This is my all-time favorite pumpkin layer cake recipe that’s perfectly spiced, ideal for cozy season, and tastes incredible with cream cheese buttercream. Originally published in 2019, this recipe has stood the test of time, becoming a yearly go-to and the base for so many of my pumpkin cake recipes. I recently updated the photos to show more of the inside of the cake, because the super soft and moist texture is literal perfection!
One Reader, Katherine, says: “I just had to come back and say I made this recipe and it was AMAZING! The cake turned out sturdy but moist, and so flavorful.” ★★★★★
Perfect Pumpkin Layer Cake Ingredients
In my recipe tests, I tried this recipe with all purpose flour vs. cake flour, with buttermilk vs. whole milk, with just white sugar vs. a combination of white and brown sugars. In the end, the winners were cake flour, buttermilk, and the white and brown sugar combo. It’s deliciously moist because of the buttermilk, totally fluffy from the cake flour, and the combination of sweetness and spice is divine.
Here are all of the key ingredients and substitutes you can make if need be:
- Canned pumpkin puree. The pumpkin flavor of this cake comes from canned pureed pumpkin (not to be confused with canned pumpkin pie filling). Any brand will do, you’ll just want to make sure that pumpkin is the only ingredient on the label.
- Cake flour. The majority of pumpkin cakes out there will call for all-purpose flour (including my own pumpkin sheet cake and pumpkin cupcakes recipes). However, after testing this particular recipe with both flours I love the soft texture that the cake flour produces. You should be able to find cake flour in the baking aisle of your local grocery store but if not, you can substitute it with a homemade cake flour that uses all-purpose flour as a base. See the notes section of the recipe card below for the details.
- Baking powder + baking soda. The leavening agents used to make this cake rise.
- Spices. I use four beautiful warming spices in this recipe: cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, and ginger. These spices perfectly compliment and enhance the pumpkin flavor. You can alternatively use 1 Tablespoon of pumpkin pie spice + 1 teaspoon of cinnamon as a substitute for all of the spices in this recipe.
- Unsalted butter. The main fat used in this pumpkin layer cake for a rich texture and flavor.
- Granulated sugar + brown sugar. Both sugars together not only sweeten this cake and soften the crumb, but the brown sugar also adds extra moisture.
- Eggs. The main binding agents in this recipe that blend the ingredients together and give the cake structure.
- Buttermilk. The high fat content in buttermilk adds a rich flavor and extra moist texture. If you can’t find buttermilk locally you can make your own using whole milk + vinegar or lemon juice. See the notes section of the recipe card below for details.
Stable Cream Cheese Frosting for Cake Decorating
It’s so classic to pair this pumpkin layer cake with cream cheese buttercream, and in my opinion the flavor combo never gets old. Although cheese frosting cream has a reputation for being notoriously soft and frustrating to work with, the cheese buttercream recipe you’ll find below is sturdy and pipeable without being overly sweet, which is why it’s my forever go-to. Here are my best tips for making it the perfect consistency for filling, frosting, and decorating this cake:
- Use full-fat brick style cream cheese. I use Philadelphia brand, but any brick-style cream cheese that’s not low 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, make a double batch of my vanilla buttercream to pair with this cake instead.
- Make sure the butter and cream cheese aren’t too soft. Before you start mixing up the buttercream, it’s super important that the butter and cream cheese are room temperature, but not warmer (like from softening in the microwave). These ingredients should be left out on the counter at room temperature for 45 minutes to an hour.
- 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.
How to Decorate a Pumpkin Layer Cake
Even though I recently updated these photos, the cake design pictured has been around since 2019 and highly replicated, which I love! Here are all the details so you can replicate it too:
After filling and stacking the cake with cream cheese buttercream, and frosting a smooth buttercream finish, I pressed some Biscoff cookie crumbs around the bottom third of the cake. The original design had toasted pumpkin cake crumbs (left over from leveling the cake layers) pressed here, which you could also do*. I just wanted to make the design even easier.
*If you want to use toasted cake crumbs, crumble the cake scraps into a frying pan and toast on the stovetop on medium for about 10 minutes, until the cake crumbs begin to crisp. Let them cool completely before using them in your cake decorating
I divided the remaining cream cheese frosting into 4 different bowls and colored one bowl with Americolor Orange, the second bowl with Wedgewood, the third bowl with Chocolate Brown, and left the last bowl uncolored. Then, I fitted one piping bag with Wilton Tip 6B to pipe the large orange pumpkins and three piping bags with Wilton Tip 4B for smaller orange, blue, and white pumpkins. I fitted one piping bag with Wilton Tip 3 for the brown pumpkin stems.
I piped the pumpkins into a crescent moon shape because it gives me all the feels, but you do you.
More Pumpkin Cake Recipes You’ll Love
If you’re a fan of pumpkin cake, here are some other recipes you’re sure to love:
- Pumpkin Biscoff Cake
- Spiced Chai Pumpkin Cake
- Pumpkin Cupcakes
- Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cake
- Easy Pumpkin Sheet Cake
- Pumpkin Pie Layer Cake
I hope you love this recipe as much as I do! Let me know if you make it in the comments below and feel free to tag @sugarandsparrowco on Instagram to show me if you post a photo. I love to see what you create with my recipes!
Perfect Pumpkin Layer Cake
Ingredients
Pumpkin Layer Cake
- 2 3/4 Cups (290g) sifted cake flour* DIY recipe in notes
- 2 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp allspice
- 1 tsp nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- 1 Cup (226g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 3/4 Cup (150g) packed brown sugar
- 1 Cup (200g) white granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs, room temperature
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 Cups (12 oz, 378g) canned pumpkin puree
- 1 Cup (240ml) buttermilk* DIY recipe in notes
Cream Cheese Buttercream
- 1 Cup (226g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 16 Oz (226g) cream cheese, room temperature brick-style, not the spreadable kind
- 8 Cup (960g) powdered sugar
- 1 Tbsp pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp salt
Instructions
Make The Pumpkin Layer Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF and prepare three 6-inch or two 8-inch or 9-inch cake pans by spraying the sides with baking spray and placing a parchment paper circle into the bottom of each one.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the sifted cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ground cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, and ground ginger. Set aside.
- In the bowl of your stand mixer (a handheld mixer works fine too!), cream the butter on high for two minutes until it's light and fluffy. Add in the granulated sugar and brown sugar and continue to mix on medium-high for another two minutes, scraping down the bowl and paddle as needed. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing thoroughly after each addition. Add the pumpkin puree and vanilla and mix for one minute on medium-high, scraping down the bowl and paddle once more. The batter may look curdled at this point, but don't worry – it will come together in the next step.
- With the mixer on low speed, add in the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Add the buttermilk in a steady stream and mix until just incorporated. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl and give it a few stirs to make sure there are no lumps. Batter will be slightly thick, but pourable.
- Pour the batter evenly between the cake pans (fill them no more than ⅔ full) and bake for 35-40 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool the cakes in the pan for five minutes before removing and continuing to cool on a wire rack or flat surface.
Make The Cream Cheese Buttercream
- 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. 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, mixing on low for another 30 seconds.
Assembly
- Once the Pumpkin Cake layers have cooled completely, fill and frost the layers with Cream Cheese Buttercream. To create the design pictured, divide the leftover buttercream into four separate bowls. Use food color gel of your choice to create orange buttercream in the first bowl, light blue buttercream in the second, and brown buttercream in the third, keeping the last bowl uncolored. Fit three piping bags with Wilton Tips 8B (for the larger pumpkins) and 4B (for the smaller ones), then fill them with the orange, blue, and white buttercreams. Pipe pumpkins in a crescent moon design on top of the cake, then pipe a dot of brown buttercream on top of each one to look like stems. Finish the cake by pressing Biscoff cookie crumbs or toasted cake crumbs* (recipe below) onto the sides and sprinkling them over the top.
Notes
- The cake layers can be made ahead and stored, wrapped in plastic wrap, at room temperature for up to two days. Alternatively, you can store the wrapped cake layers in the freezer for up to 2 months before thawing and frosting.
- The Cream Cheese Buttercream 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.
Hi, how many servings will the 3 – 6” cake make? I like the height but not sure it’s enough for our Thanksgiving crowd…love your recipes BTW!
Hi Diana! It serves about 15. Here’s a chart I made that shows how many servings each cake size makes and how to alter the recipe to suit your needs: https://sugarandsparrow.com/cake-serving-guide/
Hi!
This cake sounds so delicious! I plan on baking for Thanksgiving. I wanted to know how you had extra cake crumbs? Did you shave some of each cake layer?
Thank you!
Cindy
Hi Cindy! Yes, exactly. I use this method for making my cakes level and then I used the extra cake scraps for crumbs: https://sugarandsparrow.com/level-and-torte-cake-layers/
Making today, what would be the bake time for 8” pans 40-45 minutes? Thank you
Hi Mary! The time for 8″ cakes will still be in the 35-40 min range. Hope that helps!
I made it for a cake and was great!!! Do you think will be posible to use the same recipe for a Bundt pan?
Yay, Lola! So happy to hear that you loved this recipe! I think it’ll work just fine in a bundt pan, I’m just not sure about the exact baking time. I’d check for doneness around the 45 minute mark and add 5-10 minutes from there. Hope that helps!
Thanks a lot <3
Could you possibly swap out the flour for a gluten free flour and add cornstarch to make it work like a cake flour?
Hi Linda, I’ve never tried that before so I’m not sure what the results will be! But let me know if you try it.
Yummy and super duper soft! I personally would add a little bit more spice next time but that’s just a preference. So moist that I slightly under baked it (noticeable in the cross section) but did not ruin it. Paired well with brown butter frosting 🙂
So happy you loved this recipe, Samantha! I love this cake with brown butter frosting too 🙂
Can I make this in a bundt pan? Any changes you would recommend if I do that?
I just saw the above comment about a bundt cake! I will give it a try.
Yay! Perfect timing on that comment 🙂
Made this for Thanksgiving because my mom was wanting a Nothing Bundt Cakes Pumpkin Spice cake and I thought I could probably make one just as good. It got rave reviews and worked well in a bundt tin — although I would do 1 1/2 times the recipe next time, just to fill the pan up the right amount.
Yay, Caitlin! I’m so pleased to know that this recipe works well in a bundt pan! Thanks for letting me know. I’m so happy it was a hit!
Great cake. Delicately spiced. One taster remarked it was like pumpkin pie in cake form! Next time I make it I’ll make the pumpkins in buttercream, not cream cheese frosting. The CC frosting is too “stretchy” and my pumpkins were a bit long and pointy for my liking. This made a ton of frosting…more than enough for 3 six inch layers! Left overs for carrot cake pancakes this weekend! =)
Delicious! I doubled the recipe and made a three layer cake and 18 cupcakes for a baby shower for my daughter-in-law! Thank you for this wonderful recipe, everyone loved it! I will definitely try more of your recipes for other items!
Yay, Tammi! That makes me so happy! Thanks for letting me know it was a hit 🙂
I have been baking with the fervor of an April 2020 Portlander. I made this cake today, with your Vanilla Chai Buttercream recipe. I am a gluten-free baker, and opted to not transform my flour blend to cake flour. It was a little dense as i expected it would be (I may have underbaked one layer) but so flavorful! I went by measurement, not weight, since gf flour can be a little heavier, which may have also contributed. But OMG! this was so good!
Oh my gosh that flavor combo sounds heavenly! I need to try that asap! I’m so glad the GF version worked out
Definitely make this but I am going to use sweet potato puree instead of pumpkin because I don’t like pumpkin flavor I will let you know how it turned out thanks for the recipe
What would be a corresponding number tips for the pumpkins. I have a huge a selection but none of them have letters
Hi Cathy! You can use pretty much any open star tips for the pumpkins. If yours don’t have numbers on them, just look for a tip that looks similar to Wilton Tip 4B and 6B. Hope that helps!
I’m making my niece’s wedding cake in October and had already decided on pumpkin spice with cream cheese frosting when I saw this on Pinterest! Have you baked a 10- or 12-inch layer with this recipe, and if so, do you know how many batches of batter 8 should make?
Hi Jessica! I haven’t baked this cake in pans that size but it should totally work! This recipe makes about 7 Cups of batter. You’ll need about 6 cups of batter per 10×2 inch pan and 8 Cups of batter per 12×2 inch pan. Hope that helps!
Baked this yesterday and frosted it today for my niece’s wedding! 6, 9 and 12 inch layers. Delicious! Received so many compliments! And I was pretty pleased with my piped pumpkins and the toasted cake crumbs on the sides!
Yay, Jessica! I’m so happy to hear that this recipe was a hit and was fun to make!
Is it possible to cut back on the powdered sugar in the frosting? I like frosting to be buttery/rich as opposed to sweet.
Thanks!
Hi Karn! I’ve already cut back on the sugar in this recipe (most cream cheese frosting use 5-6 cups with this amount of other ingredients). That said, you could decrease the powdered sugar by 1/2 Cup and balance it out by not adding as much liquid. Hope that helps!
Hi! I am making this recipe today for my sons bday. I just have a question with the powdered sugar. Is it 8 cups of powdered sugar? I feel like it’s too many, can I cut to lesser sugar?
Thank you!
Hi Keysi! Yes, 8 cups is correct. It makes enough to fill and frost a triple layer cake. You can certainly try adding less powdered sugar, but the less you add the thinner the frosting will be. The salt and cream cheese in this recipe help cut the sweetness though. Enjoy!