Pumpkin Cake with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

This was originally posted in December of 2021.

I saw the best quote on Instagram recently. It read: “It’s almost time to switch from my everyday anxiety to my fancy Christmas anxiety”. It pretty much summed me up. This time of year is always a race to the finish line that leaves my tummy in knots. Add on this year’s constant chatter about supply chain delays, Christmas tree shortages and liquor stores asking you to buy early and you feel even more in competition with other holiday shoppers. So let’s all just decide to bake gifts instead. Doesn’t that sound like a far more stress-free idea?

This website isn’t short on baking ideas and a quick search of “baking” will yield you enough ideas to keep anyone on your list happy. My best advice is to pick one recipe and do it over and over and over. Since it’s inceptions, Sweet Potato Chronicles as put an emphasis on “simple” dishes. This translates to everything here being perfect for your wheelhouse, even if you are an experienced baker. This Pumpkin Cake is my latest addition to the baking search and it may easily be one of my favourites. I’ve always wanted a pumpkin flavoured confection, so I just used one of my tried and true recipes and tweaked it; adding fall/ winters most celebrated flavour. It’s moist, a little more dense then light and fluffy, and can easily hold a cup of chocolate chips too.

If you plan on using this cake for a gift, I’m sure it will rival any present you can (or can’t!) find. And, even better, it came from your own kitchen.

Pumpkin Cake with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

This ultra moist cake will satisfy all your desires for fall's most celebrated flavour of pumpkin as well as make an impressive addition to any holiday table. I dare you to resist the urge to eat the Cinnammon Cream Cheese frosting all by itself.

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Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Ingredients

  

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 2 eggs, room temperature
• 1 tsp real vanilla extract
• 1 cup pumpkin puree
• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• pinch ground cloves
• pinch ground ginger

For the frosting:

• 8 oz block cream cheese, softened to room temperature
• 1/2 cup 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
• 3 cups 3 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
• 2 tsps ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp real vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp salt

Instructions

 

• Preheat the oven to 375°F and grease a 9×9 inch square baking pan. Set aside.
• Whisk the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, nutmeg, cloves, ginger and salt in a large bowl. Set aside.
• In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment or using a hand mixer, cream the butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time. Add the vanilla extract and pumpkin puree and mix until all the pumpkin is combined evenly throughout the batter. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix until completely combined.
• Spread batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 45-50 minutes. Baking times vary, so keep an eye on yours. The cake is done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. If the top of the cake is browning too quickly in the oven, loosely cover it with aluminum foil.
• Remove the cake from the oven and set the pan on a wire rack. Allow to cool completely or place the cake in the refrigerator.

For the frosting:

• In a large bowl using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese and butter together on high speed until smooth and creamy.
• Add 3 cups confectioners’ sugar, ground cinnamon, vanilla extract and salt. Beat on low speed for 30 seconds, then switch to high speed and beat for 2 minutes.
• Spread the frosting on the cooled cake. Place the cake in the refrigerate for 30 minutes to set the frosting.

Keyword pumpkin cake, holiday baking, pumpkin, dessert, desserts, pumpkin, baking, cake