Description
This one-bowl pumpkin cake with cinnamon cream cheese frosting is the perfect fall dessert – moist, flavorful, and incredibly easy to make
Ingredients
For the Cake:
- 1 box (15.25 oz) spice cake mix – your shortcut to bakery-quality results
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice – because more spice is always nice!
- 15 oz can pure pumpkin purée (not pie filling!) – the star of our show
- 2 large eggs – room temperature works best
For the Frosting:
- 8 oz cream cheese, softened – leave it out for about 2 hours
- ½ stick (4 tablespoons) butter, softened – don’t skip the softening!
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract – pure vanilla makes all the difference
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon – for that warm, cozy flavor
- 3 cups powdered sugar – sifted if you want extra smoothness
For the Topping:
- 1 cup finely chopped walnuts (optional) – adds the perfect crunch
Instructions
Heat your oven to 350°F and spray your 9×13 pan. I always forget this step and end up with half-mixed batter sitting while I scramble around looking for cooking spray.
Dump the cake mix and pumpkin pie spice in your big bowl and stir them together. My kids always want to help with this part because it smells so good.
Crack in your eggs and add the whole can of pumpkin. Mix it with a big spoon until it’s all orange and smooth. Don’t worry about getting every single lump out – this isn’t fancy French pastry.
Pour it in your pan and stick it in the oven for about 25-28 minutes. You’ll know it’s done when a knife stuck in the middle comes out mostly clean. My oven runs hot so I usually check at 25 minutes.
Let it cool for at least an hour. I know this sucks but if you frost it too early, the frosting melts and looks terrible. Ask me how I know this.
Beat your soft cream cheese and butter with the vanilla and cinnamon for maybe thirty seconds. Then add the powdered sugar bit by bit. Here’s the secret my mom taught me – beat it for way longer than seems right, like 6-8 minutes. That’s what makes it fluffy instead of just sweet.
Spread the frosting on your cooled cake and dump the chopped walnuts on top if you’re using them. Done!
Notes
Beat that frosting for at least 6 minutes or it won’t get fluffy enough
Make sure you buy plain pumpkin puree, not the pie filling stuff
If your eggs are cold, stick them in warm water for a few minutes first
Don’t mix the cake batter too much or it gets tough
I never bother sifting the powdered sugar unless I’m feeling fancy
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 25-28 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 square (1/12 of cake)
- Calories: 285
- Sugar: 24g
- Sodium: 245mg
- Fat: 8g
- Saturated Fat: 4g
- Unsaturated Fat: 3g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 52g
- Fiber: 2g
- Protein: 3g
- Cholesterol: 45mg