Moist Pumpkin Cake Recipe
Print Pin VideoThis super moist and easy pumpkin cake recipe is full of spiced pumpkin goodness, with a tender crumb that melts in your mouth. To make it even better, it’s topped with a cinnamon spiked cream cheese frosting that really takes this cake to another level!
IMPORTANT: For accuracy, I would recommend using the gram measurements provided, as those are the exact quantities I use. Cup measurements are given as estimates (based on US cup measurements) to make it easier for those who do not have a scale.
Ingredients
Pumpkin Cake
- 2¼ cups (270 g) flour - plain, all purpose flour
- ¼ cup (25 g) cornstarch - also known as cornflour in some countries
- 2 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- 2½ tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp ginger powder
- ½ tsp ground nutmeg
- ½ tsp allspice
- ¼ tsp ground cloves
- 1½ cups (300 g) white granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs - room temperature
- 1 cup (200 g) unflavoured vegetable oil - I use canola oil
- 1¼ cup (300 g) pumpkin puree - I use Libby's 100% canned pumpkin (see note 1 for fresh pumpkin option)
- ¼ cup (60 g) milk - full fat, room temperature
- 2 tsp vanilla essence/extract
- 1 tsp white vinegar
Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting
- ¾ cup (170 g) unsalted butter - room temperature
- 3¼ cups (400 g) icing sugar - also known as powdered/confectioners sugar
- 1 heaped cup (250 g) cream cheese - cold
- 1 tsp vanilla
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
For Decorating (OPTIONAL)
- ½ cup (50 g) walnuts or pecans
Instructions
Pumpkin Cake
- Preheat oven to 160 °C (320°F) with the fan on (see note 2 if you don't have a fan function) and grease and/or line two 8 inch cake tins (I use my homemade cake release).
- In a bowl, sift together your flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, allspice and cloves. Using a whisk or fork, mix until well combined. Set aside.
- In another bowl combine sugar, eggs, vegetable oil, pumpkin puree, milk, vanilla and vinegar. Using a clean whisk, mix untill well combined and the mixture is smooth.
- Pour your dry ingredients into your wet ingredients and gently fold together with a spatula until just combined. Do not overmix the batter (see note 3).
- Distribute the batter evenly into the two 8 inch cake tins, and bake for 28-30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Once baked, allow them to cool in the cake tins for about 15 minutes, and then turn them out onto a wire rack to completely cool before frosting.
Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting
- Cream butter for a few minutes until it's light and fluffy. Either use a hand mixer or stand mixer on a medium high speed. If using a stand mixer, use the paddle attachment.
- Add in the icing sugar in 3 batches while mixing on low. Ensure that each batch of icing sugar is mixed into the butter well before adding in the next batch.
- Next add in your cold cream cheese, vanilla and cinnamon. Mix just until the frosting is smooth. Avoid over-mixing (see note 4).
Assembly
- Once cakes are cooled, level the tops with a serrated knife so that the cake layers are flat.
- Place one cake layer onto your cake stand/serving platter and place a generous amount of frosting on top. Smooth it out with an offset spatula.
- Place your next cake layer on top and cover the top and sides with more frosting. You can use a cake scraper to smooth out the sides.
- I like to finish off with some piping on the top. I usually use a 1M star piping tip and pipe cupcake swirls around the top edges of the cake. I also place a walnut on the top of each swirl and sprinkle additional crushed walnuts around the top of the cake. Once done, slice and enjoy!
Video
Notes
Note 1. If using canned pumpkin, ensure that it's 100% pumpkin (do not use pumpkin pie filling). Although I would recommend using canned pumpkin, fresh pumpkin will work too. You just want to make sure there isn't too much liquid in your homemade pumpkin puree. Here is a great article for how to make homemade pumpkin puree: https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/pumpkin-puree
Note 2. In this recipe I use an oven with the fan function turned on. The fan forced function cooks cakes/cupcakes faster, so if your oven doesn't have a fan option, then you will need to increase the baking temperature to 175°C (347°F) so that the cake/cupcake bakes at the same rate as mine 🙂
Note 3. By gently folding in the ingredients, it prevents too much gluten from forming, thus giving us a softer cake. Only mix until the strands of flour have disappeared and the batter is uniform
Note 4. Only mix the frosting until it's smooth. Once it's smooth stop mixing as over-mixing can result in a less stable frosting. This is because of the liquid in the cream cheese breaking down the icing sugar.
Note 5. If you have pumpkin spice seasoning, you can use that in replacement of the spices in this recipe.
Nutrition
Calories: 6439kcal | Carbohydrates: 1062g | Protein: 95g | Fat: 400g | Saturated Fat: 136g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 142g | Monounsaturated Fat: 97g | Trans Fat: 8g | Cholesterol: 981mg | Sodium: 4560mg | Potassium: 2088mg | Fiber: 22g | Sugar: 347g | Vitamin A: 55925IU | Vitamin C: 14mg | Calcium: 1727mg | Iron: 24mg
Nutritional information are estimates only as they are automatically calculated by a third party application. Actual values may differ based on brands and types of products used.
Tried this recipe?I love hearing from you! Tag me @cakesbymk.nz on instagram so I can see your amazing creations :)