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This Pumpkin Spice Cake is a delicious and moist cake, made with pumpkin puree and packed with autumn spices. It's filled and topping with a decadent cream cheese frosting - it's my UK cream cheese buttercream recipe that's thick and pipes like a dream! I've decorated the cake with homemade fondant pumpkins and some cinnamon sugar. This is such a perfect cake for the autumn season, or for Halloween parties and celebrations.

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Ingredient Tips & Equipment Information

Make sure all your ingredients (particularly the eggs) are at room temperature before you start baking.
I used unsalted butter and Philadelphia cream cheese for the cream cheese frosting.
If you live in a place where pumpkin pie spice mix is easily available, then you can use 3 tsp of that instead of the mix of spices I've listed in the recipe. I live in the UK so pumpkin spice mix is not something that's commonly sold here.
Mixed spice is a British spice blend containing cinnamon, coriander seed, nutmeg, clove, pimento, and ground ginger. If you can't get hold of it where you're based, you can use a Pumpkin Spice mix instead or add more of the other spices.
I really recommend using light brown soft sugar if you can for the cake, but if you can't get hold of it, caster sugar will work well too.
You can use a different type of oil besides vegetable oil. I'd recommend one that doesn't have a strong flavour, canola and sunflower oil would both work well.
Although I provide cup measurements, I highly recommend weighing your ingredients out using digital kitchen scales. It is the most accurate way to measure ingredients and will ensure the best results. Digital scales are very low cost and can be purchased for around £12 ($16.50) .
For teaspoon (tsp) and tablespoon (tbsp) measurements, please use measuring spoons and not the type of spoons you eat with. Again this will ensure accuracy and provide the best results.

For the full recipe with measurements, head to the recipe card at the end of this post.

How to make Pumpkin Spice Cake

In a large jug or a mixing bowl, whisk together the pumpkin puree, vegetable oil and eggs. In a mixing bowl, stir together the light brown soft sugar, self raising flour, baking powder, salt, mixed spice, cinnamon, ground ginger and ground nutmeg. Pour the pumpkin mixture into the flour mixture and whisk or fold gently until fully combined.

Divide the mixture between the cake tins and bake for 35-40 minutes or untila skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean. Leave to cool fully.

For the cream cheese frosting, mix the butter together on it's own for a few minutes. Add the icing sugar and mix until combined. Then add the cream cheese and vanilla extract, mix until combined and be careful not to over mix. Pipe onto the first cake layer, then add the second cake layer and pipe more buttercream on top. Decorate as you wish.

For the full recipe with measurements, head to the recipe card at the end of this post.

Where can you buy pumpkin puree in the UK?

I've found tins of pumpkin puree in the American food section of large supermarkets like Tesco and Sainsburys (the two brands I know of are Libbys and Baking Buddy). I have also heard that Waitrose stock it. It's sometimes available all year round, or sometimes only from mid-August until December. It really does depend on the supermarket with this. Keep asking your local store, you may just bug them enough to get them to stock it! You can also buy it online, I have purchased it from Amazon before, and Sous Chef also sell it. It will be a little bit more pricey, but I've found good deals by buying several cans at once (and the best before dates are usually at least one year long).

Can you make pumpkin puree from scratch?

Yes! If you can’t get hold of the canned version, then you can make pumpkin puree from scratch. A 2kg pumpkin will give you roughly 675g pumpkin puree. The good news is, if you have too much you can freeze pumpkin puree. What you need to do is carefully slice up the pumpkin, deseed it and scoop out the stringy bits. Then you can either roast or steam chunks of the pumpkin until soft – it will take 20-30 minutes depending on the size of the pieces, use a knife to check tenderness. Allow the pumpkin to cool fully. Remove the flesh from the skin using a spoon, and then use a blender to puree the flesh. You now have pumpkin puree! It’s also great stirred into risottos or curries if you have leftovers. If it's not the time of year for pumpkins but you really want to make pumpkin cake, then you can use butternut squash too!

How long does the cake last for and can it be frozen?

The cake will last for 3-4 days in an airtight container, it needs to be stored in the fridge when it has the frosting on it, but unfrosted it can be stored in a cool place. You can freeze both the cake and the cream cheese frosting. To freeze them separately, wrap the cake well in cling film or put it in an airtight container. The cream cheese frosting can be frozen in a sealed tub. To freeze the cake decorated, freeze on a plate until frozen solid, then carefully wrap in cling film. Remove the clingfilm when you take the cake out of the freezer to defrost, as if it defrosts with it still on it could damage the appearance of the buttercream.

Can you make this cake with plain/all purpose flour?

Self raising flour, which is very commonly used in the UK where I am based, already contains a raising agent and a little salt too. Therefore if you want to swap it for plain or all purpose flour, you will need to add some baking powder and also a little salt if you like. Some people like to add salt to cake recipes and some don't, so I'll leave that up to you as it won't affect the bake. The general advice is to add 2 teaspoons baking powder (a measuring teaspoon, not the kind you stir your coffee with) per every 200g plain or all purpose flour. So for this recipe you'd need to add 4 teaspoons baking powder. Please note, I have not tested this recipe using plain or all purpose flour.

Can this cake be made gluten or dairy free?

Yes! For gluten free you can replace the self raising flour with a gluten free self raising flour blend. If you only have a gluten free plain flour blend, you will need to add baking powder. The general advice is to add 2 tsp baking powder per 200g flour, so for this recipe you'd need to add 4 teaspoons baking powder. You may also like to add ½ tsp Xantham Gum for better texture. The cake is already dairy free, for a dairy free version of the cream cheese frosting, use a dairy free block butter (I prefer Flora Plant) and a dairy free cream cheese. Please check the labels of everything you use if serving to someone with an allergy or intolerance.

Can this cake be made into cupcakes?

Yes, check out my Pumpkin Cupcakes recipe for details.

Can this cake be made in different size cake tins?

If you would like to make this cake in different size tins, please check my Conversion Guide to find out how to adjust the recipe.

Do you need an electric mixer to make this recipe?

You don't need an eletric mixer for the cake, in fact I prefer to use a hand whisk for this type of cake. If you need to use an electric mixer, use the paddle attachment on a low speed and be careful not to over mix. For the cream cheese buttercream, I do recommend using an electric mixer for the best results. You don't have to use an expensive stand mixer either, you can get electric hand whisks for as little as £10!

More tips for making the Pumpkin Spice Cake:

I used an Ateco 848 piping nozzle for this cake.
You can spread the buttercream onto the cake with a spoon if you don’t want to pipe it.
I made fondant pumpkins to decorate the cake, you can use ready made pumpkin decorations or decorate with something else if you prefer.

Troubleshooting

If you have any questions about this recipe, or if something went wrong and you need help, please use the comment form below and I will get back to you. You can also get in touch with me on my Twitter, Instagram or Facebook. I'd love to hear from you!

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