Super Moist Pumpkin Layer Cake with Cinnamon Buttercream
Amycakes Bakes | amycakesbakes.com
5 from 5 votes
This moist pumpkin spice cake recipe has all the flavors of fall in one delicious, moist and fluffy layer cake! This bakery recipe from Amycakes Bakery is spiced with cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves and frosted with cream cheese cinnamon buttercream icing.1x batch yields one 6" three-layer cake and a 2x batch yields one8" three-layer cake cut out with cake rings using the Cut and Stack Method. Or choose a different pan size by visiting Double-Batches and Cake Pan Options: Everything You Need to Know.
Servings 8generous slices
Prep Time 25 minutesmins
Cook Time 26 minutesmins
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients
233 grams (1 ¾cups)All-Purpose FlourI use Gold Medal
1 ½teaspoonsBaking Powder
1teaspoon(s)Baking Soda
¾teaspoon(s)Salt
2TablespoonsInstant ClearjelA bakery ingredient you can use at home--see Note #1. Please make sure your clearjel is labeled as "Instant"
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line a ¼ sheet pan with parchment paper, then spray the bottom (on top of the parchment) and sides of the pan with nonstick cooking spray. (or use other cake pans as recommended in my Cake Pan Chart).
Using a sifter or fine mesh strainer, sift the Dry Ingredients minus the brown sugar into a large bowl. Add the brown sugar to the sifted ingredients and whisk until well blended. If you see any brown sugar clumps, break them up and blend them in with your fingers.
Combine Wet Ingredients in a separate large bowl and whisk until smooth and well-blended.
Melt saltedbutter in the microwave (or over the stove) until just melted. Avoid overcooking.
Pour Wet Ingredients into Dry Ingredients and whisk until incorporated. Pour Melted Salted Butter over batter and whisk in until smooth and shiny.
Pour batter into prepared sheet pan, and spread out the batter until flat and even (I use an offset spatula for this). Allow the batter to set for 5 minutes before putting them in the oven. This will give time for the instant clearjel to thicken the cake batter before it bakes, allowing for a better rise.
Bake in the middle or top rack (avoid bottom rack) of a preheated 325-degree oven for 16 minutes. Without opening the oven, turn the temperature down to 300 degrees and bake for another 6-10 minutes. Check the cake at this point. See if it is done by lightly touching the top of the cake–try to avoid moving the cake pan or baking rack, which could cause an underdone cake to sink. If jiggly at all to your touch, bake for another 1-5 minutes. The pumpkin cake is done when a toothpick or small paring knife comes out clean when quickly stuck in the cake. A couple of moist crumbs on your knife are fine, but they shouldn't look wet.
Once the cake is cool, I recommend wrapping and freezing the cake in your cake pan for at least 2 hours or overnight, then cutting out the cake layers with cake rings as described in How to Bake and Layer Cakes Like a Pro. The cake will be much easier to layer when cold or frozen. If you will be freezing it fore more than a couple of days, I recommend brushing the cake with simple syrup before wrapping it (see Note #3).
Decorate and Serve
The easiest way to layer the pumpkin cake is to layer the cake from frozen the day before you plan to serve it. If serving the cake the same day you are layering it, use refrigerated cake layers instead of frozen. Fill each cake layer with ¼ inch of prepared cinnamon buttercream. An offset icing spatula (I use the small and medium-size on all my cakes) helps with this. I recommend frosting a thin crumb coat of buttercream on the outside of the cake which will catch all the crumby edges, then allow it to set up in the freezer for about 10 minutes until the buttercream is firm. Read more in my article: How to Bake and Layer Cakes Like a Pro: 5 Easy Steps. The Remaining cake scraps can be used for cake truffles if desired.
Frost the cake with a final coat of buttercream and decorate the cake with a prepared easy caramel drizzle and candy pumpkins, if desired. You can let the cake set up in the fridge, but remove it from the fridge 2-3 hours before serving so it can come back to room temperature (avoid warm temperatures). This pumpkin spice cake has the best texture at room temperature. Enjoy!
Notes
Read my article Instant Clearjel: a Magical Bakery Ingredient to see why I think this ingredient is worth having in your pantry. Instant Clearjel must always be whisked thoroughly with other dry ingredients before being added to wet ingredients to avoid clumping. I have tested this recipe with the following Instant Clearjel brands: Hoosier Hill Farm, Prepared Pantry, and Ingredion (Make sure what you purchase is labeled as "Instant." Cooktype Clearjel is a different product that does not work the same in cakes).
When baking cakes in a sheet pan, the cake bakes more evenly (flatter on top and with no dark edges), and you get to choose your cake size after baking! With a 1x batch in a ¼ Sheet Pan you can make a three-layer 6″ cake (two full rounds, one pieced round from two half-circles) or several little cakelets. With a 2x batch in a ½ Sheet Pan you can make a three-layer 8″ cake (two full rounds, one pieced round from two half-circles), an extra tall six-layer 6″ cake (5 full rounds, one pieced round from two half-circles), TWO 3-layer 6″ cakes (eat one now and freeze one for later. 🙂 Or have a baking party with a friend and you each get a cake!) or several little Cakelets using a 4″ cake ring or 3″ or 2″ round cookie cutters. You can also choose to bake in sheet-cake pans or round pans. View the pan chart in the article Half-Batches and Cake Pans: Everything You Need to Know.
Simple Syrup is optional, but I use it to seal in the moisture for cakes that will be refrigerated or frozen for more than a couple of days. While the cake cools, make a simple syrup by combining 1 tablespoon water and 1 tablespoon sugar in a small microwave-safe bowl. Microwave until the sugar is dissolved after whisking, about 20-30 seconds. Lightly brush the simply syrup on top of the cake with a silicone pastry brush (you won't need to use all of it in a 1x batch baked in a ¼ sheet pan). You can also make a larger batch of this (1 part sugar to 1 part water) and keep it in the fridge if you’re doing a lot of cake baking.