This pumpkin sheet cake is EVERYTHING you want in a pumpkin cake, but in a quick to bake and easy to decorate kind of way. It’s extra moist and perfectly spiced, has amazing pumpkin flavor, and is so quick to throw together in your favorite baking dish. I topped it with silky, irresistible cream cheese frosting for (arguably) the most classic Fall cake flavor combination of all!
Pumpkin Sheet Cake Ingredients
This pumpkin sheet cake is based on my favorite pumpkin cupcake recipe and uses simple ingredients you should be able to find locally. Here are the key ingredients and suggestions for substitutions should you need them:
- All-purpose flour. Also known as plain flour, all-purpose flour gives this sheet cake the perfect structure.
- Baking soda + baking powder. The leavening agents used to help this sheet cake rise in the baking process.
- Spices. The warming spices really enhance the pumpkin flavor in this sheet cake! I use cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and ginger here, but you can feel free to experiment with other warming spices or use 4 teaspoons of pumpkin pie spice as a substitute for the four spices listed in this recipe.
- Vegetable oil. The oil in this recipe makes this sheet cake super moist. I use plain vegetable oil but any oil that you prefer for baking (canola, avocado, etc) will work just fine.
- Brown sugar + granulated sugar. Both of these sugars help sweeten the sheet cake and soften the crumb, but the brown sugar adds extra moisture.
- Pumpkin puree. The star of the show. Canned pumpkin puree is what gives this cake its pumpkin flavor. Be sure to use 100% pumpkin puree, not pumpkin pie mix.
- Eggs. A few large eggs bind all of the ingredients together and provide plenty of structure in the baking process. I haven’t yet tested an egg-free pumpkin cake recipe but if I find a good substitute for the eggs in this recipe I’ll report back.
- Pure vanilla extract. A little vanilla rounds out the flavors beautifully.
How to Make a Pumpkin Sheet Cake
This pumpkin sheet could not be easier to whip up. You’ll need two bowls (one medium and one large) and a whisk. The cream cheese buttercream does require a hand mixer or stand mixer, but I promise it’s easy too. Here’s how to make this pumpkin sheet cake from start to finish:
Step 1. Preheat the oven to 325ºF (163ºC), then grease and line a 9×13 baking pan. I recommend using a metal pan here, but you can also use a glass or ceramic baking dish.
Step 2. Whisk together the dry ingredients in a medium bowl: the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and spices. Then whisk together the rest of the ingredients in a large bowl: the sugars, vegetable oil, pumpkin puree, eggs, and vanilla extract.
Step 3. Whisk the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until the batter is smooth.
Step 4. Pour the batter into your prepared baking pan and bake for 30-35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs. Note that if you’re using a glass or ceramic baking dish, the baking time might be up to 15 minutes longer due to those materials being less heat conductive.
Step 5. When the pumpkin sheet cake is cooled completely, make the cream cheese frosting and frost the cake. To create the look pictured, frost a rustic buttercream finish on the surface of the cake using a small icing spatula. Then, decorate two of the opposite corners with piped pumpkins.
For the piped pumpkins, I divided the remaining cream cheese frosting into four separate bowls. I kept one uncolored for the white pumpkins, but tinted the other three bowls orange, dusty blue, and brown (for the pumpkin stems). I used Wilton Tip 6B with the orange frosting to create the larger pumpkins, then Wilton Tip 4B with the dusty blue and white frostings for medium and small pumpkins. Finally, I piped a dot on top of each pumpkin with the brown frosting and Wilton Tip 3.
Tips for the Perfect Cream Cheese Frosting
Cream cheese frosting is notoriously soft and can be frustrating to work with if you don’t know how to troubleshoot. Here are my best tips for making it the perfect consistency for frosting and decorating this cake:
- Use full-fat brick style cream cheese. I use Philadelphia brand, but any brick-style cream cheese that is full fat will do. Other kinds of cream cheese (low fat or the spreadable kind in the tub) contain too much water content and will always result in a soupy frosting that’s too thin for filling and frosting a cake. If you don’t have access to brick-style cream cheese, consider making a different frosting like vanilla buttercream, brown butter frosting, or Biscoff buttercream.
- Use room temperature butter and cream cheese. Before you start mixing up the buttercream, it’s super important that the butter and cream cheese are room temperature, or even slightly cooler. If softer they are, the softer/less stable the resulting buttercream will be. Don’t worry – if this happens, the next point tells you how to fix it.
- Refrigerate to thicken the consistency. If you make the cream cheese frosting and find that it’s not thick enough for your liking or your kitchen environment is super warm, pop the frosting in the refrigerator for 20-30 minutes to let the butter solidify a bit. Then, re-mix it on low speed with your stand mixer to make it smooth and uniform. The trip to the refrigerator will thicken the entire buttercream to a workable consistency.
More Pumpkin Recipes You’ll Love
If you love pumpkin everything, here are some more recipes to add to your baking list:
- Pumpkin Cupcakes with Spiced Cream Cheese Frosting
- Perfect Pumpkin Layer Cake
- Pumpkin Biscoff Cake
- Spiced Chai Pumpkin Cake
- No-Bake Pumpkin Cheesecake
- Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cake
This pumpkin sheet cake is sure to be a hit at your next Fall gathering! After photographing this recipe I sent it to work with my husband and it was gone before lunch time – the best sign. Let me know if you make it in the comments below and feel free to tag @sugarandsparrowco if you post a photo on Instagram! I love to see what you create with my recipes.
Pumpkin Sheet Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
Pumpkin Sheet Cake
- 2 1/2 Cups (330g) all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp ground allspice
- 1 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- 1 Cup (200g) packed brown sugar light or dark
- 1 Cup (200g) granulated sugar
- 1 Cup (240ml) vegetable oil
- 1 15-oz can (425g) pumpkin puree
- 4 large eggs, room temperature
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 1/2 Cup (113g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 Cup (8oz, 226g) full-fat brick-style cream cheese*, room temperature NOT the spread
- 4 Cups (480g) powdered sugar
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- pinch of salt, or to taste
Instructions
Make the Pumpkin Sheet Cake
- Preheat the oven to 325ºF (163ºC) and prepare a 9×13 metal pan or baking dish* by spraying the sides with baking spray and lining the bottom with parchment paper
- In a medium bowl, add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, and ginger. Whisk together and set aside.
- In a large bowl, add the brown and granulated sugars, vegetable oil, pumpkin, eggs, and vanilla. Whisk together until combined and uniform, then whisk the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until smooth.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 30-35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean or with just a few moist crumbs. Cool completely before frosting.
Make the Cream Cheese Frosting
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and cream cheese on high until light, fluffy, and uniform (no lumps), about five minutes. Scrape down the bowl and paddle as needed.
- Turn the mixer to low and add the powdered sugar a few cups at a time, mixing thoroughly after each addition. Add the vanilla and salt, then mix on low until smooth and combined, about 30 seconds.
Assembly
- Once the pumpkin sheet cake is cooled completely to room temperature, frost with the cream cheese buttercream.
- To create the look pictured, frost a rustic buttercream finish on the surface of the cake using a small icing spatula. Divide the remaining buttercream between four small bowls. Leave one bowl uncolored, then tint one of the bowls orange, one dusty blue, and the final bowl brown.
- Add the orange frosting into a piping bag fitted with Wilton Tip 6B, add the dusty blue frosting and the white frosting to piping bags each fitted with Wilton Tip 4B, and add the brown frosting to a piping bag fitted with Wilton Tip 3. Pipe pumpkins onto two opposite corners of the sheet cake using the orange, blue, and white frosting. Top each pumpkin with a dot (stem) using the brown buttercream.
Notes
- The pumpkin sheet cake can be made ahead and stored at room temperature, covered with plastic wrap, for up to two days. Alternatively, you can store the cake (covered well) in the freezer for up to two months before thawing and frosting.
- The cream cheese frosting can be made ahead and stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. When you’re ready to use it, bring it back to room temperature and re-whip in your stand mixer to bring back to smooth buttercream consistency.
- The frosted cake can be stored at room temperature in a cool kitchen for up to one day, after which it should be refrigerated due to the cream cheese in the frosting.
Another great recipe! Super easy and delicious! Would love to have a small batch recipe for this cake!
Yay, Jaime! So happy you love this recipe as much as I do. And YES, adding a small batch version to my list.