Moist, delicious pumpkin cake, layered with maple cinnamon buttercream and crunchy streusel. Perfect for Thanksgiving or any fall celebration!
One of the most interesting parts of blogging (aside from all of it) is the whole co-worker piece. The fact that we have co-workers….sort of….but that they all live across the country from us. Which means that, unless we have the chance to meet them in person someday, we really only have a partial sense of them. And a partial sense of their food! That is, until we try it.
And sometimes, when we finally do get the chance to meet them….and we finally do get the chance to try their food….we’re even more blown away by them than we thought we would be. Case in point: my friend Lindsay from the blog Life, Love & Sugar. I’ve been lucky enough to spend time with Lindsay not once, but twice now, and both times I fell in love with her even more. She’s kind and genuine and fun….and the minute you get into a conversation with her, you feel like you’ve known her your whole life. And that’s just her. Her CAKES!?!? They’re next level. So when I found out she was writing a cookbook that was all about cakes, you better believe I jumped on it.
The book is called Simply Beautiful Homemade Cakes, and IT IS STUNNING. Seriously, every cake is absolutely gorgeous and they all sound incredible. Oreo Cookie Dough Brownie Layer Cake? Butter Pecan Ice Cream Cake? Caramel Macadamia Nut Cheesecake? Champagne and Raspberry Mousse Cake? I could go on and on….and honestly, one sounds (and looks) better than the next. But when I saw the Maple Streusel Pumpkin Cake, I knew I had to try it.
This cake is three delicious layers of moist pumpkin cake, layered with maple cinnamon buttercream and crunchy streusel. Aka pumpkin HEAVEN. Literally. I cut a giant slice so I could photograph the layers, and I proceeded to devour every. last. crumb. It was that good.
And even though I wouldn’t typically consider myself a cake person, I can’t wait to work my way through Simply Beautiful Homemade Cakes! Because not only am I certain they’d all taste just as amazing as this Maple Streusel Pumpkin Cake, but the book is full of helpful tips on everything from measuring to preparing cake pans to making frosting to decorating. So many awesome decorating tutorials that I can’t wait to try. But first….this Maple Streusel Pumpkin Cake is waiting for me! Thanks for the delicious recipe, Lindsay….and CONGRATULATIONS on your gorgeous cookbook!
Maple Streusel Pumpkin Cake
Ingredients
Pumpkin Cake
- 3/4 c. unsalted butter room temperature
- 1 1/2 c. sugar
- 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
- 3 Tbsp. vegetable oil
- 3 large eggs room temperature, divided
- 1 large egg white room temperature
- 2 1/2 c. all purpose flour
- 2 tsp. baking powder
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
- 1/8 tsp. ground cloves
- 1 3/4 c. pumpkin puree
Maple Cinnamon Frosting
- 1 1/2 c. salted butter room temperature
- 1 1/2 c. vegetable shortening
- 12 c. powdered sugar divided
- 2 tsp. ground cinnamon
- 1 Tbsp. maple extract
- 1/4 c. water or milk room temperature
Cinnamon Streusel
- 3/4 c. all purpose flour
- 3/4 c. light brown sugar packed
- 1 1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
- 6 Tbsp. salted butter melted
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line the bottoms of 3 (8 inch) cake pans with parchment paper and grease the sides.
- In a large mixing 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 2 of the eggs and mix until well combined.
- Add the remaining 1 egg to the egg whites 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.
- To make the maple cinnamon buttercream, mix together 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 and smooth.
- Slowly add the remaining 6 cups powdered sugar and mix until well combined and smooth.
- To make the streusel, preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Add the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and butter to a medium bowl and mix with a fork until all ingredients are well combined and crumbly.
- Spread the streusel evenly onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and bake 6-8 minutes.
- Set the streusel aside to cool.
- Once it is cool, stumble it back into pieces.
- 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 c. of frosting in an even layer on top of the cake.
- Top the frosting with one third of the streusel mixture. Lightly press 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 dallops of frosting around the outside top edge of the cake.
- Add the remaining streusel to the top of the cake, in the middle of the dollops of frosting.
- Store the cake at room temperature in an airtight container.
Notes
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?