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
Sounds delicious! How many servings to you get out of a half sheet pan of this cake?
Just depends on how big you cut your squares! My best tip is to pull out your sheet pan and visualize. Anywhere from 16 large pieces to 48 bites.
Is it 90°+ outside? Yes, but I don’t care. It’s fall! I’m making pumpkin dessert at 1am and turning down my A/C. This is the best pumpkin dessert out there, and it’s great with all 3 suggested frostings, too.
Have it every year at family events amazing! Just asked for the recipe and came straight here and decided it should have more reviews!
Thank you so much- reviews are so helpful!
Pumpkin puree? All I can find is libbys 100% pure pumpkin which I make pumpkin pies. Will that work?
Yes, that’s what you want! Libby’s also makes “Pumpkin Pie Filling” which you don’t want 🙂
DELICIOUS! Will definitely make again and again!
I’ve made this cake three times in the last week and a half (twice as a sheet cake and once as cupcakes) and it was always a big hit wherever it was served. Thank you for sharing! This is a fall family staple now! One alteration I made the 2nd and 3rd times is to sub half the oil for applesauce (so 1/2 cup oil, 1/2 cup applesauce) – it bakes up fluffy and delicious!
LOVE this cake! The cake was perfect and that frosting was AMAZING! And I love that the leftovers taste just as good days later. Definitely becoming a fall tradition around here!
So these bars are amazing. I added a 1/4 teaspoon maple extract and used 1/4 cup dark brown sugar and 1/2 cup light brown sugar for the frosting. That maple extract and bit of dark brown sugar sent it over the top!