It’s September and Labor Day has come and gone, which means saying goodbye to pools and cookouts and saying hello to pumpkin patches and cider. Although I love summer, I always welcome fall with arms wide open. Ironically, the first breeze of fall air never fails to make me feel warm inside. I think the reason that I love fall so much is because it is a fresh reminder that life is ever-changing and that we should always embrace new beginnings. Fall makes me appreciate the seasons of my life and allows me to view change in a positive light.
Fall brings comfort. Fall means sitting on the couch under a blanket while the fresh breeze flows through your cracked open window. Fall means waking up in the morning to a comfortably chilly house and pouring yourself a nice cup of hot coffee. Fall also brings inspiration. Fall means lighting delicious scented candles that somehow have the power to lighten your mood. Fall means baking warm, comforting desserts, which leads me to this amazing pumpkin spice cake recipe.
Pumpkin spice cake with cream cheese icing pairs all of your favorite fall flavors perfectly, resulting in a baked good that tastes as if it was purchased from your favorite local bakery.
Ingredients
Batter:
2 cups flour
4 eggs
1 cup of oil of your choice
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 cup or a 16 oz. can of pumpkin/pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
2 tsp. cinnamon
3/4 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp allspice
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup of plain or vanilla Greek yogurt (Although this is recommended, as it keeps the cake moist, the recipe can be made without this and will still taste delicious. You could also substitute with sour cream or applesauce. Being careful not to over-mix or over-bake will also help to keep the cake moist.)
Icing:
1 3/4 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
6 tbsp butter
4 oz cream cheese
Splash of milk or coffee creamer (yes, coffee creamer- I’ve done it when I was in a pinch) can be added to the icing if it appears too thick
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350.
Mix all of the batter ingredients together. I use a mixer, however, be sure not to over-mix, as this can cause the cake to become too dry.
Pour batter in a greased pan. (I use a 9″ x 13″ for this recipe.)
Place pan in the oven and cook for 30 minutes before checking for doneness.
While the cake is cooking, mix the icing ingredients together with a mixer.
Once the cake is cooked through, let cool completely before frosting. Once cooled, apply an even layer of frosting to the cake and feel free to sprinkle ground cinnamon on top for a wonderfully aesthetic effect that screams fall.
Additional Notes/Ingredient Substitutions
Along with the ability to leave out or substitute the Greek yogurt, there are also other ingredients that you would be able to leave out and still result in a delicious treat.
If you only have sugar and not brown sugar, you can substitute the brown sugar for regular sugar, and visa versa.
If you don’t have vanilla or prefer to keep the costs down, as vanilla isn’t the cheapest, it won’t ruin the recipe to do without.
If you don’t have any of the spices on hand, you could simply purchase pumpkin pie spice, which is a mixture of the all of the spices that this recipe calls for (sometimes pumpkin pie spice includes clove, which is not included in this recipe, but that would be okay to use). You could also leave out the spices altogether and just make pumpkin cake rather than pumpkin spice cake. It’s still absolutely delicious, I promise, I’ve tried it!
This cake mix can also be made into cupcakes. Just keep in mind that the higher you fill the batter, the greater the ratio will be of cake vs. icing. If you want a ratio that keeps the cake vs. icing ratio more even to keep the cupcakes less dry, fill your batter only about half way.
I hope you enjoy my pumpkin spice cake recipe! I’m happy to say that I’ve created many different versions of it and think I’ve finally found the best one and I’m even more thrilled to share it with you. Happy fall!