This Pumpkin Snack Cake recipe is moist and full of warm spices and pumpkin flavor, topped with an easy cream cheese frosting.
We are in full on harvest mode here in Northern Illinois. The powers that be (whoever that is) have told me that since it’s October it’s now fair game to release the pumpkin themed baked goods like this snack cake and pumpkin bread with cream cheese frosting. Yum!
In any case, I gave it several weeks past the pumpkin spice latte reveal at Starbucks in September and now I feel like it’s safe to share pumpkin spiced cake. And pumpkin lush. Sorry, couldn't resist.
Grab a cup of coffee (regular is totally fine, no need for Starbucks) and let's dive in!
Ingredients in Pumpkin Snack Cake
There's nothing unusual or quirky here, just the regular type of cake ingredients. Simple, simple, simple!
- eggs
- granulated sugar
- salt
- baking soda
- pumpkin pie spice
- flour
- vegetable oil
- pumpkin puree – be sure to buy 100% pure pumpkin puree, not pumpkin pie mix. Did you buy extra? Use it to make mini pumpkin pies!
- Cream Cheese Frosting ingredients: powdered sugar, butter, cream cheese, vanilla extract
How to make pumpkin snack cake with cream cheese frosting
I'll keep things short and sweet because it's super easy to make this pumpkin cake!
Step 1: Beat your eggs, then mix together your dry ingredients. Add the dry ingredients to your eggs.
Step 2: Add wet ingredients: In this case, oil and pumpkin puree. Mix well.
Step 3: Pour batter and bake. To check to see if your cake is done, insert a toothpick into the center of the cake. If it comes out dry or with just a few crumbs attached, your cake is done!
Let the cake cool completely before frosting. The cream cheese frosting recipe is in the card below.
Tips for perfect Pumpkin Snack Cake
- I used a glass baking dish for this recipe. Baking time may vary if you use a metal pan because different material conduct heat differently.
- When it comes to making the cake batter, mix just until the recipes are mixed together. If you overmix the cake batter, you'll have a tough cake. No fun.
- Somewhere between under mixing and over mixing is the sweet spot. Let your heart (and eyes) guide you, grasshopper!
- Pumpkin spice is nothing more than a mixture of spices you probably already have in your pantry, like ground cinnamon, ground ginger, nutmeg, ground allspice, and ground cloves. Here's how you can diy your own pumpkin pie spice.
- I know some people go nuts for the pumpkin and chocolate chip combo. You can change things up and add some chocolate chips to the cake batter before baking to transform this into a pumpkin chocolate chip snack cake!
- When making the cream cheese frosting, be sure to whip the butter well. It incorporates the air into the frosting and is what makes it super light and fluffy! Like a cloud....Once you have the technique mastered, try it in old fashioned carrot cake, too!
Other pumpkin recipes:
More autumn inspired recipes:
When you make this pumpkin spice snack cake leave me a comment or review! I’d love to hear from you!
Pumpkin Snack Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 8 ounces pure pumpkin puree
For the Frosting
- ½ pound powdered sugar
- ¼ cup butter softened
- 4 ounces cream cheese at room temperature
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. In a medium sized bowl, beat the eggs. Add dry ingredients (sugar, salt, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice and flour). Mix well.
- Add oil and pumpkin puree to the flour mixture and stir to mix in completely.
- Grease a 9x12 baking pan with cooking spray. Pour batter into prepared baking pan and spread evenly with a rubber spatula.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes or until cake is cooked through. You can test by inserting a toothpick into the center to see if it comes out clean.
- Remove cake and cool completely before frosting.
- To make the frosting
- Cream butter and cream cheese in a mixing bowl of a stand mixer or using a hand mixer. Beat until well mixed and fluffy.
- Add vanilla extract.
- Add powdered sugar, a little at at a time, beating between additions until it's all incorporated and the frosting is the thickness desired.
- If frosting is thicker than you like, mix in a Tablespoon of milk to thin it.
- Spread over the cake and cut into squares.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
This Farm Girl Cooks is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories and other nutritional values can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.