A Pumpkin Cake with Maple Pecan Frosting that will speak to your soul and bring warmth to your heart. It’s an exceptional tender cake layered with pumpkin butter and an incredible buttercream with toasted pecans and the rich flavor of maple.

Pumpkin Cake with Maple Pecan Frosting | URBAN BAKES

Ask me a decade ago if I would like a slice of pumpkin cake and I’m quite sure I would have said no with a possible cringe look across my face. Wasn’t really into pumpkin back then. But NOW… it’s a completely different story. This cake is probably within my top ten favorites. That’s a high ranking for having made nearly 100 different cakes here on the blog.

As with any frosting, it’s supposed to compliment the flavor of the cake, not be the main attraction, but I swear, I could eat this frosting by the spoonful. It’s that good! And because it’s so good, I can’t tell which I like more, the cake or the frosting? One thing I can say for certain is that together, this is one hell of a delicious dessert!

I remade the base of this pumpkin cake, but rather than bake it in 6-inch cake pans, I used 8-inch pans and baked the three layers for less time. Because the layers were baked in less time, the cakes resulted in a more tender crumb. It also helps to add a filling to increase the tenderness, as well as to break up the monotony of cake-frosting-cake-frosting layers.

The filling used between the cake layers is a spread of pumpkin maple preserve by Blake Hill. I bumped into this beauty at my local Fry’s market sometime around late August as I was looking to buy a few items for a small charcuterie board made for a few friends. Then in September, I bought this again for grilled brie sandwiches made for my sister when she came into town to visit. You better believe, I fell in love each and every time I used it! This cake was no exception!

You can find it in the specialty section of the gourmet cheeses and jams or use the link above to purchase online. If you’d rather use your own favorite, that works too. Just don’t skip out on the pumpkin butter filling because it makes such a difference; turning this pumpkin cake from good to great. Oh, and the maple pecan frosting, that’s a MUST MAKE!

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Pumpkin Cake with Maple Pecan Frosting

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Author: URBAN BAKES
Total Time: 3 hours
Yield: 3-layered, 8-inch cake 1x
Diet: Vegetarian

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Description

A Pumpkin Cake with Maple Pecan Frosting that will speak to your soul and bring warmth to your heart. It’s an exceptional tender cake layered with pumpkin butter and an incredible buttercream with toasted pecans and the rich flavor of maple.

Instructions

PUMPKIN CAKE: Heat oven to 350°F (180°C). Evenly spray the bottom and sides of three 8-inch (20 cm) round baking pans with baking spray with flour; set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, allspice, ginger, salt, cloves and nutmeg; set aside.
In a bowl fitted to an electric stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat on medium to high speed eggs while gradually adding granulated sugar and brown sugar until lighter in color, about 3 minutes. Mix in pumpkin, sour cream and vanilla until just combined.
While the electric mixer is ON, slowly add in the flour mixture alternating with oil beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Continue to mix on low to medium speed until just combined. Divide batter equally between the prepared pans.
Bake for 28 to 33 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out dry with a few crumbs. Leave cakes in the pan to rest for 10 minutes before removing onto a wire rack to cool to room temperature. FASTER: while prepping the remaining ingredients for decorating/filling the cakes, place cakes in the fridge until ready to use.
MAPLE PECAN FROSTING: Heat oven to 250°F (120°C). Evenly place chopped pecans onto a baking sheet. Bake for 8 minutes. Transfer pecans to another baking pans to quickly cool.
Once cooled, place pecans into a food processor and on low setting, pulverize the pecans to an almost powdered state. Pecans should be less than half the size of a pea, at its largest.
Meanwhile, in a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment on medium speed, beat butter until smooth. Reducing speed to low, slowly add in 4 cups of powdered sugar, 1/2 cup of pulverized pecans and 1 tablespoon of maple. Continue to mix until frosting comes together. Add remaining 1/2 cup of pecans, remaining 1 tablespoon of maple and remaining 2 cups of powdered sugar (1 cup at a time). Continue to mix until the frosting becomes smooth and spreadable. Note: If the frosting is too thin, add up to 1 cup of powdered sugar, 1/2 cup at a time, mixing between each addition. If the frosting is too thick, add up to 1 tablespoon of maple, 1/2 tablespoon at a time, mixing between each addition.
ASSEMBLY: Using a small round tip, fill a pastry or piping bag with about 1/2 cup of maple pecan frosting, twist the wider-end opening to seal in the frosting; set aside.
Spread about 1/3 cup of the frosting on top of the bottom cake layer. Using the filled pastry bag, pipe a large circle at the edge but on top of the frosting. This will create a barrier to keep the pumpkin butter inside. Spread pumpkin butter within the piped barrier.
Place a second cake layer on top and repeat step 10. Place the 3rd cake layer on top and frost the top and sides of the cake. Spread any remaining pumpkin butter on the top. If there is any frosting remaining, fill a pastry bag with a star tip and create a few swirls over the top of the cake. Slice and ENJOY!

Notes

Cake is best served at room temperature and should be stored covered in the fridge.
Depending on the number of pans baking at once, this could increase the need to add more baking time.

Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Category: Cake
Cuisine: American

Keywords: pumpkin cake, maple pecan, maple pecan frosting, maple buttercream, pumpkin spice cake, 3-layered cake, 8 inch cake