This Pumpkin Spice Sheet Cake is one of those recipes that everyone should have in their repertoire. And I bet lots of you do have it in your repertoire. It’s been around forever in old recipe binders in kitchens across the country. My copy is handwritten on an old piece of paper and I genuinely have no idea where it came from. But it’s one of those go-to, everyone-loves-it, can’t-go-wrong recipes. If I have to take something to a family dinner, potluck or party during the months of October or November, this is what I make 90% of the time. So quick, so easy and so, so, so good.
Ingredients Needed
- Cake:
- pumpkin puree – not pie filling
- white sugar
- vegetable oil
- eggs – we always recommend large eggs for baking
- vanilla
- flour
- baking soda
- pumpkin pie spice
- salt
- nutmeg and cloves – optional
- Frosting:
- butter
- brown sugar
- cream or milk
- salt
- vanilla
- powdered sugar
How to Make Pumpkin Spice Sheet Cake
- Preheat oven to 350°F and spray a 13×17 (or similar) rimmed baking sheet.
- In one bowl, mix pumpkin, sugar, oil, eggs, and vanilla.
- In another bowl, whisk flour, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice, and salt.
- Add dry ingredients to wet and mix until combined.
- Pour into pan and bake 20–30 minutes, until toothpick comes out with moist crumbs.
- While cake bakes, heat butter, brown sugar, cream, and salt until simmering; cook 3 minutes.
- Let mixture cool 10 minutes, then beat in powdered sugar and vanilla.
- Adjust frosting consistency as needed.
- Spread a light layer of frosting over slightly warm cake and sprinkle with cinnamon and a tiny bit of nutmeg.
Storage & Other Tips
- How to Serve: You can serve this with a knife and fork, or also, after it all sets up, these work great as finger food if you cut them smaller.
- Frosting Options: You can use the frosting in the recipe, or also try Cream Cheese Frosting or Brown Butter Frosting. All choices are amazing here!
- Cool Completely Before Storing: Allow the cake to cool fully before covering—this preserves moisture and prevents the frosting from sliding off.
- Refrigerate for Freshness: With a dairy-rich frosting, store the cake in an airtight container or tightly wrapped. It will stay fresh for 4–7 days.
- Room Temperature Short-Term: On the day of serving, you can leave the cake at room temperature under a cake dome or wrapped—thanks to the frosting that works like a seal. Eat within 2 days to prevent drying.
- Freeze for Long-Term Storage: Tightly wrap individual slices or the whole cake in multiple layers of plastic wrap and foil. Store in the freezer for up to 3–6 months.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes! A 13×17″ sheet pan works fine, and you can use an 8×8 or 9×13 pan if preferred—just adjust baking time. Sheet cakes are flexible and forgiving.
The cake is ready when a toothpick shows moist crumbs (not wet batter). Don’t wait for it to come out completely clean—keep it slightly underdone for the best softness .
Absolutely! Bake the cake ahead and frost when ready. Store at room temp for a day or refrigerate if it will sit longer. Creamy frostings usually refrigerate best.
You can make your own! Use 1 tsp cinnamon, ¼ tsp nutmeg, ¼ tsp ginger, and a pinch of cloves or allspice.
Of course! Try this Cream Cheese Frosting or Brown Butter Frosting if you’d like to try a different option.
Pumpkin Sheet Cake
Equipment
- 13×17 baking sheet My original recipe specifies a 15 x 10-inch pan, but my pan is about 13 x 17, so anything in that arena should be good.
Ingredients
- 1 15-ounce can pumpkin puree not pie filling
- 2 cups white sugar
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 4 eggs large
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 2 cups flour
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 ½ tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
- ½ teaspoon salt
- a few dashes nutmeg and cloves optional
Frosting
- ½ cup butter 1 stick
- ¾ cup brown sugar
- 4 tablespoons cream or milk
- ¼ teaspoon table salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 cups powdered sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350℉ and spray a rimmed baking sheet with nonstick spray. Set pan aside.
- In a mixing bowl, beat pumpkin, sugar, oil, eggs, and vanilla.
- In another bowl, combine flour, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice and salt. Add dry ingredients to the pumpkin mixture, and beat until mixed.
- Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 20-30 minutes, until tested with toothpick and just moist crumbs attach.
- Right when cake comes out of oven, begin frosting.
- Heat butter, brown sugar, cream, and salt in a pot until melted and combined. Bring to a boil and then turn down to a simmer for about 3 minutes. Remove from heat and pour into a mixing bowl. Let cool to luke warm (about 10 minutes) and then beat in powdered sugar and vanilla. Adjust consistency by adding more powdered sugar to thicken, or more cream or milk (little by little) to thin. Use immediately as frosting will thicken upon standing.
- Frost when just barely warm and sprinkle lightly with cinnamon to garnish. I recommend keeping the frosting layer fairly light; it can get overwhelming quickly on a sheet cake.
Notes
- This cake is also fantastic with a classic Cream Cheese Frosting or our Brown Butter Frosting.
Questions & Reviews
If you made this into cupcakes instead of a sheet cake, would you need to adjust the baking time?
You would need to reduce it, but I’m not sure by how much. So sorry I can’t be of more help!
I’ll try and keep an eye on them and report back! Thanks!
Awesome!
Reporting back… it made 24 cupcakes plus more for a quarter sheet cake!
The cupcakes baked for 14-15 minutes in my oven, the ones on the lower shelf were done after 14 and the top shelf needed an extra minute. The quarter sheet cake baked for around 18 minutes I think.
Also SUCH a huge hit, I brought them into work and got so many compliments and then I tell everyone about your site! Thank you for a great recipe as always!!
❤️❤️❤️❤️
Does this cake freeze well?? Frosting and all..
I’m not sure, I’ve never frozen it with the frosting, but plain cake freezes beautifully!
Does it have to be frosted immediately? Can I make the frosting later that day?
Yep you can totally the frosting later!
Do you think it would work as a layered cake? I want to do a pumpkin cake for my daughter’s birthday. I have a recipe that I usually use, but I want to try this one. I’m thinking two layers with the frosting in the middle and on top. Thoughts?
Thanks!
Ya know, I’ve never tried it, but I *think* it would work just fine? Can’t make any promises though. You might want a test run!
Test run- that would imply that I was planning her party more in advance than the day before. Oops! 🙂
I appreciate the feedback. Now I’ll debate if I should risk it or do it in a 9×13. That’s still festive 🙂
Thank you! Love your blog, love your honest take on life. Ya’ll rock!
Has anyone used applesauce in place of the oil in this recipe? I’ve heard people do that for cakes but I’ve never tried and I don’t want to ruin this but I’m trying to be annoyingly semi-healthy…
I made this recipe, but had to make some changes with perfect success. The recipe has way way too much oil! I decreased the oil to 1/2 cup and added 1/4 cup of plain Greek yogurt; added a little extra flour maybe 1/4 cup, as the batter was too thin; added 1/4 cup of plain Greek yogurt; added a little extra flour as the batter was too thin; and baked the cupcakes between 17 and 20 minutes.
Good right out of the oven, but sensational the next day!
So yummy! I love brown sugar in the fall. It’s the perfect touch to maple and cinnamon. Pinned!
Just finished frosting the cake and sprinkling it with cinnamon! That frosting is amazing. The party I’m taking it to isn’t until this evening. Do I need to refrigerate the cake until then, or is it okay sitting on the counter?
Nope, just leave it at room temp 🙂
Thanks for this recipe! I made it last night for a work BBQ, and it was a huge hit. I was concerned at first because my sheet pan is larger than 10×15 but it still baked within your recommended time. I am not great at making frosting but this one was easy (and delicious!)
Made this using homemade pumpkin puree following the instructions on how to make it from your website! Made it with the brown sugar caramel frosting as recommended. So so SO good! Fall is officially here. It’s funny because when the batter was in the bowl I was thinking there’s no way all this liquid will fit in a 15 x 10 tray, but it did!