Recipe for the best pumpkin cake
Simple recipe for oil-based pumpkin cake
Today I invite you to the best pumpkin cake. The best, because it’s super simple and very quick – you can make this cake even without using a mixer! Plus, it’s made only with basic ingredients. You can also serve it with a delicious cream cheese frosting made from mascarpone cheese and chocolate. You must try it!
Table of content
Best pumpkin cake recipe step by step
If you like moist and delicious vegetable cakes, then you absolutely must bake this delicious cake this autumn.
Best pumpkin cake recipe
Wyposażenie
- Baking pan approximately 20/30 cm or 24/24 cm.
Składniki
ingredients for the best pumpkin cake
- 400 g pumpkin puree (- 2 cups – baked or boiled – drained of excess water)
- 250 g wheat flour – all-purpose (- 1 and 2/3 cups)
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 0.5 teaspoons salt
- 1.5 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin spice (or gingerbread spice)
- 240 ml oil (- I used rapeseed oil)
- 200 g sugar (I used cane sugar (1 cup) – originally it was 300 g)
- 4 eggs (size L)
ingredients for cream cheese frosting
- 500 g cream cheese (- I used mascarpone)
- 2 bars white chocolate
Instrukcja
How to make the best pumpkin cake
- If you have raw pumpkin, cut it in half, remove the seeds, and bake for about 40 minutes at 180 degrees, then cool, remove the skin, and blend the pulp until smooth.400 g pumpkin puree
- In a large bowl, mix the dry ingredients – flour, spices, and leavening agents.250 g wheat flour – all-purpose, 2 teaspoons baking powder, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 0.5 teaspoons salt, 1.5 teaspoons cinnamon, 1 teaspoon pumpkin spice
- In a second bowl, mix the pumpkin puree, sugar, oil, and eggs.400 g pumpkin puree, 240 ml oil, 4 eggs, 200 g sugar
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients.
- Mix the batter thoroughly.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan – I lined mine with baking paper.
- Bake in an oven preheated to 170 degrees (convection) for about 35 minutes – until a skewer comes out clean.
- After baking, let the cake cool.
How to make cream cheese frosting for pumpkin cake
- Break the white chocolate into pieces and melt it in a double boiler (if you don’t know how to do this, read the notes below the recipe). Stir the chocolate and let it cool.2 bars white chocolate
- Transfer the cream cheese to a larger bowl, add the chocolate, and blend until a smooth cream forms.500 g cream cheese
- Spread the cream over the cooled pumpkin cake.
Film
Uwagi
Wartości Odżywcze
Quick fluffy oil-based pumpkin cake – notes
I’m opening pumpkin season at my place with this delicious and very simple cake from Sally’s recipe.
Sally herself called it Best Pumpkin Cake, and I must admit, this pumpkin cake is sensational!
Mainly because it’s super simple to make – even without using a mixer and it’s made from very basic ingredients. Everything you probably have at home, or can easily get at a nearby store.
I decided not to add the cream that the author made to the cake. It’s an American-style cream, where three cups of powdered sugar are added to cream cheese and soft butter. Such sweet creams are definitely “not my cup of tea,” so I prepared my own less sweet cream from cream cheese and chocolate.
So, be sure to bake this delicious cake for your loved ones this autumn!
Pumpkin cake ingredients and substitutes
To prepare my cake, I used the following products – see also what you can possibly replace them with.
- pumpkin puree – I baked a medium hokkaido pumpkin here, and most of it went into this cake, I used the rest of the puree for other desserts. If you don’t know how to make pumpkin puree, watch my short preparation video included in the post about pumpkin puree.
- sugar – I used brown sugar for the cake, which has a richer flavor. Sally also used half a cup of regular sugar in addition to it, but I omitted it because I didn’t want the cake to be too sweet. If you like sweeter cakes, you can use more.
- baking powder and baking soda – both baking powder and baking soda are used in the cake. Baking soda is much stronger than baking powder, and it’s good not to omit it. A lot of pumpkin puree is added to the cake with a relatively small amount of flour – the baking powder and baking soda are meant to ensure good rising of the cake and prevent it from becoming soggy.
- oil – I used rapeseed oil for the cake, but sunflower oil or melted coconut oil can also be used
- pumpkin spice – if you have pumpkin spice, you can use it here; if not, use gingerbread spice.
- cheese for the cream – I used mascarpone cheese here, but cheesecake quark can also be used – preferably a better quality one.
- chocolate – I added melted white chocolate to the cream, but caramel chocolate would also be nice. In the recipe, I specified 2 bars of chocolate, due to their very varied weights – there are packages of 80 g, 90 g, and 100 g. And in my opinion, any of them will be fine. An 80 g chocolate bar will already give the cream the right sweetness.
How to make pumpkin spice for pumpkin cake?
If you want to prepare homemade pumpkin spice, you will need the following ingredients:
- 4 tablespoons ground cinnamon
- 3 teaspoons ground ginger
- 3 teaspoons ground nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon ground allspice
- 0.5 teaspoon ground cloves
Mix everything together and transfer to a jar – you can add the spice to all pumpkin baked goods – it will nicely enhance the flavor of cakes, muffins, but also, for example, drinks – like pumpkin coffee :)
How to make pumpkin cake – tips
As I wrote earlier, preparing pumpkin cake is possible even without using a mixer! Just mix the dry ingredients in one bowl, and the wet ingredients in another bowl, and then combine them.
If you have a mixer, you can of course use it – it will certainly speed up the work.
I baked my pumpkin cake in a large pan (20/30cm, a 24/24 cm pan or a round one with a diameter of 26 cm will also be good) and the cake itself was not very tall after baking – more like a flat cake. I put the cake into a preheated oven at 170 degrees (convection, or top/bottom mode at 180 degrees) and baked it for about 35 minutes. Towards the end, I checked with a stick to see if the cake was well baked.
If you want a taller cake, you can bake it in a smaller pan, even in a loaf pan – but then extend the baking time – up to an hour. Always check with a stick at the end to see if the cake is ready!
Remove the pumpkin cake and cool it on a wire rack – you can eat it slightly cooled. But if you want to serve it with cream cheese frosting, apply the frosting only to a well-cooled cake, so it doesn’t melt off!
Mascarpone cream for pumpkin cake
After baking and cooling my pumpkin cake, I spread it with a very simple cream cheese frosting. For the cream, I used mascarpone cheese, which has a wonderful creamy consistency and is ideal for such a cake frosting. You don’t need to warm it to room temperature beforehand, nor specially chill it. In this case, the temperature of the mascarpone cheese doesn’t matter as much, because we are not combining it with heavy cream, but only with melted white chocolate.
How to melt chocolate in a water bath?
To melt chocolate for the cream cheese frosting, you will need a shallow small pot or saucepan and a heatproof bowl the size of the pot. This can be a glass heatproof bowl, or for example, a metal one.
Pour a little water into the bottom of the pot – about 1-2 cm – and bring it to a boil. Place the bowl on top of the pot and add the chopped chocolate to it.
The steaming water will heat the bottom of the bowl and simultaneously warm and melt the chocolate. You can stir the chocolate during this process to speed up melting.
Remove the bowl with melted chocolate from the pot, and when it cools down a bit, add it to the cream cheese and blend until smooth.
How to make decorative mini pumpkins for pumpkin cake?
I made my mini pumpkins for cake decoration from marzipan mass. I lightly kneaded the ready-made marzipan mass (bought at Lidl) and added some yellow and red food coloring to it – I kneaded it thoroughly to make the color uniform. I tore off small pieces from the mass and rolled balls of various sizes. With a knife, I made delicate incisions to imitate a pumpkin. Finally, I stuck cloves into the center. Such marzipan pumpkins look nice and can be eaten :)
How many calories does pumpkin cake have?
My pumpkin cake (with the ingredients I used) had about 356 kcal per 100g. The same cake without cream cheese frosting, divided into 20 pieces, would have about 204 kcal per piece (Carbs 19.4, Protein 3, Fat 13.7). As you can see, the cream cheese adds some calories, but also a nice flavor – so it’s a trade-off ;)
How to store pumpkin cake?
Pumpkin cake with mascarpone cream on top can be stored for 2-3 days outside the refrigerator – in that case, transfer it to an airtight container. If it’s very warm, or you want to store it longer, it’s worth putting it in the refrigerator – due to the cream. The cake itself without cream can stay outside the refrigerator all the time.
P.S.
If you like cakes baked with various vegetables, be sure to check out my other recipes for vegetable baked goods. Here you will find recipes for cakes not only with pumpkin, but also with zucchini, carrots, spinach, beets, or parsley.
Recommended pumpkin cake recipes
Be sure to also check out my other recipes for delicious cakes baked with pumpkin. Here I recommend these three recipes, and you’ll find many more on the blog.
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