Pumpkin Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
This warmly-spiced pumpkin cake has just the right level of sweetness and is so moist and fluffy! Homemade cream cheese frosting is the perfect icing on the cake!
Servings: 1 Cake
Calories: 630kcal
Equipment
Ingredients
Gluten-Free Pumpkin Cake:
- 1 cup avocado oil
- 4 large eggs at room temperature
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 (15-oz) can pumpkin puree
- 1 to 3 tsp fresh grated ginger optional
- 2 cups gluten-free all-purpose flour or regular all-purpose flour
- 1 cup brown sugar packed
- 2 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1.5 tsp pumpkin pie spice
- 1 tsp sea salt
Cream Cheese Frosting:
- 8 ounces cream cheese full-fat recommended, softened
- 9 Tbsp unsalted butter (1 stick + 1 Tbsp) softened to room temperature
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 1.5 tsp pure vanilla extract
- ½ tsp sea salt
Instructions
Prepare the Pumpkin Spice Cake:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and grease or spray a 9” x 13” baking dish with butter or cooking spray.
- Transfer the avocado oil, eggs, pure vanilla extract, pumpkin puree and fresh ginger (if adding) to a large bowl. Mix the wet ingredients by hand or use an electric hand mixer.
- In a separate bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, ground cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, and salt. Note: if your brown sugar is clumpy, mix it with the wet ingredients instead of the dry ingredients. If your brown sugar is fresh, however, it will mix easily with the dry ingredients.
- Pour the dry ingredients into the bowl with the wet ingredients and stir until everything is combined. Transfer the cake batter into the prepared baking dish and spread into an even layer.
- Bake on the center rack of the preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes, or until the cake tests clean. A great way of determining if a cake is cooked through is by taking its internal temperature using a digital thermometer. The ideal final temperature for cake is between 190 and 205 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Remove the cake from the oven and allow it to cool completely on a wire rack. To speed up the process, you can refrigerate the cake once the pan has cooled to room temperature or just above. Note that the cake must be thoroughly cooled before frosting it, or else the frosting will pull off the top layer of cake.
Prepare the Cream Cheese Frosting:
- While the cake is baking, prepare the cream cheese frosting. It can be made up to 4 days in advance and stored in the refrigerator.
- Beat the cream cheese and butter together in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or in a mixing bowl with an electric hand mixer. Mix until smooth and creamy.
- Add in the powdered sugar, vanilla extract and sea salt. To avoid the sugar from fluffing up, start with ⅓ to ½ of the confectioner's sugar, and beat on low speed then beat in the remaining sweetener. Switch to a medium high speed and eventually a high speed and beat for 1 to 2 minutes, or until everything is well incorporated and the frosting looks nice and fluffy. You can add ¼ to ½ cup of additional powdered sugar for a firmer frosting. Frost the cake with cream cheese frosting, then transfer it to the refrigerator to set up for at least 30 minutes. This allows the frosting to become firmer so that it is easier to slice into clean slices.
- Serve and enjoy!
Nutrition
Serving: 1slice (of 12) | Calories: 630kcal | Carbohydrates: 74g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 36g | Saturated Fat: 12g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 18g | Cholesterol: 111mg | Sodium: 430mg | Potassium: 242mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 52g