Everyday Pumpkin Cake Recipe: As a snack, this brown butter pumpkin cake is full of pumpkin puree and pumpkin spice. It only takes one bowl, is very simple to make, and makes one layer of very soft and moist pumpkin cake pieces. Sticky pumpkin spice sugar is put on top of the cake. In every way, it’s great for any fall event.
You might ask why I need a pumpkin cake every day. Of course you don’t;p but the point of this recipe and the original butter cake is that they’re so simple to make (only one bowl!). “Only a whisk!” and the result is a simple cake that is perfect in every way: it’s soft, moist, and has that classic pumpkin spice taste.
Where the recipe came from – The everyday brown butter cake recipe got me started on this. That cake recipe came from everyday butter cake, which came from a pound cake recipe. It’s clear that pumpkin adds a lot of liquid to cake batter. I thought I’d need to cut back on the sour cream, but after testing the recipe a few times, I found that the cake was better without it. I also didn’t use cake flour because I needed a thicker flour that could soak up all the extra water.
The crispy sugar topping you all love was then made even better by adding pumpkin spice =). I can’t wait for you to make this, and I hope you bring it to all of your fall parties every time!
Everyday Pumpkin Cake Recipe
Ingredients
Batter
- 226 g or 1 cup butter unsalted (cold is fine)
- 200 g or 1 cup brown sugar light or dark
- 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice 1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon, 1 tsp each ginger and nutmeg
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- ¾ tsp fine sea salt
- 2 large eggs at room temperature
- 250 g or 1 cup canned pumpkin puree
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 260 g or 2 cups all purpose flour
Topping
- 3 tablespoons organic granulated sugar for topping
- 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice for topping
Method
- Brown the butter: In a medium-sized cooking pan, warm the butter, then spew it out, and then foam it up.
- When you see bits of brown at the bottom, stir them around until they are all brown.
- Move the butter right away to a big bowl that can handle heat.
- Allow it to cool a little (5 to 10 minutes). First, grease an 8-inch square metal baking pan and then put parchment paper inside it.
- Warm the oven up to 350 F.
- Put the sugar in the bowl with the butter and mix it for one minute.
- Mix the vanilla, salt, and spices into the mixture with a whisk.
- Mix in one egg and whisk for one minute. After you add the second egg, whisk for another minute. It should look like the mix is smooth and shiny.
- Mix in the pumpkin juice with a whisk.
- Use a scale to measure the flour. To use cups, fluff the flour with a fork, then put it into the cup and level it off.
- Add the baking powder and flour to the batter and mix them in with a whisk.
- Put the mix into the pan that has been made. On top, mix the sugar and spices together with a whisk. Spread out evenly on top of the cake.
- Thirty to thirty-five minutes should pass before a cake tester comes out clean. The cake should also spring back when pressed on top.
- The cake should cool in the pan for about 10 minutes. After that, use the parchment paper to help you move it to a wire rack where it can cool completely.
- Use a sharp knife to cut the cake. Put leftovers in a container that won’t let air in.
FAQ
How to make your own pumpkin puree
I haven’t done it in a few years but it is possible and can be fun. In the past I’d follow Alton Brown’s guide: slice a sugar pumpkin in half, place it face-down on a baking sheet and roast for about half an hour. The puree is a little more watery in my experience and when you are measuring for a baked recipe I’d stir it well so you are getting a good mix of flesh and moisture.
Can this recipe be made into cupcakes?
Yep. I’d venture it would make a dozen cupcakes. Fill the cups 2/3 full and bake them at 350 F for about 20 minutes.
Can I make this pumpkin cake recipe be made dairy free?
Given that there’s no sour cream in this recipe I can totally see someone wanting to make it full dairy free to accommodate any family allergies. You can use a dairy free butter like miyokos butter which can be browned and treated like real butter.
Alternatively you could use an oil, although it will change the texture of the cake. If you’re subbing oil, avocado is quite lovely with it’s buttery consistency. I’d use about 165-180g of oil to replace the butter.
Can I make this as a sheet cake?
I totally see someone wanting to make this for a big fall gathering and needing to double it so the answer is maybe. There is the possibility that double the batter will struggle to bake in the center, there’s also the chance that if the pan’s height is too low, the batter will spill out of the edges of the pan. So if you wanted to cover all your bases you could just make it twice.