Moist, delicious pumpkin cake layered with maple cinnamon buttercream and crunchy streusel topping. The perfect pumpkin cake for Thanksgiving or any fall celebration!
You know how there’s always that ONE dessert that gets all the attention? The one you’d better get in line for if you want to guarantee a piece? Well… this cake is it. Not only is an absolute show stopper, with three gorgeous pumpkin layers, piped cinnamon buttercream, and a golden brown streusel topping, but it couldn’t be more delicious.
It’s the perfect combination of moist pumpkin cake, sweet maple cinnamon frosting and crunchy cinnamon streusel topping. Aka heaven on a plate!
And it’s from a cookbook called Simply Beautiful Homemade Cakes, written by my friend Lindsay of Life Love & Sugar. Lindsay is an amazing baker, known for her gorgeous cakes, and when I saw this Maple Streusel Pumpkin Cake in her cookbook I knew I had to try it.
Let me just say it did not disappoint… which I knew it wouldn’t! It’s everything you’d want in a pumpkin layer cake, with the delicious addition of cinnamon streusel. And I really think the streusel takes it to a whole new level! A level that is most definitely suited for any Thanksgiving celebration.
what you’ll need for this recipe
For the cake – This cake has all the typical ingredients you’d find in most cakes, including butter, sugar, vegetable oil, flour, baking powder, baking soda, and spices. A couple things to note: Be sure your butter is completely softened (but not melted) and if you substitute salted butter, omit the extra salt in the recipe. You can also substitute 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice for the individual spices.
For the frosting – The frosting for this cake is made with a combination of butter and shortening for extra stability. Feel free to substitute butter for the shortening if you prefer! It also uses powdered sugar for sweetness and a combination of maple extract and cinnamon for flavor. Substitute a small amount of real maple syrup if you can’t find extract.
For the streusel – The streusel is a simple combination of butter, brown sugar, cinnamon and flour. Substitute pumpkin pie spice for extra flavor.
how to make maple streusel pumpkin cake
Make the cake. Make the cake batter by creaming together the butter and sugar, adding the vanilla oil, and eggs, then adding the dry ingredients and pumpkin puree. Bake in three round cake pans according to recipe instructions.
Make the frosting. Prep the frosting by creaming together the butter and shortening, then slowly adding in the powdered sugar and flavorings.
Make the streusel. Make the streusel by combining the ingredients, baking, and crumbling.
Assemble. Now comes assembly time! Assemble the cake by layering cake layers with frosting and streusel, then decorating as desired.
Recipe Variations
- Use homemade pumpkin puree
- Substitute maple or cinnamon extract for vanilla extract
- Use a gluten free flour substitute (follow substitution instructions)
- Substitute pumpkin pie spice for the individual spices
- Substitute cream cheese frosting and add cinnamon
- Use extra butter in place of shortening in the frosting
- Use store bought frosting to save time
- Omit the streusel topping
More Pumpkin Cake Recipes
Looking for more delicious pumpkin cake recipes? These are some of our favorites!
Maple Streusel Pumpkin Cake
Ingredients
Pumpkin Cake
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter room temperature
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 Tablespoons vegetable oil
- 3 large eggs room temperature, divided
- 1 large egg white room temperature
- 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 3/4 cups pumpkin puree
Maple Cinnamon Frosting
- 1 1/2 cups salted butter room temperature
- 1 1/2 cups vegetable shortening
- 12 cups powdered sugar divided
- 2 teaspons ground cinnamon
- 1 Tablespoon maple extract
- 1/4 cup water or milk room temperature
Cinnamon Streusel
- 3/4 cup all purpose flour
- 3/4 cup light brown sugar packed
- 1 1/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 6 Tablespoons salted butter melted
Instructions
Cake
- Preheat oven to 350° F. Line the bottoms of 3 (8-inch) cake pans with parchment paper and grease the sides.
- In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves. Set aside.
- In a separate large bowl, cream the butter and sugar on medium speed until light in color and fluffy, 3-4 minutes.
- Add the vanilla extract and vegetable oil and mix until combined.
- Add 3 eggs and egg white and mix until well combined.
- Add half of the flour mixture to the batter and mix until combined.
- Add the pumpkin puree to the batter and mix until combined.
- Add the remaining half of the flour mixture and mix until well combined and smooth. Batter will be thick.
- Divide the batter evenly between the prepared cake pans.
- Bake the cakes for 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out with a few crumbs.
- Remove the cakes from the oven and allow them to cool for 3-4 minutes, then remove them to a cooling rack to finish cooling.
Frosting
- In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and shortening until smooth.
- Slowly add 6 cups of powdered sugar, mixing until smooth after each addition.
- Add the cinnamon, maple extract, and milk and mix until well combined.
- Slowly add the remaining 6 cups powdered sugar and mix until well combined.
Streusel
- In a medium mixing bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and butter. Mix with a fork until all ingredients are well combined and crumbly.
- Spread evenly onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper; bake at 350° for 6-8 minutes.
- Set aside to cool. Once cool, crumble it back into pieces.
Assembly
- To assemble the cake, remove the domes from the tops of the cakes with a large serrated knife.
- Place the first cake on a serving plate or cardboard cake round. Spread 3/4 cup frosting in an even layer on top of the cake.
- Top the frosting with one third of the streusel mixture, lightly pressing the streusel into the frosting. Repeat this process with the second layer of cake, then add the final layer of cake on top.
- Frost the outside of the cake, creating a rustic look. Pipe dollops of frosting around the outside top edge of the cake and add the remaining streusel to the center.
- Store at room temperature in an airtight container.
Notes
Nutrition
Lindsay @ Life, Love and Sugar says
OMG Cathy, it looks SOOO perfect!! I think it looks even better than mine! 🙂 I’m SO excited to hear that you enjoyed it! It’s totally one of my faves. Thank you thank you friend!!
Dorothy at Shockingly Delicious says
I see Thanksgiving dessert, right there!
Incredible lovely and professional looking cake. I’ll pay you $50 to make one for me!
amanda |The Chunky Chef says
This is such a great Fall dessert!! Would be great for Thanksgiving too 🙂
Love Bakes Good Cakes says
What a stunning cake!! Perfect for Thanksgiving!
Carrie @Frugal Foodie Mama says
This cake is just gorgeous and perfect for fall! 🙂 I am going to have to check out her cookbook.
Shelley @ Two Healthy Kitchens says
Oh my goodness! You’re not kidding about this cake begin totally next level – an absolute stunner! So perfect for a unique Thanksgiving dessert!
Anna @ Crunchy Creamy Sweet says
SO pretty! This cake is perfect for our Thanksgiving dinner! Loving the streusel topping!
Ginny McMeans says
That cake looks so moist. It could be a family tradition. Beautiful!
Krista says
My kind of cake! Looks delicious!
Jess says
This looks incredible! I’ll definitely have to check out this cookbook, looks great for holiday gifting!!
Kai says
Devine!!! I don’t like pumpkin pie – but I could get on board with this cake!! Would it be ok to just use some maple syrup in place of the maple extract?
Theresa says
I made this cake for Thanksgiving. The pumpkin cake is good, but the frosting recipe is outrageous. I followed the recipe exactly and it took forever to make and was the consistency of play-dough. I’ll never make this frosting again. There also was waaayyy too much frosting for this cake. A traditional buttercream without the shortening would have done the trick.
Lisa M says
Every month, I am responsible for providing a birthday cake for members of a group I’m involved in. I usually ask one of the celebrants to suggest the cake and the August birthday girl sent me this recipe. It’s not something I would have chosen myself.
That said, it is easily the best cake I’ve ever made – and I’ve got a pretty good repertoire. The cake itself is incredibly moist and the flavors & textures are perfect together! I almost always tweak recipes a bit, but I honestly wouldn’t change a thing about this one. Another bonus is that I’ve been led to this blog; I’m looking forward to exploring further!
WINNER!
Brooke Warren says
Can I sub butter for the vegetable shortening????
Cathy Trochelman says
Yes, you can.
Kristen says
There seems to be a step missing… When do you add the egg/egg white mixture to the batter?
Marisa says
How do you think this would be with a cream cheese frosting with the maple extract and cinnamon added?