Caramel pumpkin spice latte cake with a super moist pumpkin spice cake, coffee mascarpone whipped cream and salted caramel sauce.
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caramel pumpkin spice latte cake
Welcome to the perfect fall cake, and another installment of my obsession with taking a 7″ cake and stuffing it with two layers of mascarpone whipped cream. This delicious caramel pumpkin spice latte cake starts with a super moist, perfectly spiced pumpkin cake. Then, it gets filled with a pumpkin spice coffee infused mascarpone whipped cream that’s light, fluffy, and perfect, and some salted caramel sauce for more flavor.
I also topped mine with cute little piped pumpkins which you don’t need to do, but if you want to, all the info is in the recipe card for those as well.
The only thing special you’ll need is a 7″ springform pan (or 6″ for a taller cake) – you can find the one I used here. But other than that, this cake is super easy to make. So let’s get into it! 🙂
why you’ll love this caramel pumpkin spice latte cake:
- It’s super moist: all the pumpkin puree and sour cream helps make this cake super moist and delicious.
- It’s a PSL in cake form: this cake has all the delicious flavors of PSL (& caramel) put into it, making it the perfect fall cake.
- Mascarpone whipped cream: mascarpone whipped cream is already the perfect cake filling – but it’s so much more delicious with a little bit of pumpkin spice coffee infused into it.
papanicholas coffee
My favorite brand of coffee is PapaNicholas Coffee, so it’s perfect that I get to work with them! I use their coffee beans every single day and am so happy to be able to spread my love of their coffee to you. Today I partnered up with PapaNicholas Coffee for this delicious caramel pumpkin spice latte cake and used their Pumpkin Spice Coffee which has a sweet aroma with hints of cinnamon and nutmeg. I can’t recommend them enough, so please be sure to check them out! You can find their website by clicking here. And if you do end up purchasing their coffee be sure to use code FRESH20 which will get you 20% off any of their coffee!.
expert baking tips
Weigh your ingredients:
My recipes are all written in grams because it is the most accurate way to bake. When you use a kitchen scale, you ensure that your baked goods turn out as close to the written recipe as possible. Plus, the cleanup is way easier when using a scale! I will provide standard cup measurements but please note that I have not tested the recipe using cup measurements and therefore can not guarantee your recipe will come out how mine did. Here is my favorite kitchen scale.
Be careful when mixing the cake batter:
When you over-mix your batter, you create more gluten in the batter which will make your cake go from light and moist to dense and chewy. When you mix in the wet ingredients, be sure to only mix just until that last streak of flour disappears.
Use room temperature ingredients:
This is super important for allowing the batter to come together smoothly. You’ll want to take your ingredients out of the fridge about an hour before baking to allow them enough time to come to room temperature.
Keep a close eye on the cake while it bakes:
Cakes and cupcakes like to go from under-baked to over-baked super quickly so it is important to keep a close eye on them. I’d recommend that you start checking on the cake around 35 minutes.
BE CAREFUL WHEN BEATING THE FILLING
When you’re beating together the mascarpone with the sugar, you’ll really only want to mix it for ~30 seconds, just until it’s all combined. Mascarpone likes to get weird and clumpy the longer you beat it, as opposed to ingredients like butter and cream cheese which get nice and smooth.
A note on oven temperature:
Ovens vary and fluctuate in temperature and might not always actually be at the temperature they claim to be at. If you love to bake like I do, I highly recommend getting an oven thermometer. They are super helpful for letting you know when your oven might be lying to you! I use this one.
ingredients for caramel pumpkin spice latte cake:
pumpkin spice cake:
- Unsalted butter: for tenderizing the cake and giving it that classic buttery taste. We’ll make brown butter to make this cake even more flavorful and delicious. You can substitute in salted butter, just be sure to omit the extra salt.
- Light brown sugar & granulated sugar: for sweetening, flavor, and for moisture.
- Eggs: for moisture, structure, and binding the batter together.
- Vanilla: for flavor.
- Pumpkin puree: for flavor and moisture! Make sure the ingredients on the can only say “pumpkin”, and that you are not using pumpkin pie filling.
- Sour cream: for moisture and for keeping the cake tender. You can substitute in buttermilk or greek yogurt if needed.
- All purpose flour: the structure of the cake. I would not recommend using cake flour as the cake is already super fluffy and tender using the all purpose.
- Baking powder: for helping the cake rise.
- Salt: for balancing and bringing out the sweetness of the cake.
- Pumpkin pie spice: for flavor! You can replace it with cinnamon, or omit it all together if you’re not a fan.
coffee Mascarpone whipped cream:
- Mascarpone: a rich and creamy base for the frosting.
- Light brown sugar: for a touch of sweetness.
- Heavy whipping cream: to make the cream light and fluffy.
- Pumpkin spice coffee grounds: for that classic PSL flavor. I used PapaNicholas Pumpkin Spice Coffee.
- Salted caramel sauce: for layering on to the cake. You can use store-bought, or you can use my super easy and delicious salted caramel sauce.
how to make caramel pumpkin spice latte cake
Below are some images of what the cake looks like at various points of the process. You can find the full recipe at the end of the blog post!
- Beat together the wet ingredients.
- Then gently fold in the dry ingredients.
- Bake the cake.
- While the cake is cooling, make the coffee mascarpone whipped cream.
- Once the cake has cooled to room temperature, slice it in half horizontally 2 times to get 3 layers.
- Layer the cake with the mascarpone cream and salted caramel sauce – then slice, serve, and enjoy!
caramel pumpkin spice latte cake
recipe q&a
do I need to use coffee?
You can easily leave the coffee out of the cream to make a delicious caramel pumpkin spice cake! If you’re not using a pumpkin spice coffee, I recommend adding 1/4 tsp. of pumpkin pie spice to the mascarpone cream for more flavor.
Can I bake this cake in a different sized pan?
You could bake this in a 8″ springform. Just note that the cake and cream layer will be a tad thinner. You could also bake this in a 6″ springform, but your cake will be much thicker and will take a bit more time to bake. I think a 7″ springform is the sweet spot with this cake, so I definitely highly recommend using that!
can I make this cake ahead of time?
Definitely! You can bake the cake up to two days in advance and keep it stored in an airtight container at room temperature. I would recommend waiting to make and fill the cake with the cream until the day you want to serve it, so you don’t have to keep it stored in the fridge where it will dry out faster.
how to store pumpkin spice latte cake
Once you fill the cake, you’ll want to keep it stored in an airtight container in the fridge, where it will keep well for about 3 days. Just note that it will dry out faster since it’s in the fridge.
tools and ingredients:
You can find all my favorite tools and ingredients that I use on my Amazon Storefront page, here!
other recipes you might enjoy:
did you make this recipe?
I’d love to see and know your thoughts! please leave a comment and review below, and tag me on instagram @freshbeanbakery. #freshbeanbakery
Caramel Pumpkin Spice Latte Cake
Ingredients
Pumpkin Spice Cake
- 113 g unsalted butter (½ c.)
- 100 g light brown sugar (½ c.)
- 50 g granulated sugar (¼ c.)
- 225 g pumpkin puree (1 c.)
- 2 eggs room temperature
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- 45 g sour cream (3 tbsp.) room temperature
- 160 g all purpose flour (1 ⅓ c.)
- 1 ½ tsp. baking powder
- ¼ tsp. salt
- 1 ½ tsp. pumpkin pie spice
Coffee Mascarpone Cream
- 300 g heavy whipping cream (1 ⅓ c.)
- 45 g pumpkin spice coffee grounds (¼ c. + 2 tbsp.)
- 300 g mascarpone (1 ⅓ c.)
- 2 tbsp. light brown sugar
- ½ c. salted caramel sauce
Instructions
Pumpkin Spice Cake
- Before starting the cake, mix the 300g of heavy whipping cream and 45g of coffee grounds together. Store the mixture in the fridge until you're ready to make the mascarpone cream. [Alternatively, you can mix in 1 tbsp. of instant espresso powder & set it aside in the fridge.]
- Add the butter to a small saucepan and set it over medium heat. Stir the butter occasionally until it turns amber in color and develops little brown specks, then remove it from the heat. Transfer the butter to a medium sized mixing bowl, then set it in the freezer for 5 minutes to cool down.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F / 175°C. Butter a 7" springform pan, then coat the inside with sugar.
- Once the butter has cooled down a bit, add in the sugars, pumpkin puree, eggs, vanilla, and sour cream. Whisk vigorously until well combined.
- Add in the flour, baking powder, salt, and pumpkin pie spice. Fold the dry ingredients into the wet, just until no flour streaks remain.
- Pour the cake batter into your prepared pan. Bake for 35-45 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out with only a few moist crumbs.
Coffee Mascarpone Cream
- Once the cake has cooled to room temperature, make the cream filling. In a medium-sized mixing bowl with a hand mixer or stand mixer, beat together the mascarpone and sugar just until the mixture is cohesive.
- Place a fine mesh sieve over the bowl, then pour the heavy cream & coffee mixture through the fine mesh sieve.
- Beat the mixture until soft peaks form.
Assembling the Cake
- Once the cake has completely cooled to room temperature, carefully slice the cake twice horizontally to get 3 even layers
- Place the bottom half of the cake back into the springform pan, then spread 1/3 of the mascarpone cream on to the bottom cake layer, along with ¼ c. of salted caramel sauce.
- Place the middle cake layer on top, then spread ½ of the remaining mascarpone cream on to the cake, along with the remaining ¼ c. of salted caramel sauce.
- Place the top cake layer on top, pushing it down slightly to secure it. Cover the cake with plastic wrap and leave it in the fridge to set for at least 10 minutes.
- (Optional) If you'd like to make mini pumpkins on top you will need two piping bags, a 4B piping tip, orange food dye, and cocoa powder. Add ~3 tbsp. of frosting to a small bowl and dye it with orange food dye. Add ~1 tbsp. of cream to another small bowl and dye it with a tiny bit of cocoa powder. The cream may thicken up significantly because of the additional mixing – if this happens, you can thin it out with a little bit of heavy cream to get it back to the same consistency it was before.
- Once the cake has set, top it with the remaining mascarpone cream. Transfer the orange cream to a piping bag fitted with a 4B tip, and the brown cream to a piping bag with the tip cut off. Pipe little orange pumpkins on top, then top them with a little brown stem. Slice, serve, and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Please note that the nutrition facts are only an estimate and may vary based on different brands of ingredients and any substitutions made.
Hi Erin! This looks delicious! I’m thinking of making this in a 9 inch cake pan for a larger group of people. How do you recommend calculating the ingredients to do that successfuly? I’ve read that I should multiply everything by 1.64
Hi Theresa, thank you so much! Multiplying by 1.64 is correct but I would recommend doubling the ingredients so you don’t have to do any weird measurements with the eggs, and then use the excess batter to make a few cupcakes on the side. I hope this helps! 🙂