Brown Butter Pumpkin Cake Recipe

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A moist, spiced cake made with real pumpkin and smothered in a creamy, fall flavor-infused cream cheese frosting.

Pumpkin Spice Cake with Browned Butter

This should be some sort of record, y’all. It is September 14th, and I have yet to share a pumpkin recipe with you. Why is this a record? Because I have been drinking pumpkin in my coffee since the day after Labor Day, and I’ve been baking with pumpkin in my kitchen since mid-August (#foodbloggerlife).

But, alas, here we are, and what a glorious day it is, don’t you agree?!

So this month is pretty cool. Why, you ask? Because instead of getting just one Cake of The Month, you’re getting 2. TWO!

Are you as pumped as I am? More #foodbloggerlife.

You see, this month is my birthday month, and in keeping with tradition of the last couple years, I’ll be bringing you a cookie cake on my actual birthday in a couple weeks (here’s the OG cookie cake— make this).

Since a cookie cake isn’t exactly a cake, I wanted to make sure I slipped a seasonal layer cake into the fall lineup, so today we are getting nice and friendly with pumpkin purée, cinnamon, maple syrup, and brown butter (!!!!).

What is Brown Butter?

Now, let me tell you a thing or two about brown butter. Up until when I made this cake, brown butter and I did not get along. At all.

I’ve burned butter trying to brown it so many times in the last few years, but I finally nailed it, and I’m here to tell you, it’s really not as hard as I was making it. And I have a few tips to help you make the best brown butter for your brown butter pumpkin cake.

BROWN BUTTER TIPS

My first tip is to work with a light colored saucepan. We recently got 2 ceramic coated Calphalon saucepans, and they are wonderful. The white bottom allowed me to see, for the first time ever, the butter actually browning.

Prior to this, black pans were not getting the job done for me. I couldn’t see what was happening, and I burned it every time. Another option? A stainless steel pan, which is also lighter in color than a black pan.

You’ll swirl the butter around and it will go from light yellow as it melts, to lemon yellow, golden brown, and then be at its peak/finest moment when it becomes a beautiful amber color and emits a nutty aroma.

All this while, the milk proteins in the butter will separate out and start to cook in the bottom of the pan. These bits will brown faster than the butter, and that’s totally ok. As the milk proteins cook, the butter will quickly transition and you’ll need to remove it from the heat as soon as you see it starting to turn amber.

It sounds tricky, but if you pay attention, you’ll nail it. I have faith in you!

You’ll let your butter cool a bit before using it, but when it’s ready, the rest of this cake is easy as pie. No mixer required, just 2 bowls (one for the dry team, another for the wet team), and your batter is ready in no time.

Pumpkin Spice Cake Ingredients

I love adding mega spice to my pumpkin and gingerbread treats, so you may see some surprise ingredients in the recipe card. Trust they’ve been chosen carefully to deliver maximum flavor to this cake.

FOR THE PUMPKIN SPICE CAKE

• unsalted butter
• all-purpose flour
• baking soda
• ground cinnamon
• ground ginger
• ground nutmeg
• salt
• black pepper
• pumpkin purée
• granulated & brown sugar
• eggs
• buttermilk

FOR THE CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

• full fat block cream cheese
• unsalted butter
• powdered sugar
• pure maple syrup
• ground cinnamon
• salt

Moist, flavorful pumpkin cake graced with the unique essence of brown butter, only made better by a creamy, dreamy, fall flavor-infused cream cheese frosting is just what your September needs.

Bring on the pumpkin, folks. We are nowhere near done with this trend!

5 from 4 votes

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Brown Butter Pumpkin Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

A moist, spiced cake made with real pumpkin and smothered in a creamy, fall flavor-infused cream cheese frosting.

Prep Time25 minutes mins

Bake Time27 minutes mins

Total Time52 minutes mins

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Recipe Author Lynn April

Servings: 12 servings

Ingredients

BROWN BUTTER PUMPKIN CAKE

• ▢ ½ cup (113g) unsalted butter cut into 8 slices
• ▢ 2 and ¼ cups (270g) all-purpose flour be sure to measure properly
• ▢ 2 teaspoons baking soda
• ▢ 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• ▢ 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• ▢ ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
• ▢ 1 teaspoon salt
• ▢ ⅛ teaspoon black pepper
• ▢ 1 and ½ cups pumpkin purée¹
• ▢ 1 and ½ cups (250g) granulated sugar
• ▢ ⅔ cup (132g) firmly packed light brown sugar
• ▢ 2 large eggs room temperature²
• ▢ ⅓ cup (80mL) buttermilk²

MAPLE CINNAMON CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

• ▢ 8 ounces (227g) full fat block cream cheese softened to room temperature
• ▢ ½ cup (113g) unsalted butter softened to room temperature
• ▢ 3 and ½ cups (420g) powdered sugar
• ▢ 1 Tablespoon (15mL) pure maple syrup
• ▢ ¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ▢ pinch of salt

Instructions

BROWN BUTTER PUMPKIN CAKE

• Preheat the oven to 350ºF (177ºC). Grease and flour (or use homemade cake release) two 8-inch round cake pans. Set aside.
• In a heavy-bottomed large saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Stir frequently with a spatula or swirl the pan to cook the butter evenly. It will turn lemon yellow, then golden brown, then deep amber. The milk proteins will separate out and start to brown faster than the butter. This is ok. When the butter is deep amber and smells nutty, remove from heat and pour into a small bowl, trying your best to leave the cooked milk proteins in the pan. Allow the butter to cool about 15 minutes.
  ½ cup (113g) unsalted butter
• In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, salt, and black pepper. Set aside.
  2 and ¼ cups (270g) all-purpose flour, 2 teaspoons baking soda, 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, 1 teaspoon ground ginger, ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg, 1 teaspoon salt, ⅛ teaspoon black pepper
• In a large bowl, whisk together the browned butter, pumpkin purée, granulated sugar, brown sugar, eggs, and buttermilk until smooth. Gently stir in the flour mixture until everything is just combined. Pour the batter evenly into the prepared pans.
  1 and ½ cups pumpkin purée1, 1 and ½ cups (250g) granulated sugar, ⅔ cup (132g) firmly packed light brown sugar, 2 large eggs, ⅓ cup (80mL) buttermilk2
• Bake the cakes for 25-27 minutes or until a toothpick or cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow the cakes to cool completely in the pans on a wire rack before removing and assembling.

MAPLE CINNAMON CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

• In a large bowl with a handheld or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese and butter together on high speed until smooth and creamy. With the mixer on low, add the powdered sugar, maple syrup, cinnamon, and salt.
  8 ounces (227g) full fat block cream cheese, ½ cup (113g) unsalted butter, 3 and ½ cups (420g) powdered sugar, 1 Tablespoon (15mL) pure maple syrup, ¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon, pinch of salt
• Increase mixer speed to medium-high and beat for 2 minutes.

ASSEMBLE THE CAKE

• Trim cooled cake layers to create a flat surface. You can do this with a large serrated knife or a cake leveler. Place one layer on a plate or cake stand and cover the top with the cream cheese frosting. Spread evenly with an offset spatula.
• Place second layer on top, cut surface down. For a sturdier cake, refrigerate at this point for about 10 minutes. When cake is slightly chilled, remove from refrigerator and spread more frosting on the top and around the sides. Serve. Leftovers stay fresh, covered tightly, at room temperature up to 5 days and in the refrigerator up to 1 week.
• Make ahead: prepare cakes and frosting up to 1 day in advance. Cover cakes tightly and keep at room temperature or in the refrigerator until ready to assemble. Refrigerate prepared frosting in an airtight container until ready to use. Unfrosted cake layers may be frozen, wrapped tightly, up to 2 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before assembling. Frosted cake can be frozen, wrapped tightly, up to 2 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and bring to room temperature before serving.

Notes

1. Pumpkin: I always measure pumpkin purée with a measuring cup as the moisture content can wildly change the weight measurements, depending on the brand.
2. Room temperature ingredients: it is important to use room temperature eggs when working with room temperature butter as it incorporates into batter much more evenly.
3. Buttermilk: if you don’t have buttermilk, you can make your own: see my post about homemade buttermilk.

Adapted from Fine Cooking

Did you make this recipe?Mention @freshaprilflours on Instagram or tag #freshaprilflours!

Nutrition Disclosure

All nutritional values are approximate and provided to the reader as a courtesy. Changing ingredients and/or quantities will alter the estimated nutritional calculations.