Pumpkin Cake with Dreamy Brown Sugar Frosting
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Welcome, dear reader, to our first annual Pumpkin Week! This week’s posts will feature pumpkin recipes. To the max. So sit back, relax, and think autumn-y thoughts. First up: Pumpkin Cake!
Have you ever read the blog Sophistimom? The author, Jaime is absolutely incredible. She’s a mother of three beautiful children and centers her blog around “Good Reading, Good Breeding, and Good Eating.” I want to be her when I grow up. I always look to her blog when I’m looking for something fancy and just to read her fun posts.
Well, folks, when I decided to do Pumpkin Week, I knew I had to finally make this cake recipe from her blog. And you’ll want to make it as soon as possible.
I must admit, when I saw the word “dreamy” I instantly fell in love. I use “dreamy” to describe Michael to other people, so it just seemed meant to be.
Dear reader, dreamy doesn’t even BEGIN to cover this frosting. I’m not usually much for frosting, but it was INCREDIBLE. It was EVERYTHING I could do not to eat taste after taste, so I’d be sure to have enough for the cake. The texture is light, airy, and fluffy. It’s, well…dreamy.
We loved it so much we’re absolutely positive that this cake is going to make repeat appearances at our house for years to come.
I am lame to the max sometimes, and I forgot to take pictures of the cake cutting and construction. Luckily, there are great pictures at Jaime’s original post here.
**A Few Notes on the Recipe**
- If you’d rather not make it into a layer-cake, are pressed for time, or need to feed a crowd, you can actually just frost the cake in the cookie sheet as pumpkin bars and serve it that way.
- If you make it into a layer cake, as I did, be sure to cut thin slices when serving. Three layers makes for a lot of cake per slice, and thin slices give you just the right amount per person.
- Be sure to store leftovers in the refrigerator, if possible.
Pumpkin Cake with Dreamy Brown Sugar Frosting
Ingredients
For the Cake:
- 1/2c canola oil
- 1/2c butter, melted
- 1 1/2c brown sugar
- 1 1/2c sugar
- 1 (15oz) can pumpkin puree (NOT pie filling)
- 2/3c sour cream (I used light)
- 1tsp vanilla
- 4 eggs
- 1 1/4tsp cinnamon
- 1/2tsp nutmeg
- 1/4tsp ground ginger
- 1/4tsp cardamom (optional)
- 1 1/2tsp salt
- 3 1/2c flour
- 1tsp baking soda
For Dreamy Brown Sugar Frosting:
- 1 (8oz) pkg. cream cheese
- 3/4c brown sugar
- 2tsp vanilla
- 2c heavy whipping cream
Instructions
For the cake:
- In a large bowl, whisk together oil, butter, and sugars (this should be like thick, wet sand). Stir in pumpkin puree, sour cream, and vanilla. Add eggs, one at a time, until well incorporated.
- In a medium bowl, sift cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cardamom, salt, flour, and baking soda. Add dry ingredients to wet/pumpkin mixture and stir until well combined.
- Prepare a standard cookie sheet (13″x18″) with nonstick spray. Cover with parchment paper (VERY important if making into a layer cake).
- Pour batter into cookie sheet and spread to make a smooth, even surface.
- Bake at 350 degrees 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool completely before cutting or frosting.
To convert into a layer cake:
- Cut a 1 1/2″ strip off of the entire border of the cake and remove (this will eliminate the rounded edges). Cut the remaining cake into three equal-sized pieces. Stack cake layers and frost as desired. Snack on any remaining edge pieces.
For frosting:
- While cream cheese is still in it’s package, use your hands to soften it until it is just pliable (you want it to stay cold). Unwrap and place in a large bowl with brown sugar and vanilla (you can also use a stand mixer). Use a hand mixer and beat cream cheese, brown sugar, and vanilla on medium speed until mixture has lightened in color somewhat and the sugar has dissolved. (When you rub a small amount between your fingers, you should not feel any sugar grains).
- When brown sugar/cream cheese mixture is smooth, add in about 1/2c cream and mix on medium speed until well incorporated. Add in a little more cream and repeat until all cream is incorporated. The texture should be light and feel like thick whipped cream.
- Use to frost pumpkin bars or layer cake.
Notes
*If you’d rather not make it into a layer-cake, are pressed for time, or need to feed a crowd, you can actually just frost the cake in the cookie sheet as pumpkin bars and serve it that way.
*If you make it into a layer cake, as I did, be sure to cut thin slices when serving. Three layers makes for a lot of cake per slice, and thin slices give you just the right amount per person.
*Be sure to store leftovers in the refrigerator, if possible.
I am going pumpkin crazy this year. Love this cake!
We are attending our first Harvest Festival party at our new ward next Saturday night. They have a ‘competition’ each year for both chili and desserts. This will certainly be my dessert entry. It sounds heavenly and even yes, ‘Dreamy’!
I am so making this. How could I deny myself and loved ones brown sugar frosting?!
this looks delicious! i love the idea of brown sugar frosting.
I made this the day after you posted it and everyone LOVED it! In fact, I’m making it right now for the second time by request. 🙂
Thanks for sharing! It’s incredible!
i made this cake on Saturday. AWESOME! it was fantastic and we all devoured it! ALL of your recipes have been devoured by all who have tried them… particulary the lemon cream cake!
THANKS! I hope you do another pumpkin week this year.
Sunny
I don’t have a pan that size. Could I make it as cupcakes or a 9×13 pan? By the way I made the cream biscuits last night and they were the best biscuits I’ve ever made!
Donna, I imagine you could put the batter into a 9×13 pan, but probably not with the intent to cut it into a layer cake later. You’d have to adjust the baking time (probably longer since the cake would be thicker), and you’d likely have lots of leftover icing, but I bet you could do it in a pinch. If you try it, I’d love to know how it turns out!
Emily, I made this with a 17×11 inch cookie sheet that I had and it worked perfect. We had it for my father-in-laws birthday dinner and everyone LOVED it. Thank you so much for posting these recipes. Everything I have made so far has been delicious!!
Donna – I’m so glad it turned out for you! I made it in a cookie sheet last night for Michael to take to work as pumpkin bars and it worked great for us too! Thank you for your sweet comments! It made my day.