Spiced maple pumpkin cake has four layers of moist pumpkin cake frosted with cinnamon Swiss buttercream. An ideal cake for those seeking warm autumn flavors!
Every year I have grand plans to get all dressed up for Halloween. But somehow those plans of matching costumes, festive cocktail parities, and staying out past midnight… turns into a night of comfy pajamas, delivery pizza, and about five hours of Harry Potter movies.
Will this Halloween be any different? Perhaps this is the year!
I’ll throw a little spooky gathering with some spiked apple cider, poison apple cocktail, and cranberry orange bourbon. For dessert, I’ll have a spread of apple blondies, Halloween cupcakes, and of course, this cinnamon maple pumpkin cake!
Last year, I made this butterscotch pumpkin cake. It was insanely moist, delicious, and oh so flavorful. I stuck with the same pumpkin cake recipe simply because it was THAT good.
Unique Pumpkin Layer Cake
This pumpkin cake is made with coconut oil instead of butter. There are two types of coconut oil: refined and unrefined:
- Refined coconut oil has a neutral flavor. It has been processed to remove any coconut taste and aroma.
- Unrefined coconut oil, also known as virgin coconut oil, is less processed. As such it still remains some coconut notes.
Either type of coconut oil works. I used unrefined coconut oil. It does not affect the taste of the pumpkin.
You may substitute in your choice of neutral flavored oil. Best options include: grapeseed oil, avocado oil, or vegetable oil.
Why use oil instead of butter for cake?
While butter obviously has more flavor, oil creates better texture. Oil based cakes result in a moister cake with a tender crumb. This means it will stay moist far longer than butter based cakes.
Oil has a neutral flavor which allows other ingredients to shine. This is why rich chocolate cakes, often use oil instead of butter.
Buttercream Frosting
This pumpkin cake is frosted with silky smooth Swiss buttercream. It is flavored with a touch of dark maple syrup and ground cinnamon to add warm autumn notes.
Swiss buttercream is a made by whipping softened butter into Swiss meringue. This creates a stable frosting that is much silkier and lighter in texture than American buttercream. It does require a bit more work, but is well worth the effort.
Luckily, Swiss buttercream may be prepared ahead of time and stored in the freezer for later use. Follow instructions to make buttercream. Place in an airtight container. Be sure to label with the date! Keep in the freezer for up to three months.
When you’re ready, simply thaw the buttercream in the fridge overnight. Allow the buttercream to warm to room temperature. Beat the buttercream in a mixer to restore its smooth texture.
However, if you prefer a quicker, easier frosting, try these options:
Serving Suggestions
Store assembled frosted cake in the fridge for up to 24 hours before serving.
Use an airtight or covered container to store sliced cake in the fridge for up to 3 days. This is important because the buttercream will absorb the smells and flavors of your fridge.
Use a small piece of wax paper or parchment paper to cover exposed cake slice to prevent cake layers from drying out.
Cake Stand Information: the cake stand photographed in this post is this Mosser glass cake stand in color grey swirl.
More Pumpkin Cake Recipes
- Forest Chocolate Pumpkin Cake
- Baked Pumpkin Cake Donuts
- Pumpkin Bundt Cake
- Brown Butter Pumpkin Cake
Cinnamon Maple Pumpkin Cake
Ingredients
Pumpkin Cake:
- 2 cups all-purpose flour, (260 g)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¾ cup coconut oil, (170 g)
- 1 cup canned pure pumpkin puree, (227 g)
- 1 ¼ cup granulated sugar, (250 g)
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 3 large eggs
- ⅓ cup whole milk, (75 g)
Cinnamon Maple Buttercream:
- 6 large egg whites
- 1 ½ cups granulated sugar, (300g)
- 2 cups unsalted butter, (452 g), cut into tablespoons, room temp
- pinch of fine sea salt
- 3 Tablespoon dark maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
Pumpkin Cake:
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter two 6-inch round cake pans and line with parchment paper. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and ground cinnamon. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream together coconut oil and pumpkin puree. Add sugar, salt, and eggs. Mix until smooth.
- Add half of dry flour mixture. Mix on low speed until almost combined. Add milk. Mix on slow speed and then add remaining dry flour mixture. Mix until there are no longer any dry streaks of flour. Scrape down bowl as needed to ensure thorough mixing.
- Divide cake batter between the two prepared cake pans. Level batter using a mini offset spatula. Bake for 35-40 minutes until toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean. Allow to cool in pan for 5 minutes before unmolding. Allow cake to cool to room temperature on wire rack.
Cinnamon Maple Buttercream:
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk together egg whites and sugar. Place bowl over a pot of simmering water to create a double boiler. Make sure water does not touch the bottom of the bowl. Whisk sugar egg mixture until it reaches a temperature of 160° F. Alternatively, if you don't have a thermometer, heat until all the sugar has melted. You can test this by dipping your pointer finger into the warm mixture and rubbing it against your thumb. The mixture should be smooth. You should not be able to feel the granules of sugar.
- Return bowl to the stand mixer. With a whisk attachment, beat mixture at medium speed until it cools to room temperature. Reduce speed to low and add butter one tablespoon at a time. Once all the butter has been incorporated, add maple syrup and ground cinnamon. Increase speed to medium-high and continue to beat until buttercream is light and fluffy.
All images and text ©The Little Epicurean
Notes
- Use your choice of coconut oil. Or, sub in your choice of neutral flavored oil.
- Refined coconut oil has a neutral flavor. It has been processed to remove any coconut taste and aroma.
- Unrefined coconut oil, also known as virgin coconut oil, is less processed. As such it still remains some coconut notes.
- Be sure to use 100% pure pumpkin puree. Do not use pumpkin pie mix.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like this recipe? Rate & comment below!
This is perfection at its best!
This is one of the prettiest cakes I’ve seen in quite some time!
This cake is gorgeous! I would love a big slice of this on Halloween!
Lol – I’m the same way — coming up with fun costumes for my hubs and me, even though we have nowhere to go! Now this cake…I would give up a costume ball to stay home to eat this! It’s absolutely LOVELY! Your pix are gorgeous and bring this to life!
You make the most beautiful cakes! I’m with you is forgetting about the costume and have cake instead. :)
Cinnamon is one of my favorite spices. I think I would just love this cake. Plus you made it so beautiful. I don’t know if I could do that part… but the rest I could try out. :)
That sounds like a great Halloween in my opinion! I will be out there walking about a thousand miles getting as much candy as our car can hold as we go from one member of our family’s neighborhood to another. My kid loves it because she likes to peek inside other people’s houses for a moment, plus get chocolate wasted. Me? I’d rather watch Harry Potter and have a big slice of this cake!
i love cream cheese frosting and swiss meringue buttercream, so i bet both would be delicious with the cake (: and i love how smooth you frosted the cake + the dragees/sprinkles look so seasonal!