Moist brown butter pumpkin spice sheet cake topped with a brown butter cream cheese frosting.
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brown butter pumpkin spice sheet cake
If you’re looking for a super simple fall cake that’s sure to be a crowd pleaser, look no further than this brown butter pumpkin spice cake! It’s super moist, loaded with pumpkin flavor & pumpkin spices, made with brown butter, and topped with the most delicious brown butter cream cheese frosting. Aaaand it’s finished off with cute little pumpkins on top.
why you’ll love this pumpkin spice sheet cake:
- It’s super moist: a combination of pumpkin puree & sour cream make this cake *super* moist.
- Brown butter & spices: brown butter is great at all times of the year but I feel like it pairs so well with the fall spices in the cake.
- Cream cheese frosting: it’s tangy, creamy, slightly sweet & also flavored with brown butter.
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 dry 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 while they bake.
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 pumpkin spice sheet 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.
- Vegetable oil: makes the cake even more tender and delicious. You can sub in any neutral oil, such as canola, in its’ place.
- Light brown sugar: for sweetening, flavor, and for moisture.
- Granulated sugar: for sweetening the cake and keeping it moist.
- 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.
brown butter cream cheese frosting:
- Cream cheese: the base of the cheesecake frosting! The tanginess from the cream cheese compliments the sweetness of the frosting and cookies so well.
- Unsalted butter: a little bit of butter helps thicken up the frosting.
- Salt: a little bit of salt helps balance the sweetness and bring out the flavor of the frosting.
- Vanilla: for flavor.
how to make pumpkin spice sheet cake
Here is what the pumpkin spice cake should look like at various points in the baking process. You can find the full recipe with instructions at the end of this blog post.
- Whisk together the wet ingredients.
- Then, mix in the dry ingredients.
- Bake the cake.
- Beat together the brown butter cream cheese frosting ingredients.
- Spread the brown butter cream cheese frosting over the cooled cake and decorate with mini pumpkins (optional.) I used a mini pumpkin cookie cutter to make the pumpkin outlines on the cake. Serve and enjoy!
pumpkin spice sheet cake recipe q&a
Can I bake this cake in a different sized pan?
You could bake this in a 8″ cake pan, 9″ cake pan, or 9″ square pan. Note that in a 9″ pan the cake will be a tad shorter and will probably take a few minutes less to bake.
can I double this recipe?
Definitely! Simply double all of the ingredients then split the batter between two 8″ square pans.
how to store pumpkin spice cake
This cake will taste the best and most fresh on the day that it is baked, but will keep well in an airtight container in the fridge for 5 days. You’ll want to store it in the fridge for the best food safety practice, since the frosting contains cream cheese! If you don’t like cold cake (understandable!), you can pull a slice out and let it sit for 30 min – 1 hr. before eating it.
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
Pumpkin Spice Sheet Cake
Ingredients
Brown Butter
- 210 g unsalted butter (15 tbsp.)
Pumpkin Spice Cake
- 113 g brown butter (½ c.)
- 36 g vegetable oil (3 tbsp.)
- 155 g light brown sugar (¾ c.)
- 2 eggs room temperature
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- 280 g pumpkin puree (1 ¼ c.)
- 60 g sour cream (¼ c.) room temperature
- 180 g all purpose flour (1 ½ c.)
- 2 tsp. baking powder
- ½ tsp. salt
- 1 ½ tsp. pumpkin pie spice
Brown Butter Cream Cheese Frosting
- 170 g cream cheese (¾ c.)
- 56 g brown butter room temperature (4 tbsp.)
- ¼ tsp. salt
- 240 g powdered sugar (2 c.)
- ½ tsp. vanilla
Instructions
Brown Butter
- In a small saucepan set over medium heat, brown the butter. Stir the butter occasionally until it turns amber in color and develops little brown specks.
- Remove the butter from the heat and chill it in the freezer for 5 minutes.
Pumpkin Spice Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350°F / 175°C. Butter and line an 8" square pan* with parchment paper.
- Pour 113g of the brown butter into a medium sized mixing bowl, and set the remaining brown butter aside at room temperature.
- Add in the sugar, oil, both eggs, the vanilla, pumpkin puree, and sour cream. Whisk 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 the prepared cake pan. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.
Brown Butter Cream Cheese Frosting
- In a small bowl, beat together the cream cheese, room temperature brown butter, and salt until the mixture is smooth.
- Add in half of the powdered sugar and beat until combined, then beat in the rest of the powdered sugar, followed by the vanilla.
- (Optional) Set aside a small amount of frosting to make little pumpkins on top. Dye some of the frosting orange, some green, and some brown. Transfer each color to a piping bag fitted with a small round tip.
- Once the cake has fully cooled to room temperature, spread the brown butter cream cheese frosting over it. Decorate with mini pumpkins if desired, then 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.
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