Alright, I promise that after this pumpkin cake I am finished with pumpkin recipes until next fall… Some people think that once November is gone, pumpkin is out of season. I disagree. I think pumpkin is acceptable all winter long. It’s a cozy kind of flavor. I think the entire winter season can use pumpkin’s coziness. Not just November.
I had some leftover pumpkin from when I made the pumpkin chocolate chip loaf last week and I couldn’t see it go to waste. This pumpkin cake was calling my name so it worked out pretty well. I’ve been wanting to make it for awhile now, but it makes a whole 9″x13″ pan and I can’t really tackle one of those on my own. I mean… I guess I can, but I really shouldn’t. Usually I just half recipes like this and bake them in a 8″x8″ pan. I swore to myself that I wouldn’t do that again though. Sometimes the results don’t come out exactly the same so I am trying to avoid that. Anyways, I did end up making the whole 9″x13″ pan and now I need to find somebody to share it with. It’s a dilemma.
Wow. Enough about my personal problems…
More about the pumpkin cake, please.
Well, here it is. This is actually referred to as “pumpkin bars”. Really?! Does that look like a bar to you? No. Sorry. That is a pumpkin cake. But if you’re at all familiar with online recipes I am sure that you have come across this recipe in one form or another. It’s one of Paula Deen’s top recipes at the Food Network. Thousands of 5 star ratings. See? This is a good one.
And my favorite part? It is SO easy! It’s just a matter of mixing the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Love that. Honestly, the most difficult part is the cream cheese frosting and even that is a breeze. You don’t need a mixer for the cake batter, just for the frosting. And it can be handheld, you don’t necessarily need a stand mixer. You’ll notice in my photos that I use a stand mixer. Let me just admit one of the most embarrassing things about me- I don’t own a handheld mixer. If I did, I would have definitely used that.
So, let me give you the quick rundown on this very quick recipe:
Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.
Give it a quick whisk to evenly distribute.
Mix together the sugar, pumpkin, oil, and eggs in a separate large bowl.
Dump the dry ingredients into the wet.
Mix until well combined.
BUT! No more than that or you lose the tender texture.
Finally, just pour the batter into a 9″x13″ pan.
Bake at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes.
Whip up the frosting while the cake cools.
Beat together the butter, cream cheese, vanilla extract, and powdered sugar.
DONE!
Wasn’t that so simple?
And look at the results-
a beautiful pumpkin cake with a super moist crumb.
Yeaaaah, this is a keeper.
- 4 eggs
- 1⅔ cups granulated sugar
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 15-ounce can pumpkin
- 2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- Frosting:
- 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened
- ½ cup butter or margarine, softened
- 2 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Using an electric mixer at medium speed, combine the eggs, sugar, oil and pumpkin until light and fluffy. Stir together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt and baking soda. Add the dry ingredients to the pumpkin mixture and mix at low speed until thoroughly combined and the batter is smooth. Spread the batter into a greased 13 by 10-inch baking pan. Bake for 30 minutes. Let cool completely before frosting.
- To make the Frosting: Combine the cream cheese and butter in a medium bowl with an electric mixer until smooth. Add the sugar and mix at low speed until combined. Stir in the vanilla and mix again. Spread on cooled pumpkin cake.
