Its not Fall until I’ve baked my Pumpkin Spice Cake! Every year I make this yummy fall dessert for my family and we gobble it right up! Definitely a family favorite. This cake tastes like fall to me. I love how moist and dense it is, but not as rich as a pumpkin bar. {which makes it healthier…right? haha} And homemade cream cheese frosting is a must around this house! I am convinced that there is no better frosting than cream cheese frosting. So I always whip up a simple cream cheese frosting to top it off.
Pumpkin Spice Cake
I’ve actually made 3 of these cakes in the last week. Seriously!! Its that delicious. The first one we devoured in 2 days. No joke. The second one we gave to a friend who just had a baby. {she loved it and asked for the recipe!} And the third one, Davis is taking {what’s left of it} to work tomorrow…. Because my hips can’t take anymore cake!
Bottom Line: This is a must make recipe! If you love pumpkin and cream cheese, you’ll love this cake! Its not overly pumpkin-y.
Pumpkin Spice Cake Recipe
- 2 cups flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- 2 tablespoons butter, unsalted, softened
- 1/4 cup shortening
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 cup canned pumpkin
- 1 cup buttermilk OR sour milk {I don’t have buttermilk on hand much, so I add 1 tablespoon of lemon juice to regular milk and let it sit for a couple minutes and it works great.}
Grease and flour a 9×13″ pan or 2-8″ round cake pans. Heat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. In one bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, ground cloves, and ground ginger. Set aside. In another mixing bowl, beat together butter and shortening. Add sugar and vanilla and beat until well combined. Add eggs, beating well after each one. Add pumpkin. Then add dry mixture and buttermilk alternately to mixture, beating on low speed after each addition. Pour into prepared pans. Bake for 35-40 minutes for a 13×9 inch pan, 30-35 minutes for 2 round pans, or until toothpick comes out clean. Cool and frost.
Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe
- 8 ounces cream cheese, softened {regular or Neufchatel work fine}
- 2 tablespoons butter, softened
- 2-2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Beat together butter and cream cheese. Add vanilla. Gradually beat in powdered sugar until it reaches desired consistency.
OPTIONAL: I like to sprinkle crushed pecans over top the frosting.
I know you’ll enjoy this recipe as much as we do! Make sure to pin this on Pinterest or share it on Facebook!
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If you liked this recipe, check out my Pumpkin Fudge Recipe!



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This looks SO yummy! The frosting reminds me of a zucchini cake my mom used to make – pinning and adding to our fall bucket list!!
Thank you, Kelsey! Thanks for stopping by! <3
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I didn’t use to love pumpkin/cream cheese desserts, but thankfully I’ve changed now that I’m older :)
Hi, since i tried the recipe, i feel that i should comment, in case others in the future wants to try the recipe…
Thank you so much for the wonderful recipe! I like it because it tastes good and has relatively lower fat ingredients (i.e. less butter n using buttermilk) compared to other recipes i checked on the web. I didn’t want to use shortening, so i substituted it with butter. I wanted it to be less sweet so i reduced the sugar to 3/4 cups. I was worried that the texture wil be affected but it turned out perfect!! Thank you so much for a wonderful recipe!
Thank you for your feedback, Sarah! I appreciate it!
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