Pumpkin Spice Latte Cake
Just like our favorite fall drink, this Pumpkin Spice Latte cake is sure to give the same cozy vibes, but in a whole new way.
This Pumpkin Spice Latte cake is fall festive and deliciously easy to make. The cake is single layer, boasting pumpkin, spices and espresso flavor, and is topped with a not too sweet coffee infused whipped frosting.
Ingredients Needed
This cake is simple in nature, not requiring layers or stacking, but there are a few ingredients and steps that require preparation.
Ingredients that may require a trip to the grocery store include: Lifeway Kefir (critical for taste and texture within the cake), pumpkin puree, espresso powder, whole coffee beans and cake flour. I use a combination of cake flour and all-purpose flour in many of my cake recipes, especially those with flavors that are often interchangeably made into breads, i.e. pumpkin, banana, etc. I do this because I want the texture of the cake to be undeniably light and fluffy—nothing like a dense loaf or bread. We achieve this by selecting ingredients (like the use of two flours) carefully and with intention.
The recipe also requires a number of spices like nutmeg, cloves, ginger and cinnamon. Plan accordingly.
Tips and Tricks
1.) Make sure to steep the heavy cream and coffee beans for a few hours before making the frosting. This will allow ample time for the coffee flavor to infuse into the heavy cream, giving beautiful flavor to the frosting.
2.) Measure accurately and carefully. Mixing times and measurements are listed for a reason, and will give you the best dessert as a result.
3.) The cream cheese should be room temperature when used for the buttercream. If the cream cheese is cold, it will make for a lumpy frosting.
4.) Watch the whipped cream closely. It should be whipped to stiff peaks that are still fluffy. If the cream is processed too far, it will turn liquid or even curdle. There are technically ways to “save” broken whipped cream, but I’ve had little success with this. So be careful.
5.) Line the cake pan with parchment paper for best results. This will ensure the cake doesn’t stick to the pan. This is important because the frosting is placed on top of the cake and not the sides.
Substitutions and Variations
Feel free to omit the coffee and espresso flavors for a plain pumpkin cake. Also, feel free to get creative with the frosting. Chocolate would be a delicious alternative, or even a plain cream cheese icing.
For other fall recipes, try my Pumpkin Layer cake, my Pumpkin S’mores Cupcakes, or my Snickerdoodle Cookies.
Final Tip
Allow the cake to cool in the pan for 5-10 minutes before turning it out onto a wire rack.
Store any leftover cake in the fridge with either saran wrap or parchment paper pressed closely to the sides of the cake. This will keep it fresh for up to 3-5 days.
Pumpkin Spice Latte Cake
Ingredients
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1/4 cup whole coffee beans
- 6 ounces cream cheese or mascarpone cheese (if using cream cheese it must be room temperature)
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup butter, softened
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup brown sugar, lightly packed
- 2 tablespoons canola oil
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup cake flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 2 teaspoons espresso powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup Organic Plain Lifeway Kefir, room temperature
- 1/2 cup canned pumpkin puree
Instructions
- 3-5 hours prior to making the cake, heat heavy cream and coffee bean in a small sauce pan until just simmering. Remove from heat. Allow to steep at room temperature for 15 to 20 minutes, and then place in the fridge for at least 3-5 hours.
- Into a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the cream cheese, powdered sugar and vanilla until fluffy, about 2-3 minutes.
- Strain the coffee beans from the cream, ensuring as much liquid as possible is separated. Discard the coffee beans. Using a whisk attachment, whip the heavy cream until stiff peaks, but still fluffy.
- One large scoop at a time, gently fold the whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture. Repeat until all the whipped cream has been folded into the cream cheese. Decorate cake.
- Preheat oven 350 degrees F. Line one 9" cake pan with parchment paper. Set aside.
- In a mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugars on medium-high speed for 3 minutes. Drizzle the oil into the bowl on low speed. Once incorporated, turn the mixer back to medium-high speed for another 1-2 minutes.
- Add eggs, one at a time, mixing batter until smooth and scraping the bowl after each egg addition.
- In a separate bowl, using a fine mesh sieve, sift the flours, baking powder, soda, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, espresso powder and salt. Spoon and level the flours for an accurate measurement.
- Add measured kefir and pumpkin puree into a glass measuring cup and whisk until smooth.
- Alternating between dry ingredients and the kefir puree mixture, add 1/3 of flour into the mixing bowl on low. Immediately follow with half of the kefir puree, followed by another 1/3 of the flour and the second half of the kefir puree. Finish with the remaining flour mixture. The mixer should be kept on low, so the flour and kefir mixtures don't splash out of the bowl. Scrape the bowl, making sure any dry ingredients trapped at the bottom are brought to the top. After scraping, turn the mixer up to medium-low for just a few seconds ensuring the batter is fully mixed and smooth.
- Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake for 25-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Watch the cake pan carefully as every oven varies in temperature. Cool pans for 10 minutes before running a knife around the edge of the pan, and turning out the cake. Place cake on wire rack to finish cooling.
You May Like These…
