My finals during my last semester of college were kind of weird–I had a whole bunch all at the beginning of the testing period, then I had a few days where I didn’t have anything, then I had one last final during the last block of time on the last day of testing. My on-campus job didn’t need me and I suddenly had, like, days of free time and I wasn’t sure what to do with myself besides watch Law & Order and eat cookie dough.
My final final of all the finals was a presentation on Harry Potter (of course), so I decided I’d spend all this extra time making some kind of pumpkin treat. I mashed recipes together and tweaked things here and there. I made pumpkin rolls and pumpkin muffins and pumpkin bread and pumpkin scones, focusing all sorts of nervous energy into creating the perfect pumpkin treat to cap off my college career.
I finally settled on pumpkin cake (well, I made pumpkin cupcakes, but I kind of prefer it in cake form) with cream cheese frosting. This is my all-time favorite I-need-something-sweet-quick treat. I’m not exactly sure why it’s taken me so long to post it. Other pumpkin-y recipes have gotten in the way, and it’s one that’s near and dear to my heart. But trust me when I say that if you have minimal baking (or instruction-following) skills and 45 minutes, you’re good to go.
To get started, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 9×13″ pan and set aside. Get your dry ingredients together–you’ll need flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and pumpkin pie spice (you can make your own from a recipe like this one).
Whisk them together in a small mixing bowl and set aside.
Round up the rest of your ingredients–vanilla, white sugar, oil (like canola or peanut), applesauce, brown sugar, eggs…
and pumpkin.
Whisk in eggs.
When the mixture is combined completely, slowly add in the flour mixture, beating until just combined. Pour into the prepared pan and even it out with a spatula. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until a pick inserted into the center comes out clean.
When done, remove the cake from the oven and allow to cool completely. While the cake is baking, prepare the frosting and when the cake is completely cool, spread with the icing. Makes 12 servings.
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Pumpkin Snack Cake with Cream Cheese FrostingRecipe by Our Best Bites
Ingredients:
3 cups all-purpose flour, lightly spooned into measuring cups and leveled with a knife (high elevations can add 2 additional tablespoons)2 teaspoons baking powder2 teaspoons baking soda1/2 teaspoons salt1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice (make your own here)1/2 cup brown sugar1 1/2 cups white sugar1 cup vegetable oil1/2 cup applesauce2 teaspoons vanilla2 cups canned pumpkin4 eggs1 recipe Perfect Cream Cheese Frosting
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 9×13″ pan and set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and pumpkin pie spice. Set aside.
In a large mixing bowl (or in the bowl of a stand mixer if you’d like to use one), whisk together the brown sugar, white sugar, oil, applesauce, and vanilla. Whisk in eggs. When the mixture is combined completely, slowly add in the flour mixture, beating until just combined. Pour into the prepared pan and even it out with a spatula. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until a pick inserted into the center comes out clean (times can vary widely depending on individual ovens).
When done, remove the cake from the oven and allow to cool completely. While the cake is baking, prepare the frosting and when the cake is completely cool, spread with the icing. Makes 12 servings.