Description
This moist and flavorful pumpkin cake is enriched with fresh and canned pumpkin puree, spiced with cinnamon, and baked to perfection. It’s topped with a rich cream cheese frosting drizzled with maple syrup and sprinkled with pecans, making it an irresistible dessert perfect for fall or any special occasion.
Ingredients
Scale
For the Cake
- 1 2/3 cups fresh pumpkin puree
- 15 oz / 425g canned pure pumpkin (1 can)
- 4 large eggs (55-60g/2oz each), at room temperature
- 1 2/3 cups white sugar (or caster/superfine sugar)
- 1 cup vegetable or canola oil (or other neutral flavoured oil)
- 2 cups plain/all-purpose flour
- 4 tsp baking powder
- 2 tsp cinnamon powder
- 1 tsp cooking/kosher salt
For the Frosting
- 6 oz / 180g cream cheese (block, at room temperature)
- 1 cup / 225g unsalted butter, softened
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 4 cups soft icing sugar / powdered sugar, sifted
- 1/3 – 1/2 cup maple syrup
- 1/2 cup pecans, roughly chopped
Instructions
- Preheat Oven and Prepare Pan: Preheat your oven to 180°C/350°F (160°C fan-forced). Spray and line a large 9 x 13″ (23 x 33cm) pan with baking paper, ensuring it has an overhang for easy cake removal.
- Make the Batter: In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugar, oil, and both fresh and canned pumpkin puree until smooth and well combined. Add the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt, then mix well until the batter is uniform and smooth.
- Bake the Cake: Pour the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing the top evenly. Bake in the preheated oven for about 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, indicating the cake is baked through.
- Cool the Cake: Allow the cake to cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Then, use the overhanging baking paper to lift it out and set on a cooling rack to cool completely, which will take approximately 2 hours, before applying frosting.
- Prepare the Frosting and Decorate: Spread the cream cheese frosting evenly over the cooled cake. Using the back of a spoon, create swirly dents in the frosting. Drizzle maple syrup generously over these dents to create pools of syrup, then sprinkle roughly chopped pecans on top. Serve and enjoy!
Notes
- Watch the recipe video for step-by-step guidance to achieve the perfect fluffy pumpkin cake and maple cream cheese frosting.
- The recipe is forgiving and easy, perfect for bakers of all skill levels.
- Using pumpkin in the cake adds beautiful color, moisture, texture, and flavor.
- The frosting yield is generous; feel free to reduce the quantities if desired—some reduce it by half.
- Ensure all ingredients, especially eggs and cream cheese, are at room temperature for best mixing results.
- Use neutral-flavored oil like vegetable or canola to avoid overpowering the pumpkin flavor.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 116 g
- Calories: 431 kcal
- Sugar: 41 g
- Sodium: 348 mg
- Fat: 24.3 g
- Saturated Fat: 10.2 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 14.1 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 52.3 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 3.4 g
- Cholesterol: 67 mg
