October means the beginning of pumpkin season! Pumpkin Sheet cake with Cream Cheese Frosting is easy to make and will be your new favorite fall dessert.
Pumpkin baked good are always on my list of favorite treats in the fall. Pumpkin provides the best ingredient for cooking a moist and flavorful dessert. If you have had a difficult time baking without dry results, this recipe is fool proof! You’ll love the way these bars turn out a cake that is so moist, it gets better with time. I especially like Pumpkin Sheet Cake a day or two after they are baked. My friends that cook gluten free also tell me pumpkin is the best way to make a gluten free dessert that doesn’t taste gluten free! This pantry friendly recipe is perfect for fall gatherings. I love it for potlucks, Sunday dinners, girl friend gatherings, Halloween parties…
Pumpkin Sheet Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting is easy to make when you need a dessert that’s quick and easy to throw together. I make this recipe in one bowl and one pan. Just mix all of the wet ingredients together and then dump in everything dry and mix. In less than 30 minutes, you’ll have a dessert out of the oven. To quickly cool, I set the pan on my marble countertop and then place in my fridge. Mix up the frosting while the cake is cooling and it’s ready to be iced when cooled completely.
This cake is so easy to serve, you can plate the pieces, or serve on a napkin as well. If you’re a nut lover, chop up some walnuts or pecans to sprinkle on top before the frosting has set up. I’m so looking forward to cooler weather and baking up a storm in my Bountiful Kitchen. Hope you love this fall treat!
Pumpkin Sheet Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
- 4 large eggs
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 1 15 ounce cans pumpkin puree
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 6 ounces cream cheese
- 6 tablespoons butter, softened
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- pinch of salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Place rack in center of oven.
- Grease and flour one jelly roll pan. or line with a sheet of parchment paper that has been sprayed with cooking oil.
- In a mixing bowl, beat together the eggs, sugar, oil, pumpkin and vanilla.
- Add flour, baking powder, salt, baking soda, ground cloves and cinnamon to wet ingredients. Mix all at once, until flour disappears and is blended thoroughly, about 1 minute on low speed.
- Spread into prepared pan.
- Bake at 350° for 25 to 30 minutes or on 350 convection for about 20 minutes. Cake should spring back lightly when cooked.
- Remove from oven and allow to cool.
For frosting:
- Beat together the cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar and pinch of salt.
- Evenly spread over bars after they have cooled.
Did you make this recipe?
Be sure to leave a comment and give this recipe a rating, letting me know how you liked it. I’d love to see a photo, tag @abountifulkitchen on Instagram!
TERESA hONE
I love to use this recipe for Thanksgiving for those who do not like pie. I sometimes add in chocolate or vanilla chips. So delicious!
Amy M.
This was YUMMY. So easy and tasty.
Heidi hebdon
I love anything pumpkin, and this did not disappoint! Very moist and the icing was perfect!
Rebecca
These pumpkin bars are a family favorite! We make them on a regular basis. They are so delicious and easy to make. We love to even double the recipe and make them to share at gatherings with friends and family or to deliver a plate to neighbors. Everyone always asks for the recipe. The cake is moist and flavorful and with the frosting is perfection!
Amelia Kirchhausen
I made this multiple times last fall and couldn’t get enough of it. I’m not sure how, but it is even better the next day after being in the fridge overnight.
Cvoelkel
I made this sheet cake today for a church function and it was a hit! I loved the cloves. It was delicious! I made it with an orange cream cheese frosting because I love orange. Here is the recipe if you want to try it. Thank you for sharing!
For the Orange Cream Cheese Frosting
1⁄2 cup butter, softened
8 oz cream cheese, softened 1 tsp vanilla extract
3 cups powdered sugar
2 tsp grated orange peel
2 tsp fresh orange juice
Si Foster
Thank you so much for your kind comments and thanks for sharing your orange cream cheese frosting with us! What a delicious flavor combination. I’m so glad you and your friends loved this recipe. Thank you for reading ABK!
xo,
Si
Tracy Nowlin
This cake was a hit twice this fall at a football watch party and a church pot-luck! Everyone loved it and the recipe is so easy!
Si Foster
Thank you Tracy! This is a great dessert for a potluck- easy to make, travel and feeds a crowd. Thanks for your review!
XO
Si
Senthil muthiah
What size jelly roll pan did you use?
Emilee Roberts
These are the most delicious pumpkin bars! And SO easy to make! My kids jumped in the kitchen and whipped them up with me. We’ll be making them again because they were such a hit.
RachEl
By far the best pumpkin dessert I’ve made. It was so light and airy. So simple to put together. My guests all raved about it and my kids couldn’t wait to have it again as an after school snack – and then begged me to make it again. Amazing!
Si Foster
Hi Rachel!
Thanks for your positive comments! It’s always great to have a quick go-to recipe that you can trust will be a hit. So glad your family loved it. Thank you for reading ABK.
xo,
Si
Emily Wilkinson
This cake is so moist and delicious! The flavors are amazing too. I made this for my in-laws and the loved it. Everyone asked for seconds.
Pam
These are delicious and my new go-to fall dessert for sharing with a crowd! I didn’t have ground cloves so I substituted it for nutmeg and it turned out delicious. My husband said they were “literally perfect. Couldn’t be better”. Thanks for the great recipe!
Hillaree
These were amazing! I would probably make more frosting than what the recipe makes. But everything about these are perfect!
Mercedes
Do you need to refrigerate or can it keep on counter? This looks amazing!
Si Foster
Hi Mercedes, if you’re not serving for a while, I would keep them in the fridge, but if not, you can keep them on the counter. Thanks for asking!
xo
Si
Wendy
Oh my gosh this was sooooo yummy!! We loved it. Such an easy recipe and it was perfect!
abountifulkitchen
Thanks Wendy! I love this recipe too! I’m planning to make it during the holiday season for a couple of parties. So quick and easy. Happy baking!
Camille Miller
This pumpkin sheet cake with the cream cheese frosting is so delicious, when I served it a few nights ago at a family dinner party, I had person after person asking for the recipe, and raving. Seriously. Loved it.
abountifulkitchen
Thanks Camille! I could seriously eat most of a pan myself. Thanks for reading ABK,
xo
Si
Anna
Do you think this recipe would be good in a bundt pan?
abountifulkitchen
Anna,
I haven’t tried it in a bundt. I wonder if it will be too light to bake up and release from a bundt. Please let me know if you try it!
xo
Si
MacKenzie
How long does it last for (how far in advance can you make the cake form serving it )? Thanks
Si Foster
Hi MacKenzie, you can make the cake a week or two before serving it, as long as you freeze it. Thanks for asking and for reading ABK!
xo
Si
Whitley
If I put chocolate chips in the cake will it turn out alright?
abountifulkitchen
Whitley,
This is a fairly thin cake. You may have trouble with the chocolate chips sinking to the bottom, to avoid this throw the chips in with the flour and mix all at once. Mini chocolate chips may work better than full size!
Natalie
This looks like a great recipe. I have a similar one. I add semi sweet choc chips 🙂 Also, just wondering on the frosting, don’t you have to add something wet, like vanilla or milk to make it creamy?
Lisa Williams
What size jelly roll pan did you use? a 10.5×15.5 or 12.5×17.5 (half-sheet pan).