Pumpkin Sheet Cake (The Pioneer Woman Cooks!)

This was the cake I made the other day that resulted in leftover pumpkin puree, which I used to make Pumpkin Ravioli, which I posted here bright and early on Monday morning. It was a triumph.

But this cake is even more of a triumph.

I’ve made pumpkin cakes before, but this time I decided to do a pumpkin version of the old standby Chocolate Sheet Cake that has saved marriages and brought about family harmony all over the land. And the result was a moist, heavenly pumpkin cake that was happily devoured by many a loved one in my life.

Here’s how I made it!

First, the pumpkin mixture: Add 2 sticks of butter to a saucepan…

And melt them over medium-low heat.

Measure 2 cups of pumpkin puree (the plain puree, not pumpkin pie filling)…

And add it in with the butter.

Next, for a little spice, I added some pumpkin pie seasoning.

If you want to be all fancy, you can add your own mix of spices instead: cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, cardamom…whatever brings you an inner sense of pumpkin peace.

Whisk this to combine, and don’t be at all alarmed if it looks really weird and disturbing at this stage. It’s supposed to.

Next comes 3/4 cup boiling water! (The regular sheet cake recipe calls for 1 cup, but since the pumpkin naturally has some water in it, I decreased it a little bit.)

Whisk it all together and set it aside.

Now for the dry ingredients: Flour, sugar, salt…

And stir it together in a large bowl.

And finally, the wet ingredients: Measure a little buttermilk in a pitcher (or, if you’re me, some milk mixed with a little white vinegar.)

Whisk in a couple of eggs…

Some baking soda (I added 2 teaspoons instead of the 1 teaspoon in the original sheet cake recipe)…

Some vanilla extract…

So now it’s time to mix the elements together! I pour the pumpkin into the dry ingredients…

And stir them just to cool down the pumpkin a bit.

Pour in the buttermilk/egg mixture…

And stir it together…

Until it all comes together in a beautiful, orange batter.

Pour it into a sheet pan (actually, a “half sheet pan”) that’s been sprayed with cooking spray…

(Update: This is a half sheet pan at 13 x 18. You can use a slightly smaller jelly roll pan OR a 9 x 13 inch pan. The 9 x 13 cake will be quite a bit thicker and you might need to bake it a little longer!)

And smooth out the surface.

Then bake it at 350 degrees for 20 minutes until it’s lovely and golden!

You can’t believe how good the house smelled at this point. Have you ever noticed that the smell of pumpkin baked goods makes you feel like everything’s gonna be okay?

Now, let’s discuss the icing! You could do a seven-minute icing or a buttercream icing—both would be delicious. I decided to go the cream cheese icing route, because…well…

Because…well…

Because…well…IT’S CREAM CHEESE ICING! No other explanation is required.

Combine softened butter and softened cream cheese in the bowl of a mixer…

Then sift in some powdered sugar…

See how much you can sift in before it comes crumbling down!

I have these little contests with myself daily. “If this conical mountain of powdered sugar doesn’t crumble, I’m the coolest person in the world.”

If it keeps from crumbling, I high-five myself and say “YES!”

If it does crumble, I dismiss the whole exercise as silly superstition.

Mix it together until it’s smooth…

Then splash in a little half and half or milk…

Until it gets to the consistency you want. I like it nice and thick, but really smooth and luscious looking.

Plop the icing all over the cake…

Then smear it all over the surface.

Important Icing Note! I actually made double the amount of icing as in the recipe below. While it wound up being thick and delicious, it really was too much. If you like a whole bunch of cream cheese icing, you can double it as I did…but next time I make it, I’ll use the amounts in the printable. Cream cheese icing is rich, man!

Cut it into squares…

And serve it up!

It’s pretty much impossible to describe how delicious this was. But I’ll give it my best shot:

It was ding dang darn delicious.

Oh, and if you want to get all fancy-like, sprinkle on a little pumpkin pie spice!

Then dig in and enjoy every bite.

You’ll love it! It’s perfect for Thanksgiving!

It’s also perfect for the other 364 days of the year.

Here’s the handy dandy printable!

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Recipe

Pumpkin Sheet Cake

Prep Time: 35 Minutes Cook Time: 25 Minutes Difficulty: Easy Servings: 18

Print Recipe

Ingredients

2 sticks Salted Butter
2 cups Pumpkin Puree (not Pumpkin Pie Filling!)
2 teaspoons Pumpkin Pie Spice
3/4 cups Boiling Water
2 cups Flour
2 cups Sugar
1/4 teaspoon Salt
1/2 cup Buttermilk
2 whole Eggs
2 teaspoons Baking Soda
2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
1/2 teaspoon Maple Extract (optional)
FROSTING
8 ounces, weight Cream Cheese, Softened
1 stick Butter, Softened
1 pound Powdered Sugar, Sifted
Dash Of Salt
1 Tablespoon Half-and-half Or Milk (more If Needed For Thinning)

Preparation Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a sheet pan with baking spray and set aside.

In a medium saucepan, melt 2 sticks butter. Whisk in pumpkin and pumpkin pie spice until it's totally combined. Whisk in boiling water until mixture is smooth and combined. Set aside.

In a measuring pitcher, combine buttermilk, eggs, baking soda, vanilla, and maple extract. Whisk and set aside.

In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, and salt. Pour in the pumpkin mixture and stir until halfway combined. Pour in the buttermilk mixture and stir until combined. Pour into the pan and bake the cake for 20 minutes. Remove and allow to cool.

To make the frosting, mix together the cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar, and salt until smooth. Add half and half and check the consistency. It should be somewhat thick but thin enough to spread in a thin layer.

Spread the frosting all over the surface of the cake. Cut into squares and serve. Keep leftovers in the fridge, as frosting will get soft.

NOTE: You may double the frosting amounts if you like a very thick layer of frosting!

Posted by Ree | The Pioneer Woman on November 20 2014