Pumpkin Cake with Dulce de Leche Cream Cheese Frosting

pumpkin cake

We Canadians have an early Thanksgiving, which is this weekend. The good thing about it is that when American Thanksgiving comes, it feels like we are going to celebrate another Thanksgiving.

Not that we will actually be doing something on American Thanksgiving. But I am a food blogger, I am literally into anything festive and seasonal. My blog here will definitely be celebrating!

pumpkin cake

It looks like we have to go with pumpkins during fall season. Last year we had a very delicious pumpkin cheesecake, and it went crazily well. And so this year we are kind of struggling between the cheesecake and this pumpkin cake.

I would say the dulce de leche cream cheese frosting has definitely won my heart. The tartness of the cream cheese cuts the sweetness of the cake perfectly. The 1/4 cup of dulce de leche doesn’t really overwhelm the cream cheese flavour, yet the taste is there. You can add more if you prefer deeper caramel flavour.

You can easily make your own dulce de leche. Just pour whole can of sweetened condensed milk into a shallow baking dish. Cover it with aluminium foil. Place the dish into another larger pan. Add hot water until it reaches halfway up the side of the small dish. Bake for an hour at 425F or until the milk becomes browned and caramelized.

pumpkin cake

Ingredients (5-inch 3-layer cake):
Pumpkin Cake
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 cup pumpkin puree or canned pure pumpkin
Dulce de Leche Cream Cheese Frosting
1 pack 8-ounce cream cheese, softened
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1/4 cup and 2 tablespoons dulce de leche
1/2 cup powdered sugar

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F. Grease three 5-inch cake pan, and line bottoms with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, combine flour, ginger, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
In a standing mixer with a paddle attachment, cream together butter and two sugars until light fluffy. Add egg one at a time until well combined.
Add pumpkin and continue mixing until incorporated.
With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture and mix until just blended.
Pour the cake batter evenly between cake pans, and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean. Let cool completely.
To prepare cream cheese frosting, place butter, cream cheese and 1/4 cup dulce de leche in a mixing bowl. Beat until soft and well incorporated. Add powder sugar and continue beating until light and fluffy.
To assemble the cake, simply sandwich cake layers with the cream cheese frosting. Smear the excess frosting around the sides of the cake to create the look of a naked cake.
Slowly spoon the dulce de leche over the top of the cake. Use an offset spatula to gently push the dulce de leche over the sides of the cake to create the dripping effect.
Cover and refrigerate the cake. Leave cake in room temperature for at least an hour before serving.

6 comments

  1. I love this cake! I made it for my friend’s birthday and it was amazing. I was worried it might be overly sweet and that the cream cheese frosting might drown out the pumpkin and dulce de leche, but all of the flavors were perfectly balanced.

  2. Welcome to Yum Goggle! We are following you on all social media and hope you will do the same – we will tag you on all platforms we promote your posts on. Kelli at YG

  3. so into the pumpkin cream cheese combo right now (just ate a pumpkin cream cheese muffin for breakfast this morning!). and yes, food bloggers anything and everything (all those us national food holidays!). i love it, and it makes the world seem a little bit happier to me.

    1. You are right, Heather, the cream cheese and pumpkin combo is simply as good as it goes with carrot cake! And so true of you about making the world happier! At least it does make me a little happier!

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