Pumpkin Sheet Cake Recipe with Cream Cheese Frosting

Easy pumpkin cake topped with cream cheese frosting on a white plate.

Pumpkin Sheet Cake Recipe with Cream Cheese Frosting

With warm fall spices and made into a simple sheet cake, this easy Pumpkin Cheet Cake recipe is the perfect dessert for a holiday gathering. With cream cheese frosting, this dessert is stress-free and requires no special baking skills. Amen!

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 30

Total Time 50

Servings servings

Calories 480kcal

Author Sharon Garofalow

Equipment

Whisk
Mixing bowl
Stand Mixer or Hand Mixer
Sheet pan

Ingredients

For the pumpkin cake

2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 cup sugar
pinch of salt
2 tsp pumpkin pie spice mix
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
3/4 cup oil
3 eggs
1 cup pumpkin puree
2 tsp vanilla extract
About 1 cup of cream cheese frosting

Cream Cheese Frosting

8 oz. cream cheese softened
3 TBSP butter
2 1/2 cups confectioners sugar
1 TBSP milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
pinch of cinnamon

Instructions

For the Pumpkin Cake

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Grease and flour a baking pan and set aside.
In a large bowl combine the flour with the baking powder, sugar, salt, pumpkin pie spice mix, cinnamon and nutmeg then set aside.
In a separate bowl whisk together the oil, eggs, pumpkin puree and vanilla extract.
Pour half the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and beat until incorporated.
Add the rest of the wet ingredients and beat with a hand mixer on high speed for 3 minutes.
Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan and put in the oven.
Bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown.
Remove from the oven and let it cool down completely before frosting.

For the Cream Cheese Frosting

In a large bowl, bowl beat all the ingredients together on medium speed until light and creamy.

Notes

Make sure you use plain canned pumpkin and not pumpkin pie filling.
If you don't love how the frosting looks, you can always sprinkle something on top to distract. Use sprinkles, extra cinnamon, etc. It's a trick I've used many times...
If you would rather use a basic vanilla buttercream, you absolutely can. This recipe is my FAVORITE!
Make sure you use pumpkin puree and not pumpkin pie filling. Pumpkin pie filling has spices included and we want to add them ourselves for a better flavor.
You can bake this cake into cupcakes or even round cakes but the baking time will differ.
You can make this cake ahead and freeze. Wrap the unfrosted cake in plastic wrap and freeze. To thaw, remove the plastic and thaw in the fridge in an air-tight container overnight. Then frost and serve.

Nutrition