Welcome PSL season with this simple pumpkin spice latte cake recipe! Think soft and fluffy pumpkin spice cake layers topped in a super creamy espresso and pumpkin spice frosting. The pumpkin cake is super simple to make and is made in one bowl without a mixer. The psl frosting is an American buttercream that uses simple pantry ingredients! This is the perfect cake to make this fall.
If you know anything about me, then you know I am a HUGE fall lover. Come September 1st (I know, I know, the fall season is officially towards the end of September but I don't care!), you'll find me blasting Gilmore Girls with a pumpkin spice latte in hand.
This pumpkin spice latte cake is just like your favorite fall drink, but in a cake! After a lot of testing, I finally got this pumpkin cake down. I wanted to make sure it didn't take like pumpkin bread but instead was soft and fluffy like cake. I then adapted my favorite coffee frosting and added pumpkin spice to it.
Because this spiced pumpkin cake uses oil instead of butter, it follows the blended method. So all you have to do is whisk all of the wet ingredients, then add in dry ingredients and you're done!
Want even more pumpkin recipes? Try out my chewy pumpkin cookies, mini pumpkin muffins, pumpkin pie in a graham cracker crust and pumpkin bread with cream cheese frosting.
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Why you'll love this recipe!
- Easy Recipe: the pumpkin cake is made in one bowl without a hand mixer or stand mixer. The frosting is an American buttercream that uses just a few simple ingredients and takes no time to make.
- Pumpkin Flavor: you get tons of warm pumpkin spice flavor thanks to using canned pumpkin puree, cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice.
Grab your ingredients
- Pumpkin: You'll need to use 100% pure pumpkin puree and not pumpkin pie filling! Pumpkin pie filling already has spices and sugars added to it. I haven't tested this cake with homemade pumpkin puree.
- Granulated Sugar: adding granulated sugar not only helps sweeten the cake but provides structure and moisture to the cake layers.
- Light Brown Sugar: just like granulated sugar, light brown sugar helps sweeten the cake and also provides moisture. Light brown sugar has molasses in it which is going to give a stronger, more caramelized flavor to the cake which I think works perfectly with pumpkin.
- Pumpkin Pie Spice: a must-have spice for this pumpkin spice cake! The mixture of cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and allspice are a perfect combination for a warmly spiced fall cake. You can buy it in most grocery stores or even make your own!
- Ground Cinnamon: I'm adding more cinnamon to this cake to add even more warm spicy flavors.
- Oil: using neutral oil will make this pumpkin cake super soft and moist. Use a neutral oil like sunflower oil, vegetable oil or canola oil.
- Buttermilk: this is the liquid we'll be adding to our pumpkin cake! When I was testing this recipe, I initially did it without any milk or buttermilk. The cake came out too dense and bread-like. Using buttermilk instead of regular milk makes this cake extra moist and soft.
- Flour: I've only tested this recipe with all-purpose flour. I recommend using a kitchen scale to weigh it out instead of a measuring cup. It's easy to add too much flour if you use measuring cups and that'll make your cake dry and dense.
- Unsalted Butter: you'll need unsalted butter to make the buttercream. Make sure you take it out of the fridge about an hour or so before making the frosting so it has time to get to room temperature.
- Confectioners' Sugar: I'm using confectioners' sugar, also known as powdered sugar or icing sugar, to sweeten and thicken the frosting.
- Espresso Powder: using instant espresso powder is how we'll give our coffee buttercream a coffee kick! Make sure to use fine powder and not granules which will make the frosting gritty.
Substitutions & Additions
- Frosting: if you don't want to use this pumpkin spice latte frosting, swap it out for the browned butter cream cheese frosting from my cardamom cake, biscoff buttercream or salted caramel frosting from my salted caramel filled cupcakes.
- Buttermilk: you should be able to swap out the buttermilk for sour cream.
How to make this recipe
- Step 1: Preheat the oven to 350°F and grease and line two 8-inch cake pans with parchment paper. In a large bowl, mix together the pumpkin puree, oil, eggs, buttermilk, vanilla extract, granulated sugar and light brown sugar.
- Step 2: Add the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and spices. Mix with a rubber spatula until just combined.
- Step 3: Pour the cake batter evenly into the two prepared cake pans. Bake in the preheated oven for 30-40 minutes. I recommend checking after 30 minutes. Insert a toothpick in the center of one of the cakes, if it comes out with no crumbs then it's done.
- Step 4: Let the cakes cool in the pan for 5-10 minutes, then remove to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
- Step 5: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large mixing bowl with a handheld mixer, beat the butter and confectioners' sugar together on low speed. Once combined, beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy.
- Step 6: Add the espresso powder, salt and pumpkin spice. Beat on medium high speed again to combine. If your frosting is too thick, add some heavy cream, a tablespoon at a time. Assemble your cake and enjoy!
My Baking Tips & Notes
- Frosting the Cake: make sure the cake has cooled completely before you assemble it. A warm or hot cake plus frosting is going to led to melting frosting and your cake sliding right off.
- Kitchen Scale: I always recommend using a kitchen scale to weigh out your ingredients. It's the most accurate way to bake and it's how I test all of my recipes, by using a kitchen scale it means your recipe will turn out the same as mine! Plus, you can easily get them for as little as 10 dollars now.
- Overmixing: be careful not to overmix the cake batter once you add the dry ingredients to the wet. Overmixing will activate the gluten in the flour, and your cake will come out tougher and denser.
- Make Ahead: you can make the cake layers two days ahead of time. Just wrap them in plastic wrap once completely cooled. You can also make the frosting two days ahead of time, just store it in an airtight container in the fridge. When ready to use, let come to room temperature and then re-whip with a handheld mixer before frosting your cake.
Serving Suggestions
- Pumpkin Spice Latte: of course, you have to serve this pumpkin spice latte cake with an actual pumpkin spice latte!
- Fall Dinner Party: serve this cake after you've served this roasted butternut squash carrot soup.
- Decorating: add fall themed sprinkles on top of the cake, or sprinkle over pumpkin spice powder for the perfect finishing touch!
- Salted Caramel Pumpkin Cake: you can fill the cake with salted caramel sauce or drizzle it on top!
- Leftover Pumpkin: you'll have some leftover canned pumpkin, so use it to make pumpkin sauce for coffee! I love adding it to my morning cup of coffee.
Storage & Freezing
Keep the assembled cake in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. Let come to room temperature before enjoying. If you don't have a big enough container, gently press pieces of parchment paper on any exposed cake slices. This will help it not dry out!
Freeze slices in an airtight container for up to 2 months. Let it thaw in the fridge before enjoying.
If you've made this recipe, make sure to leave a ⭐️ rating and review below! I love seeing when you make my recipes, so tag me on Instagram @alpineella so I can see! You can also follow along on Pinterest, Facebook and TikTok!
Recipe
Pumpkin Spice Latte Cake
Celebrate PSL season with this pumpkin spice latte cake! Soft & fluffy pumpkin cake layers topped with espresso & pumpkin spice frosting.
Equipment
- 2 8-inch cake pans
- Bowls
- Whisk
- Rubber Spatula
- Parchment Paper
- Hand Mixer
- Measuring Spoons
Ingredients
Pumpkin Spice Cake
- 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoon Baking powder
- 1 teaspoon Baking soda
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 ½ tablespoons Pumpkin pie spice
- ½ cup neutral oil
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- ½ cup buttermilk room temperature
- 1 cup Light brown sugar
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- 2 teaspoons Vanilla extract
Pumpkin Spice Latte Frosting
- 2 sticks unsalted butter room temperature
- 3 cups confectioners' sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 teaspoons espresso powder
- 2 teaspoons pumpkin spice
- ¼ cup heavy cream
Instructions
Cake
- Preheat your oven to 350 and grease and line two 8-inch cake pans with parchment paper. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the brown sugar, granulated sugar, canned pumpkin, buttermilk, vanilla extract, eggs, and oil.½ cup neutral oil, 2 large eggs, ½ cup buttermilk, 1 cup Light brown sugar, ½ cup granulated sugar, 1 cup pumpkin puree, 2 teaspoons Vanilla extract
- Add the pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, salt, baking soda, baking powder and flour. Stir until just combined.2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour, 1 ½ teaspoon Baking powder, 1 teaspoon Baking soda, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, 1 ½ tablespoons Pumpkin pie spice
- Pour evenly into the prepared baking pans.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 30-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
- Let cool in the pan for 5-10 minutes before removing from the cake pans and cooling completely on a wire cooling rack.
Frosting
- In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and confectioners' sugar together on low speed until well combined.2 sticks unsalted butter, 3 cups confectioners' sugar
- Increase the speed to medium-high and beat for 2 minutes until it becomes very thick. I recommend stopping the mixer and scraping the sides of the bowl so everything is getting mixed evenly.
- Stop the mixer and add the salt, vanilla, pumpkin spice, and espresso into the bowl. Beat on medium-high speed for another 2 minutes.1 teaspoon vanilla extract, ¼ teaspoon kosher salt, 2 teaspoons espresso powder, 2 teaspoons pumpkin spice
- Turn the mixer to your lowest speed and pour in the heavy cream. Beat until it becomes very creamy and spreadable.¼ cup heavy cream
- Assemble your cake and enjoy!
Notes
My recipes have been developed and tested in metric grams. I highly recommend using a weighing scale and measuring out your ingredients the metric way. I have provided a conversion to US cups but please note that I haven’t tested the recipe with this method. Just click on ‘US Customary’ above the ingredients to see the cup measurements.
I make sure that all of my ingredients are at room temperature before I start the recipe, so pull out all of the ingredients before you start baking.
Butter: I use European-style butter in my recipes. This will make your frosting much creamier and richer.
Pumpkin: you want to use 100% pure pumpkin puree in a can, and not pumpkin pie filling.
Salt: If you don’t have kosher salt, halve the amount of salt called for in the recipe. 1 teaspoon kosher salt = ½ teaspoon fine salt.
Buttermilk: If you don’t have buttermilk, replace it with an equal amount of sour cream or full fat yogurt. You can also make your buttermilk, for every cup of buttermilk add 1 tablespoon of lemon juice to 1 cup of milk and let sit for 5 minutes.
Vegetable Oil: Use an unflavoured oil like canola oil if you don’t have vegetable oil.
Storage: Keep tightly wrapped in the fridge for up to 5 days. Let it come to room temperature before eating.
Espresso Powder: make sure you're using fine espresso powder and not coffee granules, that'll be too gritty in the frosting.
Making Ahead: You can make the cake layers ahead of time. Bake them and then once completely cooled, wrap in plastic wrap tightly. Store in the fridge for up to 2 days or in the freezer for up to 2 months. If frozen, allow to defrost and come to room temperature before frosting the cake. Tried this recipe?Leave a comment below! You can also tag me on Instagram @alpineella so I can see what you made!
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