Forget about your Starbucks coffee order, the pumpkin-y, spicy PSL I'm talking about is Pumpkin Spice Layers. As in Pumpkin Spice Layer Cake, with four layers, cream cheese frosting, and caramel drizzle, to keep it tall, creamy, and caramel-y, just like your coffee.
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We baked this little bit of layered heaven, Pumpkin Spice Layer Cake, in two 9-inch round pans, and just so we could squeeze MORE cream cheese frosting into the cake, we split the two layers in half into four layers.
The layers give height, and let's be honest, a tall cake looks super impressive. But here's the secret from a certified non-baker (me): it's not complicated. In fact, the reason I make this cake at all is that it's essentially as quick as my all-time favorite Pumpkin Bread recipe.
We could feel our inner overachievers reaching for maple or browned butter or candied citrus or even additional spices to flavor the cream cheese frosting, but we kept it fairly simple so as not to compete with the spices in the cake.
A flood of caramel is the "ta-da" that puts this cake over the top. Or more literally, over the edge. Either way, I feel seen.
Pumpkin Spice Layer Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting and Salted Caramel recipe first, personal notes and shopping resources follow.
Ingredients You Need for Pumpkin Spice Layer Cake
For the Pumpkin Spice Cake Layers:
- butter and flour for pans and parchment liners
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon ground cloves
- 2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter softened to room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup light brown sugar
- 4 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 15-ounce can pumpkin puree (about 1½ cups)
For the Easy Cream Cheese Frosting
- 1 8 ounce package cream cheese
- 4 tablespoons butter, softened ½ stick
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- 2-3 cups confectioner's sugar
For the Caramel Sauce, optional, but is salted caramel ever really just an option?
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- ⅓ cup heavy cream
- ½ teaspoon salt
NOTES and RESOURCES
- Spices: Ground spices are available in any grocery store, but I do like to stop in at Penzey's Spices, a specialty spice store with a location in Santa Monica. They have everything.
- Pumpkin: I use this brand of organic canned pumpkin, found at Whole Foods Market. If you're weird about cans, the same brand also sells the same pumpkin puree in BPA-free tetrapaks.
- On timing: Obviously, you don’t have to wait until the cakes are baked and cooled to make cream cheese frosting and caramel. Time them how you best see fit. My recommendation is to get the cakes in the oven first. While the cakes are baking, make the Cream Cheese Frosting, wrap it, up and put it in the refrigerator. While the cakes are cooling, make the caramel.
- On baking in advance: You can make everything a day before you plan to serve the cake, just keep everything separate, then assemble and frost the morning of. Keep the layers tightly wrapped in plastic wrap, and the frosting and caramel sauces in air-tight containers, and keep in fridge.
- All fresh herbs and produce from either the Santa Monica Farmers' Market on Wednesday, or Whole Foods Market when I can't find it at the farmers' market.
Pumpkin Spice Layer Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting and Salted Caramel Recipe
serves 12. lol. or one.
Servings: 12 servings
Calories: 683kcal
Equipment
- 2 9-inch round cake pans
Ingredients
- butter and flour for pans and parchment liners
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon ground cloves
- 2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter softened to room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup light brown sugar
- 4 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 15-ounce can pumpkin puree (about 1½ cups)
Easy Cream Cheese Frosting
- 1 8 ounce package cream cheese
- 4 tablespoons butter, softened ½ stick
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- 2-3 cups confectioner's sugar
Caramel Sauce
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons butter, cut into ½-inch wide pieces
- ⅓ cup heavy cream
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
Instructions
Bake the Pumpkin Cake Layers
- Heat to 350°F.
- Butter two 9-inch round cake pans and line the bottom with rounds of parchment paper. Butter the parchment paper, as well, then flour the parchment paper bottom and sides of the pan.
- Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer or in a large bowl, using a hand mixer, beat on medium speed granulated sugar, brown sugar, and butter until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in eggs one at a time. Stir in pumpkin and vanilla until just combined (low speed on the mixer).
- Add the flour/spice mixture to the butter/sugar/eggs mixture, stirring until just combined.
- Divide the batter between the buttered pans. Lightly tap the pans on the countertop and smooth out the tops of the batter.
- Bake until cakes pull away from sides of pan, start to barely turn golden at the edges, and a toothpick inserted into the center of a cake comes out clean, about 35 minutes. Cool the baked cakes for 15 minutes in their pans. Flip the cakes onto wire cooling racks and peel off the parchment paper. Let cool completely (upside down, so the rounded tops can flatten out a little).
- You can bake the layers a day in advance, let them cool, wrap them up tightly in plastic wrap and keep in the refrigerator.
Make Cream Cheese Frosting ~ 10 minutes
- Make the Cream Cheese Frosting while the cake layers are baking: beat together cream cheese, butter, vanilla, and sea salt until smooth with an electric hand mixer or in a stand mixer with the the beater attachment.
- Gradually add confectioner's sugar about ¼ cup at a time until the cream cheese and butter have the consistency of a thin frosting. You will need 2-3 cups, depending on how warm your kitchen is.
- Keep the frosting covered and in the refrigerator until the cake is ready for assembly.
Make Caramel Sauce ~ 7 minutes
- In a medium stainless steel or light-colored pot over medium/low heat, melt sugar, swirling pan and stirring occasionally with a metal or silicone spatula.
- Once the sugar is fully melted and turns a light amber color, immediately remove the pot from heat and stir in butter, taking precautions, as the mixture may bubble and spurt. Stir together until the butter has melted and combined with the sugar completely.
- Slowly add the heavy cream, gently stirring until everything is combined. You may need to return the pot to the stove for 20-30 seconds to keep the caramel smooth.
- Remove the pot from the heat completely. Stir in salt. Cool to room temperature in the pot or a heat-proof (glass) container before using.
Cake Assembly
- Carefully slice cooled cake layers across the “equator” into two halves each. Brush away any errant crumbs. Place one layer on a cake stand or plate — I’ve had better luck when I place layers with the flat, cut side down.
- Top the bottom later with enough frosting to make a ½-inch thick layer of frosting.
- Add a second layer. Top the second layer with a ½-inch thick layer of frosting. Add the third layer, frost, and finally add the fourth layer. Frost the tops and sides of the cake. Try to frost the top as flat and level as possible so the caramel doesn’t run off too easily.
- Drizzle caramel sauce over the top of the cake an . You can also leave the cake frosted as is and drizzle caramel sauce on each piece of cake on individual plates.
when you make this recipe, let us know!Mention @TheDelicious or tag #thedeliciousmademedoit!
Notes
Nutrition estimate based on 1/12 of cake.
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 683kcal | Protein: 7.5g | Fat: 32g | Fiber: 1.4g
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