Pumpkin sheet cake made in a quarter sheet cake pan. Topped with the best pumpkin spice frosting made on the stove!
Have you seen my pumpkin ebook for 25 pumpkin recipe that aren’t pie and 1 that is? I think you would love it.
Pumpkin sheet cake:
I always hesitate before sharing my quarter sheet cake recipes, because they clearly serve more than two.
However, a quarter sheet cake recipe makes significantly less cake than a standard giant sheet cake, so I think we're good. My goal is smaller desserts and less desserts, not just two single pieces of dessert, you know? I hope you're with me!
Have you seen my Texas Chocolate Quarter Sheet Cake? We absolutely love it, and bake it often. I included a White Texas Sheet Cake recipe in my 3rd cookbook, Sweet & Simple: Dessert for Two.
It's time for the pumpkin sheet cake version!
First, I feel like I should really say THANK YOU. There was a time in my life when I didn't like pumpkin. It had to do with an incident in college with raw pumpkin, and I avoided pumpkin for years afterwards.
However, over the 8 years of writing this blog, I always make an effort to include a few pumpkin recipes for you each year. Slowly, over time, I've started to actually like pumpkin--all thanks to you!
Some of your favorite pumpkin recipes from this site are:
-Pumpkin Nutella Muffins
-Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls
-Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
-Pumpkin Cakes for Two
-Pumpkin Gnocchi
-Pumpkin Swirl Brownies
-Pumpkin Donut Holes
-Pumpkin Chocolate Cupcakes
-Pumpkin Snickerdoodles
-Pumpkin Gooey Butter Cake
Oops, I think I listed nearly all of them. The point is, a lot of recipes have come before this one that makes me finally ready to appreciate a real pumpkin cake!
A pumpkin Sheet Cake with pumpkin spice frosting!
The pumpkin recipes I've shared so far on this site are so good that I don't even mind that they contain pumpkin. While you'll never catch me gobbling up a plain piece of pumpkin pie, you can occasionally find me reaching for my Orange Spiced Coconut Pumpkin Pie.
Overtime, I've noticed that I've become more okay with pumpkin. It started slowly with my homemade pumpkin spice latte (naturally), and it stayed that way for years. But this year, I think I'm ready for more vegan pumpkin muffins! Pumpkin sheet cake! And all the pumpkin desserts for two!
We've come a very long way, friends.
Thanks for being patient with me, and teaching me to love pumpkin, even if I only love it with gobs of sugar and spices, I appreciate you.
I dedicate this pumpkin quarter sheet cake to you!
How big is a quarter sheet cake?
I'm so glad you asked! The quarter sheet cake pan that I use measures roughly 9" x 13" x 1". This is the exact pan that I use. I own two, and I use them frequently for roasting small batches of vegetables.
How many people does a quarter sheet cake feed?
If you glimpse at the photo, you can see that you get 12 small pieces of cake from this pumpkin sheet cake recipe. I would bake a quarter sheet cake for a dinner party of 4 to 6 people. You might not have any leftover, but no one will miss dessert either!
This pumpkin sheet cake recipe uses just ¾ cup of pumpkin, leaving you with one full cup leftover from the can with which to bake another pumpkin dessert for two. You'll also have al leftover egg yolk, as this recipe only uses the egg white. Browse my recipes that use egg yolks only.
I hope you enjoy this pumpkin sheet cake, but I really hope you enjoy the pumpkin spice frosting! I like to make my own pumpkin spice mix (1 tablespoon cinnamon, 2 teaspoon ground ginger, 1 teaspoon nutmeg, ½ teaspoon ground cloves, ½ teaspoon ground allspice, and ½ teaspoon finely ground black pepper), and use it here.
While you're making the frosting on the stovetop, it's an excellent time to practice your browned butter skills! Since the butter melts alone before any other ingredients are added, go ahead and practice browning it. If at any point you get scared you're going to burn it, just add the milk and powdered sugar and continue! It's like an optional browned butter frosting situation here, friends. It's excellent with browned butter, but it's amazing without it, too.
Pumpkin Sheet Cake
One bowl pumpkin sheet cake with pumpkin spice frosting.
Ingredients
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- ½ cup buttermilk
- 1 large egg white (yolk removed)
- ¾ cup canned pumpkin puree
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice*
For the pumpkin spice frosting:
- 7 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 3 tablespoons buttermilk
- 2 heaping cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 and spray a quarter sheet pan (9" x 13" x 1") with cooking spray.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar and salt.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the melted butter, buttermilk, egg white, pumpkin, baking soda and pumpkin pie spice. Mix very well.
- Pour the pumpkin mixture into the bowl with the flour, and stir until everything is combined.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 16-18 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
- While the cake cools, make the frosting: in a small sauce pan, melt the butter over medium heat. You can brown the butter if you like. Whisk in the buttermilk and powdered sugar. Add the pumpkin spice last, and whisk very well to combine.
- Pour the warm frosting over the cake, let rest for about 15 minutes (or longer) before slicing and serving.
Notes
*To make your own pumpkin pie spice, mix 1 tablespoon of ground cinnamon, 2 teaspoons ground ginger, 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg, ½ teaspoon allspice, ½ teaspoon cloves, and ½ teaspoon finely ground black pepper.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
12Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 294Total Fat: 12gSaturated Fat: 7gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 47mgSodium: 109mgCarbohydrates: 45gFiber: 1gSugar: 36gProtein: 2g
Danijela says
It's delicious! Great fall recipe.
Tammy Moreno says
How do you think a little rum flavoring would taste? Either in the cake or the frosting? I'm thinking frosting but would like your opinion.
Christina Lane says
Sounds good to me! Butter + rum is always a good idea :)
Laurie says
I made this cake last night!! So moist and delicious. Love not having to drag out my Kitchenaid mixer to make a cake. Browning the butter (I used salted) takes the frosting to another level, tastes like a salted caramel frosing. Thanks for a great recipe that I'm sure I'll be making all season long.
Rachel says
I’m not a huge pumpkin fan but since everyone else seems to love it I tried this. OMG this is insanely good. It was so quick and easy to make and browning the butter brought this to a whole other level. Although to be honest the cake could stand alone if you wanted a snacking cake. Thanks!
Christina Lane says
Thanks so much, Rachel! Welcome to the orange side :)
Anecia says
This recipe looks Delicious!!!!
This is a nice recipe to make around around fall time. :-)
Jacque says
This cake is really good, and the frosting is wonderful. Thanks for the mix for pumpkin pie spice. I never buy it because I don't like the clove. I just left it out of the mix.
Connie says
Wondering if I can use glass 13x9 pan???
My 1/4 sheet pan is not 1" deep??????????
Christina Lane says
Hmmm...you can try. I haven't tried that, and sometimes, the extra height from a pan can radiate extra heat and make a cake sink. But it's worth a shot.
Sandra D says
My BFF loves all things pumpkin spice so I had to give this recipe a try. Everyone who tried it loved it. It was easy to make and made such a moist and deliciously pumpkin dessert. My BFF even said that your pumpkin spice mix is the best we have ever had. I really think it is the black pepper that does the trick. Can't wait to try your other sheet cakes.
Danielle says
The sheet cake itself turned out great. It’s flavorful and moist. I ended up using pumpkin pie filling so I cut back on the sugar but the cake still works. I’m not having the same success with the frosting as everyone else. It’s super sweet and totally overwhelms the taste of the cake. The texture isn’t like frosting but more of a glaze (and not in a good way, sadly). Not sure what I did wrong but next time I’ll try a cream cheese frosting.
Alyssa says
Just frosted these and they smell heavenly! I browned the butter, but when I frosted them, I noticed a few small clumps of powdered sugar...any suggestions on how to avoid that next time? Can't wait to try them later today!!