavor of the pumpkin, and the kids couldn’t get enough of the tangy cream cheese frosting on top. I’ve already posted a few pumpkin baked goods this fall, but this one was such a hit that I had to share it too. 🙂

This pumpkin cake recipe is easy to make, so it’s an excellent everyday treat. But with cream cheese frosting, it’s also special enough for other fall occasions. This would be perfect for Halloween or even as an alternative to pie at Thanksgiving.

As written, this makes a thick, moist square cake, but I’ve included instructions in the recipe notes for turning it into a sheet cake for a crowd. Whichever version you try, I hope you love it as much as we do!

Pumpkin Cake Ingredients

Here’s what you’ll need to make this pumpkin spice cake:

• PumpkinOf course! I tested this recipe with different quantities of pumpkin puree. I wanted to maximize the moisture without weighing down the cake. I found that 1 1/4 cup made the best soft yet moist cake. Stir leftover pumpkin into overnight oats or use them to make pumpkin pancakes!
• All-purpose flour – Pour it and level it to avoid putting too much in your measuring cup.
• Baking powder, baking soda and eggs – They help the cake to expand during baking.
• Brown sugar and cane sugar – For sweetness.
• Vegetable oil – For moisture and richness.
• Milk – Any genre you like! Regular milk, almond milk, and oat milk would all work well here.
• Pumpkin Pie Spice and Vanilla Extract – For a warm, spicy depth of flavor. If you don’t have pumpkin pie spice on hand, you can substitute it with a blend of warm spices like cinnamon, ginger, and cloves.
• And sea salt – To bring out all the flavors!

Find the complete recipe with measurements below.

How to Make Pumpkin Cake

You can find the full recipe with measurements below, but for now, here’s a quick overview of how it’s done:

Start by preparing the dough. Mix the dry ingredients in one bowl and the wet ingredients in another. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until well combined. The dough will be thick.

Transfer the dough to a greased 9×9-inch baking dish. I also like to line the pan with parchment paper for easy removal!

Bake at 350°F until the top springs back when touched and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. 45 to 50 minutes.

Let the cake cool completely in the pan before slicing or frosting.

Frosting Options for Pumpkin Cake

To be honest, this pumpkin cake isn’t really need icing. My son Ollie loves it plain, which is pretty unusual for a kid obsessed with icing.

That said, it’s totally delicious with cream cheese frosting on top. For a square cake, you will only need half of my cream cheese frosting recipe. Prepare the full recipe if you are making the pumpkin sheet cake option in the recipe notes below.

For a simpler topping, drizzle the cake with vanilla frosting of my pumpkin baked oats.

More Pumpkin Recipes to Try

If you love this pumpkin spice cake, then try one of these delicious pumpkin recipes:

Pumpkin Cake

Preparation time: 15 minutes minutes

Cooking time: 45 minutes minutes

Total duration: 1 hour hour

Serves 9

My family loves this fall pumpkin cake recipe! It’s moist, tender and perfectly spiced. Enjoy it plain for an everyday treat, or add a tangy cream cheese frosting to top it.

Cooking methodStop your screen from going dark

• Preheat oven to 350°F and grease a 9 x 9 inch baking dish*. Line the bottom and two sides with a sheet of parchment paper, leaving a 1-inch overhang on the sides.

• In a large bowl, whisk together the pumpkin puree, eggs, brown sugar, cane sugar, vegetable oil, milk and vanilla extract.

• In a medium bowl, combine flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

• Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until well combined. Transfer the dough to the prepared pan and smooth the top.

• Bake for 45 to 50 minutes, or until the top springs back when touched and a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Place the mold on a rack to cool to room temperature.

• Once cool, top with cream cheese frosting, if desired. Slice and serve.

*You can easily adapt this recipe to make a pumpkin sheet cake in a 9 x 13 inch pan. Use a full (15 ounce) can of pumpkin and bake for 33 to 37 minutes. The cake will be thinner, but still delicious!