Fall officially begins in just a few short days – can you believe it? We’ve had a week of rainy, colder days and that crisp Autumn chill has started to settle in around us. Fall is my very favorite season. I love the changing leaves, sweaters, and of course, everything pumpkin spice!
This is my first fall dessert of the season, and I’m SO excited to share it with you! Pumpkin cake with caramel filling, and cream cheese frosting. It’s definitely hard to pick a favorite of my cake recipes, but this pumpkin cake is going to be pretty dang hard to beat! The rich, spicy pumpkin cake pairs so well with the creamy caramel, and is topped with delicious cream cheese frosting.
As a fan of all things pumpkin spice, I thoroughly approve this cake recipe! I also love how quick and easy it is to make. Since the cake calls for melted butter, there’s not even any need to wait for butter to soften. You’ll also notice that for the caramel filling, I used store bought caramel sauce (this one is my favorite). If you have a favorite caramel recipe, feel free to use it instead.
Also, can we talk about how cute those fall sprinkles are? They’re called Fall Harvest by Sweets and Treats, and it’s safe to say I’m obsessed!
Cake Ingredients:
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 cup butter, melted and cooled
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup buttermilk
Cream Cheese Frosting Ingredients:
8 oz cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla
3-4 cups powdered sugar
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F, and grease and line three 6″ cake pans. Whisk together the dry ingredients, flour through brown sugar. In the bowl of your stand mixer, combine all the wet ingredients, butter through buttermilk. Add the dry ingredients in two batches, mixing on low speed until just combined and scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
Distribute the batter between the three prepared cake pans. Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out with moist crumbs.
For The Frosting: beat the cream cheese and butter in your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla. Add the powdered sugar one cup at a time. Once all 3 cups are added, beat on high speed for about 5 minutes. If the frosting is too wet, add more powdered sugar. If it’s too dry, add a bit of heavy cream.
Assembly: Start with cold cakes. I wrap mine well in plastic wrap once cooled, and refrigerate for at least a few hours. Frost the bottom layer with a thin layer of cream cheese frosting. Pipe a small perimeter of frosting on top, and fill the well with caramel sauce. Repeat for the second layer. Use the remainder of the frosting to cover the outside of the cake. Decorate with candy pumpkins and sprinkles!
By the way, be sure to check out my Instagram (@thiscelebratedlife) for videos on how I decorate my cakes!
