It is coffee. It is pumpkin. It is cake. All in one neat and delicious package! The sponge cake is tender and pillowy soft. Light, airy, moist, bursting with all the cravealbe Fall flavors: creamy pumpkin spice and coffee.
Course Cake
Cuisine American
Keyword dark chocolate holiday baking, fall themed cake, pumpkin spice latte cake, simple cake recipe
Preheat the oven to 350 F and grease two 9" cake springform pans.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, ground cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, ground nutmeg, baking soda, baking powder, and sea salt.
Beat eggs and sugar on high for 5 minutes or until light, fluffy and pale yellow in color. Reduce mixing speed to medium/low and add vanilla extract, pumpkin puree, and freshly brewed espresso.
Remove the bowl from the mixer stand and add the ready dry ingredients (flour, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, ground nutmeg, baking soda, baking powder, and sea salt) into the egg mixture in 6 separate additions. Carefully mix in the dry ingredients with each addition with a spatula, trying not to deflate air pockets as much as possible.
Pumpkin Spice Latte Cake Baking Instructions
Divide the batter evenly between 2 – 9” baking pans greased with butter (I use a cup scooper to make sure it is divided perfectly even). Bake in a preheated oven at 350 F (180 C) for 25 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
Remove from the oven. Allow the cake sponges to cool in the baking pans for 10 minutes before removing them from the pans.
Cool the cake sponges completely before frosting.
How to Make the Pumpkin Spice Latte Cake Frosting
While the cake sponges are cooling, make the frosting.
Start by beating softened butter until creamy and smooth. Add softened cream cheese and beat again until both are well mixed.
Then add sugar and beat until smooth and the sugar is dissolved. Scrape down the cream off the sides of the mixer bowl halfway through.
Next, add cold heavy cream. Start beating the cream slowly on low, then gradually increase the mixing speed to medium. Again, scraping down the cream multiple times to ensure all the ingredients are well incorporated.
Finally, add the spices and flavoring that make this frosting taste oh-so-amazing: ground cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, vanilla extract, and freshly brewed and chilled espresso.
How to Assemble the Pumpkin Spice Latte Cake
Once completely cooled, split both cake sponges cleanly in half. You should end up with 4 one-inch cake sponge layers.
Place a cake sponge on a cake platter and add 2 cups of frosting (I like to use a half-cup scoop for this step). Spread out the frosting evenly and place another cake sponge on top of the frosting. Repeat this process with the rest of the sponges.
Using the remaining frosting, cover the outside of the cake. Use a cake icing smoother to engrave the design on the sides of the cake, and a regular cake spatula to make the swirly look on top of the cake.
Decorate the top of the cake with mellowcream pumpkin candy and sprinkled pumpkin seeds.
Line the base of the cake with pumpkin seeds for the border.
How to Heat a Knife for Perfectly Clean Slices
If you like to see nice and clean slices of cake as I do, it is important to know a few tips that will deliver that satisfying look for you. Slicing the cake with a warmed clean knife will turn out each and every slice of the cake clean and beautiful.
Place a long knife into a tall cup filled with hot water for 15 seconds or so. Remove the knife from the water and dry it using a paper towel. The hot knife will melt away stickiness and cleanly slice through the layers if you cut only in one downward direction, and pull the knife out at the base of the cake.
Repeat the same instruction each time you make a slice and you've got a drool-worthy presentation with each slice of this deliciousness you worked so hard on. Happy slicing and eating!
Notes
The addition of liquids to the cream will thin the cream a bit, but the beating process will thicken it again. It's important not to overbeat the cream.