Get your PSL fix and enjoy a taste of autumn in every bite of this delicious Pumpkin Spice Latte Cake! The sponges are made using canned pumpkin puree and my homemade pumpkin spice mix for a soft texture and cosy flavour. The ‘latte’ flavour comes from the thick layer of coffee cream cheese frosting sandwiched in between the sponges and on top. The cake decoration is completely up to you… I decided on some crunchy Biscoff biscuit crumbs and homemade pumpkin meringues for a touch of cuteness!
What does pumpkin spice cake taste like?
Cosy, warming, subtly sweet, comforting, buttery. These are just a few ways to describe the flavour of this pumpkin spice latte cake. In all honesty, it’s actually a difficult flavour to try and pinpoint. All I can say is that if you love carrot cake, I can absolutely guarantee you will LOVE this cake!
Now comes in the ‘latte’ part of this recipe. It was Starbucks that first created the ‘Pumpkin Spice Latte’ a.k.a the PSL. This drink has basically become THE flavour of autumn and what better way to celebrate it than in cake form! Real coffee is added to the cream cheese frosting (which is so delicious you could eat it with a spoon) to give it a coffee kick without overpowering the pumpkin spice.
What type of pumpkin should I use?
Two types of pumpkin can be used to make this recipe: canned pumpkin puree or pumpkin flesh.
Canned pumpkin puree. This is the easy option in that all the hard work is done for you. The pumpkin puree is smooth and blended, all seeds removed, and it can be added straight into the cake mixture. In the UK, canned pumpkin can be a little tricky to get hold of but I’ve had the most luck in the American sections of big supermarkets like Sainsbury’s, Waitrose and Tesco. Just make sure you choose a 100% all-natural pumpkin puree which doesn’t contain any added sugar.
Pumpkin flesh. If you can’t get hold of canned pumpkin or have a full-sized pumpkin that needs to be used up, pumpkin flesh is the next best option. Just bear in mind that you will need to take the extra steps to bake the pumpkin first to soften the flesh, scoop it out and then blend it so it’s smooth and pureed. This article is super helpful and tells you how to do it.
How to make your own pumpkin spice mix
Pumpkin spice mix is simply a blend of warming spices such as cinnamon, allspice and nutmeg. You can buy tubs of pumpkin spice mix, however, it’s not easy to find in the UK and can be pretty expensive to buy it online. Plus, you might find that the majority of the spices are already stashed away in your cupboard and it literally takes less than 1 minute to make your own. Here’s my homemade pumpkin spice mix recipe:
- 2 tbsp cinnamon
- 2 tsp ginger
- 2 tsp nutmeg
- 1 tsp allspice
- 1 tsp cloves
Stir all the spices together and store in a sealed spice pot. Simple right! This pumpkin spice latte cake recipe will use 2 tbsp of the spice mix, so you’ll have plenty left over to flavour porridge, add to bakes or dust on top of coffee.
Decorations ideas for your cake
What I love about this cake is that you can dress it up or keep it simple and it’s still a showstopper! Just treat the cake as a blank canvas and add your decorative touches to make it your own. Here are a few decoration ideas to get you started:
Add a crunchy texture. Biscuit crumbs work well for this. I added a half-moon of Biscoff biscuit crumbs on top, but you could try crushed ginger nut biscuits, digestives, or even chocolate biscuits for a mocha twist!
Coat the entire cake with frosting. Double up the coffee cream cheese frosting ingredients to make a bigger batch and coat the entire cake with it (top and sides). You could use the back of a spoon to create a swirly pattern for a pretty finish.
Decorative pumpkins. As a last-minute decision, I decided to bake some cute pumpkin meringues to place on top. I just used a basic meringue recipe and a large open star nozzle to pipe pumpkin shapes. If meringue isn’t your thing, you could try making pumpkins out of orange fondant icing instead.
Pumpkin Spice Latte Cake
Ingredients
For the pumpkin spice cake
- 300 g Self raising flour
- 2 tbsp Pumpkin spice mix you can find my homemade recipe in the main blog post above
- 300 ml Vegetable oil
- 3 large Eggs room temperature
- 2 tsp Vanilla extract
- 300 g Light brown sugar
- 250 g Canned pumpkin puree
For the coffee cream cheese frosting
- 1 tbsp Instant coffee granules
- 0.5 tbsp Boiling water
- 200 g Unsalted butter Soft at room temperature
- 400 g Icing sugar
- 200 g Full-fat cream cheese Use cold from the fridge
Instructions
Start by making the pumpkin spiced cake
- Preheat the oven to 160° fan / 180° conventional. Grease and line the base and sides of two 7-inch round cake tins with baking paper.
- In a large bowl, stir the flour and pumpkin spice mix together to combine.
- In a separate bowl, whisk the vegetable oil, eggs, vanilla extract and brown sugar together until well combined. Then whisk in the pumpkin puree.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, and whisk to combine.
- Divide the mixture evenly between the cake tins. Bake for 45-50 minutes until risen, golden in colour and the middle of the sponge springs back when lightly pressed. Leave to cool in the tins for 15 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Make the coffee cream cheese frosting
- First dissolve the instant coffee granules in 0.5 tbsp boiling water and place in the fridge to cool for 10 minutes.
- Beat the butter until soft and pale in colour. Beat in the icing sugar in two stages until the buttercream is smooth and combined. Then fold in the cooled coffee liquid.⠀
- Add the cold cream cheese and gently fold it in to make a smooth and creamy frosting. Be careful not to over-mix as this can cause the cream cheese to loosen and become runny. If your frosting is too thin, place the bowl in the fridge for 30 minutes to firm up.⠀
Assemble the cake
- Place one cake layer on a cake stand or plate. Top with half of the frosting and sandwich the second layer on top.
- Spread the remaining frosting on top and finish by adding any decorations you like!
Notes
Have you made this recipe?
I really hope you enjoyed it and would love to hear what you think! Leave a comment or star rating below. Drop me a message on my Instagram or tag @jessie.bakes.cakes in your posts so I can see your delicious bake!
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Made this at the weekend with the kids. So much easier than I thought and tasted AMAZING!!
It’s such an easy sponge to make, quite a few ingredients but the method of mixing the dry ingredients first and then the wet makes it super quick 😀 Pleased you enjoyed!
Fabulous cake. I only have a 9 inch round tin so used a 7 inch square tin instead and it came out beautifully. I made 3/4 of the frosting with a bit less icing sugar as I don’t have a major sweet tooth which worked well. Several people asked for the recipe 🙂
Hi Bek, what a lovely review thanks so much for sharing! Also pleased to hear that the recipe still worked with a 7-inch square tin. More like a traybake style sharing cake? Sounds lovely. Pleased you enjoyed 😀