This Pumpkin Cake with Maple Frosting is perfection! It’s so light and fluffy with browned butter maple buttercream frosting! This cake is the perfect fall dessert.
While you’re on a pumpkin kick make sure to try my Pumpkin Dump Cake too! It is OUTRAGEOUS!
This Is the Perfect Pumpkin Cake with Maple Frosting!
There is something to be said for a cake recipe that is as easy as it is delicious.This pumpkin cake recipe starts with a cake mix, so it’s super easy and has that unmistakable soft texture, plus the frosting is a dream come true. I kid you not, this frosting is RIDICULOUS.
The pumpkin combined with the maple and browned butter is an insane combination and will surely be the favorite dessert of your pumpkin season!
How to Make The Perfect Pumpkin Cake
Like I said the cake batter is simple. It starts with a yellow cake mix as the shortcut. You doctor up the cake mix with a few extras, like canned pumpkin and pumpkin pie spice. I love a short cut cake mix recipe.
Cake Ingredients:
- yellow cake mix
- pumpkin puree, make sure not to use pumpkin pie filling
- milk
- vegetable or canola oil
- eggs
- pumpkin pie spice
How to Make Maple Browned Butter Frosting
While the pumpkin cake is baking go ahead and brown your butter. You will need to do this ahead, because once the butter is browned, you will need to chill it, so it’s no longer melted. You can easily do this way in advance, because once it’s chilled (and solid) you will need to bring it back to room temperature so you can whip it for the frosting.
I know this sounds complicated….melt it, chill it, room-temperature-it… but it’s totally easy. Like I said, you can brown your butter way ahead and store it in the fridge until you’re ready to use it!
The frosting is simply the browned butter, powdered sugar and maple syrup!
Frosting Ingredients:
- butter
- powdered sugar
- maple syrup
How To Assemble…
I had to “level” my cakes with a serrated knife a small bit, so they stacked nicely. I highly encourage you to eat any extra cake pieces that you cut off. It is a well known fact that these are, indeed, the best pieces of the cake.
Also, note the picture looks like I poked holes in my cake…
I didn’t. The cake just had some air bubbles that never worked themselves out. Totally no biggie.
Also, you can absolutely cover this cake with frosting…I just prefer the “naked cake” look, with just a filling and a layer on top!
And you know if you happen to have some really good maple syrup, why not give it an extra drizzle?!
This perfect pumpkin cake recipe is incredibly easy and guaranteed to be a new favorite. The Maple Browned Butter Frosting makes this easy cake recipe extra special.
This pumpkin cake should definitely be on your fall baking list!
Looking For More Pumpkin Recipes? Try These:
- Pumpkin Earthquake Cake
- Pumpkin Roll
- Pumpkin Scones
- Pumpkin Cheesecake
- Pumpkin Blondies
- Pumpkin Banana Bread
Perfect Pumpkin Cake with Maple Frosting
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 10 servings 1x
- Category: Cake
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: Dessert
Description
This Pumpkin Cake with Maple Frosting is perfection! It’s so light and fluffy with browned butter maple buttercream frosting! This cake is the perfect fall dessert.
Ingredients
Cake
- 1 box yellow cake mix
- 1 cup pumpkin puree (like Libby’s canned pumpkin)
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1/3 cup oil
- 4 eggs
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
Frosting
- 1 cup butter
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 3/4 cup maple syrup
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Coat 2 8- inch round pans with nonstick spray. Line the bottoms of the pans with parchment paper cut to fit, and spray again. Set aside.
- In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment combine the cake mix, pumpkin, milk, oil, eggs and pumpkin pie spice. Mix on low to combine for 30 seconds and then turn the mixer up to medium and continue mixing for 2 minutes, scraping the sides of the bowl as necessary.
- Divide the batter between the two pans evenly and bake for 25-35 minutes until the centers of the cake is set and toothpick inserted comes out clean.
- Allow the cakes to cool in the pan for 5 minutes and then remove the cakes from the pans and allow to cool on a wire rack until cooled completely.
Frosting
- While the cake is baking place the butter in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat. When the butter is melted and begins to boil begins swirling (or stirring) the pan to prevent the fat solids from sticking to the bottom of the pan and burning. Continue cooking the butter until it becomes a deep amber color. Remove from the heat and cool for 5 minutes. Place the pan in the refrigerator so the butter chills and becomes solid again.
- When you’re ready to make your frosting remove the butter from the fridge and allow the butter to sit at room temperature for 10 minutes to take the chill off.
- Scrape the browned butter into the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium speed until creamy. Turn the mixer to low and add in the powdered sugar.
- Slowly add in the maple syrup and turn the mixer up to medium to mix until creamy, scraping the sides of the bowl as necessary.
Assembly
- Level one of the cakes with a serrated knife. Place this layer on a cake plate. Top this layer with a little less than half of the frosting and smooth with an off-set spatula. Place the remaining cake on top and top that with the rest of the frosting.
- Drizzle a little more maple syrup on top if desired.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slice
- Calories: 503
- Sugar: 56.8 g
- Sodium: 69.9 mg
- Fat: 28 g
- Carbohydrates: 62.1 g
- Protein: 3.6 g
- Cholesterol: 123.5 mg
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the brown butter is worth the effort. if you burn it, pour all the butter in a wide and white bowl… then slowly pour it into another back and forth a couple time–the burnt butter’s debri will settle to the bottom and you’ll have perfect browned butter after a couple transfers!
I made this last night, and it was ammmmazing. I will be making a second one within the day or two for at a work function.
I followed the recipe as written; however, I added a third cup of sugar (some brown, some white). I think the sugar in the mix could have been plenty, but I’m not complaining with the added sugar and I will add a 1/4 cup of brown sugar next time (as added sugar is required in other yellow cake mix-pumpkin cake recipes).
I went to Whole Foods and got some very cheap but quality pure/”canned pumpkin”–generally the same… I find the Libby’s to be a bit more watery and bland. I also used only a 1/2 cup of real maple syrup and will use this same amount next time (more would make it very… wet).
I cooked mine for around 20 minutes and they came out moist and perfect. I’m so excited. This is the first out-of-this-world cake I’ve made in ages (months) and just in time for the holidays (SCORE)! Thanks much!
great tips!! so glad you liked it!
I can’t believe how easy this cake is! It sounds perfect!
Is there any vanilla bean in the frosting? Those little flecks are intriguing. I can’t tell if they are vanilla bean or just from the brown sugar. This frosting would be delicious on a spice cake, too.
They are actually from the browned butter!!
What a great way to welcome in fall! Yum!
WHAT?! Girl this is fantastic.
This looks delicious,easy, and beautiful. However, I live in NY, and I was born and raised in the south. I beg to differ on the can’t wait for fall and ready to ditch the shorts. I dread the onset of the cold and snow and it is coming soon….sometimes in October. Give me some sweat…hate chill bumps. I am so sad that summer is almost over. We have spectacular foliage up here though.
What a gorgeous cake!! I’ll take a bowl of that frosting, please.
This does not use a can of pumpkin, correct. You need to buy the puree? I am trying this tonight, but want to confirm the can of pumpkin in the pantry is not the correct ingredient.
This does use canned pumpkin, like Libby’s 100% pumpkin!
How beautiful is this cake?!? I’ll take all the browned butter frosting please:)