Pumpkin Pecan Cake (Printable)
Spiced pumpkin cake with toasted pecans and cinnamon cream cheese icing, perfect for fall gatherings.
# What You Need:
→ Pumpkin Pecan Cake
01 - 2 cups all-purpose flour
02 - 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
03 - 1 teaspoon baking soda
04 - 1/2 teaspoon salt
05 - 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
06 - 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
07 - 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
08 - 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
09 - 1 cup granulated sugar
10 - 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
11 - 1 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
12 - 4 large eggs, room temperature
13 - 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
14 - 1 1/2 cups canned pumpkin purée
15 - 1 1/4 cups chopped pecans, lightly toasted
→ Cinnamon Cream Cheese Icing
16 - 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
17 - 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
18 - 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
19 - 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
20 - 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
21 - Pinch of salt
# Directions:
01 - Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour a 9x13-inch baking pan.
02 - In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves. Set aside.
03 - In a large bowl, beat together the granulated sugar, brown sugar, and melted butter until smooth. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla extract and pumpkin purée until fully incorporated.
04 - Gradually fold the dry ingredient mixture into the wet ingredients using a spatula. Do not overmix. Fold in the toasted pecans until evenly distributed.
05 - Pour the batter into the prepared pan and spread evenly. Bake for 32 to 37 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove from oven and let cool completely on a wire rack.
06 - In a mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese and butter together until light and creamy. Gradually add the powdered sugar, then beat in the cinnamon, vanilla, and salt until fluffy and smooth.
07 - Spread the cinnamon cream cheese icing evenly over the completely cooled cake. Cut into 12 slices and serve.
# Expert Tips:
01 -
- The combination of pumpkin and toasted pecans creates a texture so moist and tender that people will assume you spent all day on it.
- That cinnamon cream cheese icing is the kind of thing you will want to eat with a spoon straight from the bowl.
02 -
- Do not frost the cake until it is completely cooled, because even slightly warm cake will cause the cream cheese icing to melt and slide off the edges.
- Toast the pecans before adding them to the batter, because raw pecans in a baked cake taste flat and waxy by comparison.
03 -
- Let the cream cheese and butter for the icing soften naturally on the counter rather than microwaving them, because partially melted dairy makes greasy icing instead of fluffy icing.
- Check your cake five minutes before the minimum bake time, because every oven runs differently and overbaked pumpkin cake turns dry and crumbly fast.