6 Inch Pumpkin Layer Cake Recipe

A Pumpkin layered cake frosted with cream cheese frosting.

6 Inch Pumpkin Layer Cake Recipe

A moist pumpkin cake loaded with pumpkin flavors and fall spices. This cake is topped with a silky cream cheese frosting. It's the perfect pumpkin recipe to make each fall!

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 35 minutes

Total Time 45 minutes

Servings servings

Calories 378kcal

Author Whitney Wright

Ingredients

2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
pinch ground cloves
4 large eggs at room temperature
1 cup vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
15 ounce pumpkin puree (1 - 15 oz can pumpkin puree)
1 cup light brown sugar packed
1/2 cup granulated sugar

Cream Cheese Frosting

1/2 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
4 ounces cream cheese softened
2 1/2 -3 cups powdered sugar
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
milk

Instructions

Preheat oven to 325°F. Grease and flour 3 – 6 inch round cake pans. Set aside.
In a medium size bowl whisk the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, and cloves. Set aside.
In bowl of your electric mixer, add the eggs, oil, vanilla, pumpkin puree, and sugars. Mix until combined.
With mixer on low speed, slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Mix until just combined. Don’t overmix.
Pour the batter amongst the 3 cake pans. Smooth out the top with a spatula. Bake for 35-38 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Remove cakes from the oven and allow them to cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes. Turn the cakes out and let them cool completely. Frost the cakes, or you can cover the cakes with plastic wrap and place them in the fridge overnight. Remove them the next day and frost them.

Cream Cheese Frosting

In bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and cream cheese until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Add the powdered sugar and vanilla extract. Mix until smooth and creamy. Add a splash of milk until you reach your desired frosting consistency. Frost the cake.

Notes

To frost the cake, place the frosting in a pastry bag and cut off the tip of the bag. (If you don't have a pastry bag, use a zip top bag instead!) Place a cake layer on a cake stand and top the cake with frosting, spread the frosting around to make an even layer. Add another cake layer on top of the frosting and repeat until all cake layers have been used.

Spread a thin layer of frosting around the outside edge of the cake and use a bench scraper to smooth out the frosting. To make frosting the cake easier, chill the cake layers. Once the cakes are level, I like to double wrap each cake layer in plastic wrap and refrigerate for an hour or overnight.

You can make this in 6x2-inch cake pans or 6x3-inch cake pans or in two 9-inch sized cake pans, just know the baking times will differ for the 9-inch pans, so keep an eye on the oven.

Use a kitchen scale to make sure an even amount of cake batter is in each cake pan.

Make Ahead, Storing, and Freezing

Serve the cake immediately, or leave at room temperature for 2 days, or in the refrigerator for 5 days.

To freeze cake layers, let the pumpkin cake layers cool completely and wrap each cake layer twice in plastic wrap, then freeze. If storing for 1+ weeks, finish with a layer of aluminum foil and then freeze. Cake layers can stay in the freezer for up to 2 months.

To freeze a completed cake, chill the frosted/decorated cake in the freezer until firm (about 20-30 minutes). Wrap the entire cake in plastic wrap twice then freeze. If storing for 1+ weeks, finish with a layer of aluminum foil. The completed cake will stay in the freezer for up to 2 months.

Remove the cake layers or completed cake from the freezer and store in the fridge overnight. The next morning, pull the cake or cake layers out and unwrap and let come to room temperature before layering and frosting or before serving.

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