This cake takes the best of both worlds in combining a deliciously soft and flavorful pumpkin cake recipe with a pumpkin pie filling right on top of the cake before being frosted with maple cream cheese frosting.
Jump to RecipeThis isn’t your ordinary cake recipe. Because in this recipe, I’ve taken the best pumpkin spice cake and combined it with a pumpkin pie filling layer on top. The cake layer is super moist, and the texture is super soft. The pumpkin pie layer is creamy, spicy, and completely reminiscent of Fall and Thanksgiving.
This is my favorite pumpkin cake recipe because it’s more than just cake. I only started liking pumpkin pie recently, but it's something about combining it with a cake layer and adding maple cream cheese frosting that takes it over the top for me and makes it completely delectable and irresistible.
This cake is so satisfying for when you’re in pumpkin mode and also have a sweet tooth. Its flavors are warming and will remind you of the holidays.
Needless to say, this delicious cake will be a big hit with a crowd. And luckily, there are 24 slices in the whole cake! It’s not small at all. It tastes like all your favorite fall flavors with cozy spices of cinnamon, nutmeg, pumpkin pie spice, and clove. Pairing perfectly with some coffee or apple cider.
Cake or pie
This extra layer of pumpkin pie adds a whole new dimension to the cake. I think sometimes a cake like this can lean on the side of dry and boring. Though the cake portion of this overall can stand on its own, the pie layer that’s swirled on top, just gives it something else.
It’s like a layer cake using the pumpkin pie as filling, but made right in a baking dish. It couldn’t be easier. What’s also cool about it is that the layers mostly stay separated while baking, while in other kinds of cakes, they merge or switch places even.
When to serve
This cake is a great addition to your Thanksgiving dessert table as it has all the favorite classic flavors. It’s a great twist on classic pumpkin pie if you need a changeup. You can also make this cake any time in the Fall, just make sure you have enough mouths to feed it to or plan to save it.
Things you’ll need before cooking:
Parchment paper – If you don’t want to use nonstick cooking spray on the bottom of your pan, I definitely recommend lining the bottom with some parchment paper, so the cake doesn’t stick.
Offset spatula – You can use this to spread the pie layer over the top of the cake and also to spread the frosting over the whole cake.
Baking dish – Use a deep 9x13 baking dish to bake this in. If you don’t want to bake in a baking dish, see variations below.
Stand mixer - If you have one, it could make things easier. You can make the whole cake by hand, but I highly recommend mixing the frosting with some kind of an electric mixer.
Whisk – To mix the dry ingredients together
Measuring Cups – For measuring both wet and dry ingredients
3 large bowls, 1 small bowl – or the stand mixer bowl
Room temp ingredients – Take your eggs, butter, and cream cheese out of the fridge about 30 minutes before you start cooking.
Time – This cake is completely worth it, but since everything is made from scratch, it does need about an hour of hands-on time.
Baking overview
Here’s a condensed version of how to make this beautiful cake.
- Simply start by taking a large bowl and combining the dry ingredients for the cake (see full directions below.
- Then, you’re going to whisk together the cup of vegetable oil, eggs, brown sugar, white sugar, pumpkin puree, and vanilla extract. You can also do this in the bowl of a stand mixer.
- Combine the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients well. Then take the cake batter and spread on the bottom of a baking dish using a rubber spatula.
- Make the pumpkin pie filling by first mixing together all of the spices in a small bowl.
- In a separate bowl, stir together the pumpkin puree, sugar, and eggs. Add in the spice mix and combine. Lastly, stir in the evaporated milk and combine well.
- Pour batter for the pumpkin pie filling on top of the cake and spread out with an offset spatula.
- Bake the cake at 350 F for 30-36 minutes or until a fork comes out of the center of the cake without crumbs.
- To make the frosting, make sure the butter and cream cheese are at room temperature first.
- Then, beat both in a mixing bowl with a paddle attachment or with an electric mixer on medium speed.
- Mix in the powdered sugar and maple syrup.
Variations
While this cake is made entirely from scratch, you can take a shortcut and instead use a boxed pumpkin cake or spice cake mix.
Other ways to make this same recipe:
- Though I haven’t tested this, you can improvise the recipe here to make a layer cake. Use the same cake batter recipe here, but instead bake the batter in two small 9” round cake pans. You can then bake the pumpkin pie filling separately also in a round pan. once both are finished, gently stack them on top of each other. Frost with the same frosting recipe, you might need to double the frosting.
- A simpler variation is to make this recipe as pumpkin cupcakes with pumpkin pie filling.
Other pumpkin desserts you might enjoy
Nutrition
A single serving of this cake has 351 calories, 5 grams protein, 42 grams carbs, 19 grams fat.
Storage
You will likely need to store this cake somehow since there are so many servings! You can either simply cover the top with tin foil and place it in the fridge, this method will last only about 3 days. You can transfer the cake to Tupperware, this will help it last a little longer. Or finally, you can wrap individual pieces and freeze them.
I recommend eating and serving this cake at room temperature.
AS ALWAYS, IF YOU MAKE THIS – PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT BELOW!
Pumpkin Spice Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
Pumpkin Cake
- 2 cups flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 ½ tsp cinnamon
- 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
- 1 cup oil
- 4 eggs
- 1 cup brown sugar
- ½ cup sugar
- 1 can pumpkin puree
- 1 ½ tsp vanilla
Pumpkin Pie Filling
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- 1 tsp ground cloves
- 2 cans pumpkin puree
- 1 ⅓ cup sugar
- 4 eggs
- 12 oz evaporated milk
Maple Cream Cheese Frosting
- 8 ounces cream cheese
- ½ cup unsalted butter two sticks
- 1 ½ - 2 cups powdered confectioners’ sugar your preference
- ⅛ tsp salt
- ¼ cup maple syrup
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 350° F. Prepare a large baking dish by either spraying the bottom with nonstick cooking spray or lining it with parchment paper.
To make the pumpkin cake
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In a large bowl, whisk all of your dry ingredients together for the cake - flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and pumpkin pie spice.
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In another large bowl (or in the bowl of your stand mixer), whisk together the oil, eggs, sugars, pumpkin puree, and vanilla extract.
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Slowly incorporate the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. When fully combined, you can pour it into the prepared baking dish and spread out evenly.
To make the pumpkin pie filling:
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First, in a small bowl, mix together your spices: salt, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves. Then in a large bowl, stir together the 2 cans of pumpkin puree, sugar, and eggs. Add in the spice mix and combine. Lastly, stir in the evaporated milk and combine well.
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Use a spoon or rubber spatula to then spread the pie filling over the top of the cake batter. Bake this all together for 30-36 minutes or until a fork comes out of the center without crumbs, depending on your oven.
To make the cream cheese frosting:
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In the stand mixer, beat the butter and cream cheese together with the paddle attachment until the lumps smooth out. Note: the closer your ingredients are to room temperature, the better they’ll incorporate.
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Then mix in the confectioner’s sugar, salt, and maple syrup and stir until smooth. Taste test before adding in more sugar to make it to your liking.
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Once the cake has cooled to room temperature, you can frost the cream cheese frosting all over using an offset spatula.
Recipe Notes
The cake layer of this cake is attributed to Sally's Bake Blog - Best Pumpkin Cake
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