Pumpkin Sheet Cake With Easy Cream Cheese Frosting

Enjoy a moist, tender Pumpkin Sheet Cake with real pumpkin and tangy, sweet homemade cream cheese frosting. Another pumpkin dessert winner!

Pumpkin isn’t just for pies anymore! Be sure to also try our Pumpkin Gooey Butter Cake, Pumpkin Creme Brulee, Pumpkin Whoopie Pies, and Pumpkin Dump Cake.

Pleasing Pumpkin Sheet Cake!

We love how pumpkin popularity has pushed past the traditional October-November perimeter. There were a lot of “P’s” in that sentence, so keeping with the theme, here are p-lenty of reasons to love pumpkin sheet cake!”

• Perfect: The tender pumpkin spiced cake and tangy cream cheese frosting are a classic pairing. 
• Precise: Uses exactly one 15-ounce can of pumpkin; no extra to store.
• Plenty: A jelly roll-sized cake pan provides more than a dozen slices of pumpkin cake.
• Portable: A sheet cake travels well, especially in a cake carrier. (Fewer mishaps than a layer cake!)
• Pretty: Clean, neat slices and lots of creative ways to decorate white cream cheese frosting.
• Party: Or any occasion you feel like having a delicious, satisfying cream cheese frosted pumpkin cake!

Ingredients Needed

A yellow cake mix makes this time-saving, crowd-pleasing pumpkin sheet cake recipe quick and convenient, eliminating the process of measuring extra baking ingredients. (And clean-up!)

For specific amounts, please refer to the printable recipe card at the bottom of the post.

• Pumpkin Puree –  Use canned pure pumpkin puree, not pumpkin pie filling.
• Buttermilk – Room temperature to incorporate into the pumpkin batter, adds a rich, tangy flavor to the cake. If you don’t have buttermilk, you can DIY with one tablespoon of lemon juice or white vinegar to a cup of milk.
• Vegetable Oil – use a neutral flavored oil, such as grapeseed oil, for a moist and tender crumb.
• Large Eggs – Room temperature
• Vanilla Extract –  
• Yellow Cake Mix – Dry mix is incorporated with the other dry ingredients; it is not prepared according to the box instructions.
• Brown Sugar – firmly packed into the dry measure cup.   
• Pumpkin Pie Spice –  is a blend of spices commonly used in pumpkin recipes. It typically includes cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves.
• Kosher Salt

For Frosting:

• Cream Cheese – Use a full-fat brick of room-temperature cream cheese for superior taste and textured frosting.
• Butter – Unsalted butter should be softened (room temp) but not to the point where the butter is shiny or oily. 
• Powdered Sugar
• Vanilla Extract
• Kosher Salt

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Directions

Grab a couple of mixing bowls, a whisk, a 10×15 inch jelly roll pan, and preheat the oven. Let’s get baking!

When you are making this recipe, you’ll want to use the full recipe at the bottom of the page.

1. Whisk the wet stuff: pumpkin puree, buttermilk, oil, eggs, and vanilla. 
2. Whisk the dry stuff: cake mix, sugar, pumpkin pie spice, and salt. 
3. Mix them together; pour the pumpkin batter into the generously greased pan and bake for 18-23 minutes.
4. When an inserted toothpick in the center comes out clean, cool the sheet cake on a wire rack before frosting.

Easy Cream Cheese Frosting

1. Beat butter and cream cheese with an electric mixer until smooth. 
2. Add vanilla, salt, and powdered sugar and beat.
3. Continue to beat cream cheese frosting for 1-2 more minutes until smooth. 
4. Frost the completely cooled pumpkin cake and garnish as desired. (See notes.) Serve or refrigerate.

Pumpkin Cake Tips

• Ready – Pull the eggs, butter, and buttermilk from the fridge ahead of time, and gather your supplies and equipment.
• Grease – Evenly cover the sheet pan with a non-stick baking spray, or generously grease and flour the baking pan so the cake does not stick. 
• Purist – Pure, packed pumpkin puree is crucial for a pumpkin sheet cake made with cake mix
• Thicken – Make the cake in a 9×13-inch metal cake pan for a thicker pumpkin cake and bake for another 10 minutes. The frosting is thicker, too, and just as delicious. 
• Chill out – Make the cream cheese frosting after the cake is completely cooled, then frost it.
• Prepare – Use room temperature ingredients for the cream cheese icing to ensure a smooth and creamy consistency.

Serving Suggestions

This pumpkin sheet cake recipe is a must-try for fall lovers, with its moist texture, rich pumpkin flavor, and decadent cream cheese frosting. A simple pumpkin treat that can be “dressed up” as an elegant finger food:

• When serving this pumpkin cake as a nibble with other desserts, cut it into 1½” or 2” squares (or 1” x2” rectangles) and pipe a full-sized (+) sign in colored icing and a small bow to create a decorative bite-sized “present.”
• Add food coloring to the cream cheese icing to match the color of your themed occasion.
• Make your own fondant pumpkins.

Recipe Variations

• Toss 1 cup of golden raisins into the batter for an extra pop of natural sweetness and a satisfying chewy texture. 
• Add a half cup of white chocolate chips and ½ cup of toffee bits to the batter.
• Add a hint of cinnamon or nutmeg for a spiced cream cheese frosting.
• Sprinkle chopped or arrange whole cinnamon glazed pecans (walnuts, macadamia nuts, or hazelnuts) on top of the cream cheese frosting for visual appeal and added nutty crunch. 
• Replace the cream cheese frosting with maple glaze made from powdered sugar and maple syrup. 
• DIY Buttermilk: If you don’t have any buttermilk, you make your own by combining 1 cup of whole milk with ½ tablespoon of distilled white vinegar or lemon juice and allowing it to sit for 5 minutes.