This classic pumpkin cake from Food & Wine’s Justin Chapple is perfectly moist and delicately spiced. The simple vanilla buttercream frosting gets a lovely tang from the mascarpone that’s blended in. Slideshow: More Cake Recipes
How to Make It
Make the cake Preheat the oven to 350°. Butter two 9-inch round cake pans and line the bottoms with parchment paper. Butter the paper and dust with flour, tapping out the excess.
In a medium bowl, whisk the 3 cups of all-purpose flour with the cinnamon, ginger, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
In a large bowl, using a hand mixer, beat the eggs with the brown sugar, pumpkin and oil at medium-high speed until blended. At low speed, beat in the dry ingredients.
Scrape the batter into the prepared pans and bake in the center of the oven for about 40 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cakes comes out clean. Let the cakes cool in the pans for 30 minutes, then invert onto a rack to cool completely. Peel off the parchment paper.
Meanwhile, make the frosting In a large bowl, using a hand mixer, beat the butter with the confectioners sugar, vanilla and a pinch of salt until smooth. Add the mascarpone and beat at high speed just until smooth; do not overbeat. Refrigerate the frosting until just set, about 30 minutes.
Set 1 cake layer on a platter. Spread 3/4 cup of the frosting on top and cover with the second cake layer. Spread a thin layer of frosting all over the cake and refrigerate until set, about 15 minutes. Spread the remaining frosting over the top and side of the cake. Refrigerate until firm, at least 30 minutes, before serving.
Make Ahead
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Aggregate Rating value: 5
Review Count: 6
Worst Rating: 0
Best Rating: 5
Author Name: ElizaBeth Clowes
Review Body: This recipe is certainly a crowd pleaser! I used a 1/2 tsp of ground clove in addition to the recommended ginger and cinnamon quantities, and I think it could use even a little more spice (perhaps an addition 1/2 tsp of cinnamon and some nutmeg). The batter comes together quickly and bakes like a dream, and the mascarpone buttercream is delicious. The cake is moist, not too crumbly, and easy to frost. I garnished with some candied pepitas (tossed with brown sugar, salt, corn syrup, and a touch of oil and baked for ~10 min) and that was a nice addition.
Review Rating: 5
Date Published: 2016-11-01
Author Name: @CyanFlame
Review Body: Love this one! Delicious!
Review Rating:
Date Published: 2017-06-16
Author Name: Brandy M
Review Body: Made this for an early Thanksgiving, exactly as instructed in the recipe, and we all loved it. Similar to others, I did find that I needed to pull the cake much earlier than 40 minutes baking time (like at 32 minutes), which just saved it from being too dry. It is possible that this is a variation of ovens. The frosting is an ample amount, and we were glad for that, because it is delicious.
Review Rating: 5
Date Published: 2016-11-23
Author Name: Jennifer McIntire
Review Body: When they say cake can be refrigerated for 3 days do they mean with or without frosting?
Review Rating:
Date Published: 2016-10-24
Author Name: GaryT55
Review Body: I went ahead and made this but used 2 teaspoons of cinnamon (Vietnamese/Saigon variety) and 1.5 teaspoons of ginger instead of tablespoons. It turned out nicely spiced at those levels. If anyone makes it with the original measurements, I would be interested in knowing how that turns out. Also, 1) the mascarpone butter cream frosting is dramatically good and easy to work with and 2) I checked my layers at 35 minutes and they were done (although my oven may be off a bit.) All in all, it's a keeper.
Review Rating: 4
Date Published: 2016-10-24
Author Name: rparker069
Review Body: I made mine with 2/3 batch of frosting and still it came out just right for the cake. This was actually the very first time I made a cake out of smaller pans, and yet the height was really impressive. Love it!
Review Rating: 5
Date Published: 2016-11-06
Author Name: GaryT55
Review Body: Hi, I'd like to try this, but are the measurements correct for the cinnamon and ginger? That looks like an awful lot.
Review Rating:
Date Published: 2016-10-22
Author Name: lisann28
Review Body: I didn't have round cake pans so I baked mine in a 9x13 and cut it in half & made a small rectangular cake. I wasn't sure how that would effect baking time so I checked at 25 minutes and found it to be completely done. I was so worried I missed something & was going to cut into it & find it undone, but it was cooked completely through. I also have a ton of extra frosting, I would definitely try to third that recipe if I did it again. I found this cake to be pretty dense, not in a bad way at all, but if you're looking for crumbly goodness this isn't the recipe for you.
Review Rating: 5
Date Published: 2016-11-27
Author Name: Amy Newman
Review Body: I made this for Halloween themed potluck. The cake and the frosting were very easy to make. The cake was moist (mine was done in 30 minutes, but my oven is completely off), but I used the spice levels included in the recipe and found it lacking any discernible spice flavor, so in the future I would probably up it or add some allspice and/or nutmeg. The frosting was delicious - I'm not a buttercream fan but the mascarpone cut through the sweetness. If you use the entire amount on the cake it will be very thickly iced - I used more than the 3/4 cup called for in the middle layer because it seemed too skimpy, and even after generously icing the entire cake had probably 1/2 cup leftover.
Review Rating: 3
Date Published: 2016-10-24
