Pumpkin Spice Cake with Honey Frosting Recipe | PBS Food

Pumpkin Spice Cake with Honey Frosting

Be sure to use canned pumpkin puree — not pumpkin pie filling or fresh pumpkin puree.

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Prep time: 25 Minutes

Total time: 2 Hours, 30 Minutes

Yield: Serves 9

Course:

    Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter melted, plus more for pan
  • 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
  • 2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon pumpkin-pie spice (or 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon, 3/4 teaspoon ginger, 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg, and 1/8 teaspoon each allspice and cloves)
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 1/2 cups sugar
  • 1 (15 ounce) can solid-pack pumpkin puree
  • 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
  • 1 bar (8 ounces) regular (or reduced-fat) cream cheese
  • 1/4 cup honey

    Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9-inch square baking pan.
  2. In a medium bowl, whisk flour, baking soda, salt, and pumpkin-pie spice. In a large bowl, whisk eggs, sugar, butter, and pumpkin puree until combined. Add dry ingredients to pumpkin mixture, and mix gently until smooth.
  3. Turn batter into prepared pan, and smooth top. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out with just a few moist crumbs attached, 45 to 50 minutes. Cool cake 10 minutes in pan, then turn out of pan, and cool completely, right side up, on a rack.
  4. Make Honey Frosting: In a medium bowl, whisk 1/2 cup (1 stick) very soft unsalted butter, 1 bar (8 ounces) very soft regular (or reduced-fat) cream cheese, and 1/4 cup honey until smooth.
  5. Spread top of cooled cake with Honey Frosting. Cut cake into squares to serve.

Tips/Techniques

Note: You can also use a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan: Increase baking time by 25 to 30 minutes (tent loaf with foil if it browns too quickly).