Pumpkin Dream Cake.
I know I’m dramatic 105% of the time, but this is the best pumpkin sheet cake of life.
And I’m not exaggerating one single bit.
So here’s the deal.
Yes, why yes, I did make a pumpkin cake last year too! I made this pumpkin coconut cake and it’s been a huge hit. But the thing is that coconut is so polarizing. I obviously love it, but even in this house? Eddie loathes it.
It’s a recipe I’ve received loads of questions over, because lots of you want to remove the coconut. Either you don’t love it, have an allergy or want to serve it to a crowd minus the coconut, and I get that!
But because it’s a coconut cake, there is a lot to swap out if you DON’T want the coconut. Like, it’s easier to just make a whole different cake.
That’s why this pumpkin dream cake was born.
I’ve seen pumpkin dream cakes floating around the internet for years but they are all layer cakes. I love a good layer cake but I love my sanity (and patience!) more.
Pumpkin cake, almost like pumpkin bread, is one of those things that is amazing to make ahead of time for a party or get together or even just a fall weekend. Heck, I’ve even bought the Trader Joe’s pumpkin bread mix before just to have something easy to make on a Friday!
While this cake is homemade, it is so much easier than a layer cake. And let me be real: I wasn’t necessarily planning on calling this plain old pumpkin sheet cake a pumpkin dream cake.
Oh no. I mean, I don’t even worship at the altar of pumpkin. We all know I’m much more of an apple cider girl.
But then I went and covered this in my cinnamon cream cheese frosting. I took the first bite and was basically screaming. Running around for everyone else to try it. They are like me – pumpkin treats are good, but they don’t lose their mind over them, you know?
Everyone. Everyone was freaking out.
As they very well should be. LOOK AT THIS!
This cake is UNREAL! It’s so soft and fluffy. It’s not overwhelmingly spiced. (Feel free to add more if you want!) The blanket of icing on top is so delicious that even the lowest level of icing lovers (like myself) will not be able to contain themselves.
It might be a bold statement, but I am going to make this cake every year for the rest of my life. Maybe (definitely) multiple times a year. I will probably make it on Thanksgiving, over all other desserts.
I might even make it on Christmas. It’s currently rivaling a pumpkin bar that I’ll be sharing in a few weeks, a bar I’ve made for the last two years and have LOVED.
It’s that good. So good! Please please please go make it right now. And save me a piece!
Pumpkin Sheet Cake
Pumpkin Dream Cake
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 1/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- 1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree
- 1 ¾ cups brown sugar
- ½ cup plain greek yogurt
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 4 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
cinnamon cream cheese frosting
- 2 8- ounce blocks cream cheese
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter
- 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9x13 inch baking dish with nonstick baking spray.
- In a bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, salt and nutmeg. Note: If you LOVE spice, feel free to add some extra spice in here (pumpkin! allspice! more cinnamon! - you can add another 1/2 to 1 teaspoon if you'd like) as this isn't overly spiced.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the pumpkin, sugar, yogurt and oil. Once smooth and combined, whisk in each egg one at a time. Whisk in the vanilla extract.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet, mixing until combined and no large lumps remain.
- Pour the batter into the greased baking dish. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, or until a tester inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.
- Note: every time I’ve made this cake, it has smelled “eggy” in the oven which has scared me. No worries - once the cake comes out and cools, it does not taste eggy!
- Cool the cake completely. Once the cake has cooled, frost with the cream cheese frosting. Slice and serve!
cinnamon cream cheese frosting
- Beat the cream cheese and butter together until creamy. Beat in the sugar and cinnamon until combined. Beat in the vanilla extract. Frost the cooled cake! I like to keep the cake in the fridge because of the cream cheese frosting, plus we love cold cake!
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That bite is everything.
220 Comments on “Pumpkin Dream Cake.”
Made this cake for a bake sale and it was a huge hit! The kids requested it again for the upcoming bake.Thanks for sharing this recipe, it is a keeper!
Have you ever made it in advance , frozen it and frosted it on day?? TIA.
Haven’t made yet- anyone trying subbing GF flour? Thanks!
I literally did it yesterday with Bob’s 1:1 gluten free mix and it was incredible!
Any adjustments if I want to make this as cupcakes?
I have never reviewed a recipe but, omg, this is delicious. My daughter and I fell in love at first bite. It may supplant my mother’s decades old pumpkin bread 😬. I did use salted butter for the frosting- it was all I had- no issues.
If I could rate this cake higher than 5 stars, I would. It is very moist and so flavorful and delicious. My husband is not a pumpkin fan, but really enjoyed a slice of this cake!
Hi! This looks amazing. For the frosting, should the cream cheese and butter be room temperature? I have a tendency to get chunky frosting so appreciate any tips!
I would keep it chilled or it won’t get fluffy, if it’s chunky need to beat it longer!
Out of all the pumpkin cake recipes I found, this was the only one that used brown sugar only, baking soda (not baking powder), and Greek yogurt. I was afraid the texture would be too wet and moist (something I’m afraid of in cakes, where the cake sticks on the roof of your mouth) but seeing the 5 star reviews, I proceeded to make this cake. Wow! The texture and crumb of this cake was PERFECT—moist and spongy (springy?) at the same time, lovely rich taste (from the brown sugar). I did adjust the sugar—I used 1 cup of cane sugar and 1/3 c brown sugar. I also used a whipped cream/cream cheese frosting instead. This is my go to recipe for pumpkin cake now!
Hi, I’m wanting to make some 8inch round pans to make a 2 tier cake with this recipe. would this amount make the enough batter for that and also, would I need to change the amount of time its in the oven. thanks.
Would adding baking powder additional to the baking soda help with the fluffiness? If using gf flour?
Any tips for making a round layer cake with this recipe?
I made this for a get-together on Labor Day and one of my friends asked for the frosting bowl (and scraped it clean). It’s THAT good. The cake itself is moist and delicious, but that frosting is on a different level. Making this again for Thanksgiving!
it failed completely. it didn’t rise at all, was VERY gummy as if i didn’t add any flour. it’s a shame since the flavor was so good but it was basically golden brown rubber. I don’t know what i did wrong.
I made this wonderful cake for 200 recently. As I have half sheet pans to work with I did the math and made one and a half the recipe. Worked perfectly for that size pan. I made 5 cakes. There were no leftovers! The cake is a perfect blend of cake and bread and the “blanket” of frosting is fantastic. I did add a bit more cinnamon and PP spice and it was lovely and not overwhelming. PLEASE use butter and throw that seed oil poison in the trash! I’m making the cake again today, this time in a 9×13 for a family gathering. I know they will love it. It’s a perfect holiday dessert!
Can the cake be made one day in advance?
This is amazing. I have made it a few times, I adjusted the powder sugar to 3 cups. That is the only thing that I would recommend if you prefer sweeter, less cream cheese flavor