A perfect cake for the fall holiday table made into a Bundt Cake or Muffins and can be left dusted with powdered sugar or decorated with fluffy cream cheese icing.
Both cakes are equally delicious and don't take much time to prepare.
If you love the onset of fall flavors these cinnamon-spiced cakes will be the first recipe you'll want to make and add to your cake recipe collection.
We have an assortment of garnish suggestions but this cake can be served plain and still delicious with any hot or cold beverage.
I also have recipe suggestions listed below for different versions, adding a filling for making a coffee cake style, a warm drizzle of rum sauce, or slathered-in cream cheese frosting, so take your pick.
Of course, this pumpkin spice cake tastes great plain dusted with powdered sugar so the skies are the limit of possibilities!
If you love pumpkin, then don't miss this one, everyone will rave about this cake thinking you made it from scratch too, and ask for the recipe!
Scroll down to get the printable recipe card and tell me what you think after you make it in the comment box.
If you love easy recipes, also try my pumpkin cake mix cookies, pumpkin cheesecake squares, and some slow cooker pumpkin spice latte, to go with all these recipes!
Step-by-Step Homemade Pumpkin Cake
- Prepare any baking pans (or pans) with oil cooking spray and set aside
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
- Combine the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients in our recipe card below to the directions
- Mix until well blended
- Pour into the prepared pan
- Baking time will vary by the pans you're using
Here's What You Need To Make 4 Ingredient Pumpkin Cake
- fresh or canned pumpkin puree
- ground cinnamon
- eggs
- spice cake mix or package yellow cake mix
Tips and Suggestions:
- Make a coffee cake filling version below that's a fabulous version see it in the recipe card
- Add 1 cup of any chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, or peanut butter chips to this batter
- Add 1 cup of Raisins or Craisins, toasted coconut and pumpkin seeds
- Any kind of nuts
- Leave the cake plain or cream cheese frosting
- Sprinkle with powdered sugar
- Top muffins and loaves with cinnamon sugar before baking
- These freeze well
- Make sure you grease any pans you use heavily
- Keep unused cake in the refrigerator
- Use freshly made sugar pie pumpkin puree or canned pumpkin, not pie filling
- any flavored cake mix can be used.
Tool You May Need:
- Loaf Pans
- 13 x 9 Sheet Cake Pan( the homemade cake will require a 9 x 9 greased pan and mini-sized bundt pan)
- Muffin Tins
- Bundt Pan
- Measuring Cups
- Measuring Spoons
- Mixing Bowl
- Mixing Spoons
- Parchment Paper
For the Pumpkin Rum Cake
Just make the cake and while warm use our rum bundt cake recipe and pour the syrup over the top.
Don't Forget to Pin Me!!
Yield: 10
Homemade Pumpkin Spice Cake or Quick Cake Mix Recipes
A pumpkin spice cake made from scratch or an easy version using a cake mix. Either way, they're both delicious fall cakes topped with cream cheese icing.
Prep time: 10 MinCook time: 45 MinTotal time: 55 Min
Ingredients
- Homemade Pumpkin Cake:
- Dry Ingredients:
- 2 cups flour
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger,1/4 teaspoon ground allspice, pinch of nutmeg, 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon,
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- Wet Ingredients:
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 (15-ounce size) can of pumpkin puree
- Note: this cake will take a 9 x 9 sized pan or 12 cupcakes)
- Quick Verison Cake Mix Pumpkin Cake Ingredients:
- 15 oz of fresh pureed pumpkin or 1 can of canned pumpkin puree
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 4 eggs
- 1 package (15.25 ounces) of spice cake mix or a package of yellow cake mix
- Optional - 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips, milk chocolate, white chocolate or raisins to mix in the batter
- Garnish:
- Cream Cheese frosting canned or homemade frosting recipe
- mini chocolate chips, nuts, coconut or sprinkles
- Note: this can be served just dusted with powdered sugar, a dollop of whipped cream or prepared as a coffee cake see more below suggestions
Instructions
- Homemade Pumpkin Cake Directions:
- Grease a 9 x 9 square pan with butter or line with parchment paper.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- In a large bowl, whisk all the dry ingredients together and set aside.
- In a clean bowl beat the wet ingredients except the pumpkin together. Stir in the pumpkin puree to the wet ingredients just to blend evenly.
- Blend the dry ingredients slowly into the wet ingredients just until combined.
- Bake at 350 degrees for around 30 to 35 minutes ( use a cake tester in the center to ensure it's completed cooking.)
- Quick Pumpkin Cake Mix Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350. Grease a bundt pan, loaf pan, muffin tin or sheet cake pan.
- Mix all ingredients till well blended.
- Place half the batter into a greased pan (batter will be extremely thick) add chocolate chip below the mixture on top, then more batter.
- Bake at 350 till the center is firm and the toothpick test is clean, around 45 minutes depending on what size pan you use..
- Cool cake completely
- Frost with canned frosting, or use my homemade frosting below.
- If using the filled version, dust it with powdered sugar.
- Optional Version: Pumpkin Spice Coffee Cake Filling:
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 1/2 cups chocolate chips or chunks (
- 1/2 cup chopped nuts optional
- 2 tablespoon flour
- mix together and set aside.
- Divide the batter, and fill with half the batter top more batter than the filling on top.
- Bake as directed.
- Cream Cheese Frosting
- 1/2 cup butter, at room temperature and very soft
- 1 (8 ounces) package of cream cheese, softened
- 2 teaspoons of milk or more depending on the flow desired
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- pinch of ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Optional Garnish Ideas: mini chocolate chips, nuts, coconut, chopped raisins, candy sprinkles, pumpkin seeds
- Frosting Instructions:
- Beat all together the cream cheese until smooth then add the butter and beat until blended.
- Slowly add the powdered sugar with milk, and vanilla and beat until smooth and creamy.
- Optional Adult Version Rum Topping:
- Bacardi Rum Drizzled Over Hot Pumpkin Cake Topping:
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup Bacardi dark rum
- 1/2 cup butter
- Directions:
- Boil ingredients for 5 minutes in a heavy-duty pan.
- Place the baked bundt cake on a deep cake server to catch the drippings..
- Poke holes in warm cake, throughout the cake evenly with a fork, and pour mixtures over the top of the warm cake.
- Cool completely.
- Serve with whipped cream sprinkled with cinnamon sugar on top.
Notes
Optional Topping As Shown in Photo:
Topping 1/2 cup of shredded coconut (I like mine toasted, just spread on parchment paper and put in the oven at 350 degrees until browned)
1/4 chopped finely chopped raisins dark or golden
1/2 cup pumpkin seeds or chopped pecans set aside
Tips and Suggestions:
- Make a coffee cake filling version below that's a fabulous version see it in the recipe card
- Add 1 cup of any chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, or peanut butter chips to this batter
- Add 1 cup of Raisins or Craisins, toasted coconut and pumpkin seeds
- Any kind of nuts
- Leave the cake plain or cream cheese frosting
- Sprinkle with powdered sugar
- Top muffins and loaves with cinnamon sugar before baking
- These freeze well
- Make sure you grease any pans you use heavily
- Store leftover cake in the refrigerator
- Both freshly made pumpkin puree or canned pumpkin can be used, but not pie filling
- any flavored cake mix can be substituted for the cake mix version.
Nutrition Facts
Calories
325Fat (grams)
26 gSat. Fat (grams)
9 gCarbs (grams)
30 gNet carbs
19 gSugar (grams)
28 g
Pin for later
Other Pumpkin Recipes
Pumpkin Spice Cake Mix Cookies
Slow Cooker Pumpkin Latte
Pumpkin Turnovers
Italian Roasted Pumpkin Seeds
Disclosure: This recipe was originally shared in 2010. It was edited and re-published in 2022.