–Pin it For Later
This recipe has been in my family for years! We always called it “Pumpkin Squares” as my Mom would bake it in a 9″ x 13″ sheet pan, slather the top with cream cheese frosting, and cut into squares. So delicious! I like to bake it in three 8″ round cake pans so that I can layer in more cream cheese icing, but you can do whatever you like! It also works well for pumpkin cupcakes too.

Pumpkin Cake Recipe with Classic Cream Cheese Frosting
A simple, easy, and delicious pumpkin cake recipe to satisfy your Fall dessert cravings!
Equipment
- Stand or hand mixer
Ingredients
Cake
- 2 cups All-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon Baking soda
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 2 teaspoons Ground cinnamon
- 2 cups Granulated sugar
- 4 Eggs
- 2 cups Pumpkin puree (NOT pumpkin pie filling) canned or fresh
- 3/4 cup Canola oil
Frosting
- 1 lb Cream Cheese, softened
- 4 cups Powdered Sugar
- 1 cup Salted Butter, softened
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
Instructions
Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350° Fahrenheit
- Line the bottom of three 8" round cake pans with parchment or wax paper and spray the sides with cooking spray
- In a mixing bowl, combine flour, baking soda, salt & cinnamon and sift together
- In the bowl of your stand mixer (or other mixing bowl if you're using a hand mixer), combine sugar, eggs, pumpkin puree, and oil. Mix on medium speed with the paddle attachment until fully incorporated.
- On low speed, slowly add the dry ingredient mixture to the wet ingredients.
- Increase speed on stand mixer to medium high for 2 minutes
- Pour cake batter evenly into your three prepared cake pans and bake in the preheated oven for 30-35 minutes
- Remove cake from oven when it springs back lightly or when toothpick comes out clean
- Cool cakes in pans for 15 minutes before removing
- Remove cakes from pans, gently peel off parchment or wax paper, and wrap cakes tightly in plastic wrap and chill for 30 minutes before frosting
- Ice cakes with classic cream cheese icing and sprinkling the top with a cinnamon & sugar mixture
- Enjoy!
Frosting
- In a mixing bowl, use your stand mixer or hand mixer to cream together cream cheese and butter
- Gradually add powdered sugar and vanilla and mix on medium speed until fully incorporated and fluffy
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
You may also like this article: “What Kind of Frosting Should You Use?”
–Nicole
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