Pumpkin Cake

This warm, comforting, perfectly-spiced cake topped with a sweet yet tangy caramel cream cheese frosting is pure heaven. Every bite of this Pumpkin Cake tastes like fall! This gorgeous cake makes an impressive finale for any elegant holiday meal.

Course Dessert/Snack

Cuisine American

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 35

Total Time 45

Servings

Calories 639kcal

Author Imma

Ingredients

The Cake

4 large eggs
⅓ cup (75g) sour cream
¾ cup (150g) granulated sugar
¾ cup (150g) light brown sugar, firmly packed
1 15-ounce can pumpkin puree
½ cup (113g) unsalted butter, melted
2 cups (240g) all-purpose flour
1½ teaspoon (6g) baking powder
1 teaspoon (6g) baking soda
3 teaspoons (6g) pumpkin pie spice (see notes)
1 teaspoon (5-6g) salt
1 teaspoon (5ml) vanilla extract

The Frosting

¼ cup (60g) unsalted butter
¾ cup (150g) brown sugar
2 tablespoons (30g) heavy cream
¼ teaspoon (1-2g) salt
8 ounces (113g) cream cheese, softened at room temperature
3½ cups (420g) powdered sugar
½ teaspoon (2-3ml) vanilla extract
⅓ cup (75g) unsalted butter, softened at room temperature

Instructions

The Cake

Preheat oven to 350℉ (180℃). Grease two round 9-inch cake pans.
In a medium bowl, mix eggs, sour cream, sugar, pumpkin, and butter.
In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice, and salt.
Stir the wet ingredients into the dry. Add vanilla extract and mix.
Divide the batter between two prepared cake pans and bake for about 35 minutes or until slightly brown, and set aside to cool. Then make the frosting while the cake cools.

The Frosting

Make the caramel by combining the butter, brown sugar, heavy cream, and salt in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring it to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and let it simmer for 3-4 minutes.
Pour the caramel into a mixing bowl and let it sit at room temperature for 10 minutes, so it can cool (it will thicken slightly). If the caramel gets too hard and is difficult to work with, add another tablespoon of heavy cream.
In a separate bowl, whip the cream cheese, powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and softened butter.
Fold the caramel sauce into the cream cheese mixture and stir until combined.
As soon as possible, before your frosting hardens, smooth a little over a quarter of the frosting over the first cooled pumpkin cake layer, top with the second cake layer, and finish frosting the cake. Decorate as desired.

Notes

Room temperature ingredients, especially the eggs, cream cheese, and butter, will make your cake lighter and your frosting creamier.
Pumpkin puree adds lots of moisture to a cake, which means it can be hard to tell when it's done. I suggest using a probe thermometer (the cake should reach 200°F or 93℃) or a skewer to test the thickest part of your cake.
Please keep in mind that nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary greatly based on the products used.

Nutrition