Pumpkin Chai Sheet Cake
The BEST pumpkin sheet cake frosted with a chai spiced brown butter cream cheese frosting. Basically the definition of fall!
Hello hellooooo! Pumpkin season is in full blast over here & we’re kicking it off with this scrumptious pumpkin chai sheet cake! Ok but for real, I made this cake like 8 times. Not even kidding. I researched a million different recipes because it just wouldn’t turn out right, so basically this is adapted from every pumpkin cake out there. BUT, after so many fails, I can now say it’s pretty darn perfect! & to top it off, it’s got a luscious brown-butter, cream cheese chai-spiced icing. That’s a mouthful (pun intended).
How To Make Pumpkin Cake
So let’s talk about why this cake failed so many times. The first time I had too much flour & I over-mixed a bit, so it was just a little too bread-y. Fail 2, I forgot to add sugar #pregnancybrain. The rest basically just wouldn’t bake up properly & that was simply because I didn’t use enough baking powder.
Generally, a recipe requires either 1/4 tsp of baking soda per cup of flour OR 1 tsp baking powder per cup of flour. This recipe requires 1/2 tsp of baking soda AND 1 tsp baking powder per cup of flour because when you add extra wet ingredients, like pumpkin or banana, you need more to lift the batter. Crazy. You guys probably don’t care, just follow the recipe, LOL.
Can’t believe this simple recipe took me so many tries just because of that. Literally you just combine the wet ingredient with sugar & then fold in the dry ingredients & bake. Simple. Once you add the flour, mix just until combined; you don’t want bread, you want cake!
How to make chai buttercream
Onto the buttercream! My new obsession is mixing brown butter with cream cheese. It is seriously soooooo gooooodddddd & I’ve already done it for a few recipes! For this one, I also added some spices to give a chai flavor, which pairs incredibly well with the pumpkin.
If you’re short on time or don’t care for brown butter you can just use traditional butter as well. But if you are browning the butter, make sure to do it in advance so it has time to cool before using it.
If you’re not into chai spice, you can either omit the spices from the frosting or just do a traditional pumpkin pie spice with cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, ginger and allspice.
Alright lovebugs, I hope you guys enjoy this pumpkin chai sheet cake as much as we did! If you make it, make sure to tag me @baranbakery on instagram so I can join in on the fun too! As always, go bless someone’s day with this cake!
Love, B
Pumpkin Chai Sheet Cake Recipe
Amazing pumpkin chai sheet cake with a delicious brown-butter cream cheese chai icing that will give you all the cozy, Fall feels!
Ingredients
Pumpkin Cake
- 2 cup (250g) all-purpose flour spooned and leveled
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp nutmeg
- 1 tsp cloves
- 1 tsp ginger
- 4 large eggs room temperature
- 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup (95g) light brown sugar lightly packed
- 3/4 cup (177mL) canola oil
- 1 (15oz) can pumpkin puree
- 2 tsp vanilla
Chai Frosting
- 3 cups (360g) powdered sugar spooned and leveled
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp cardamom
- 1/2 tsp nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp ginger
- 1/2 tsp cloves
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup (113g) brown-butter softened at room temperature
- 4 oz cream cheese softened at room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla
Instructions
Brown Butter
- Begin with browning the butter for the icing by placing the butter in a light colored pot over medium heat.
- Whisk continuously until you see brown speckles of butter forming on the bottom of the pan and it begins to smell nutty.
- Remove from heat and pour it into a heat resistant bowl. Allow to cool (or refrigerate) until it returns to a soft, room temperature consistency. Set aside.
Pumpkin Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350F/177C convection (325F/163C conventional) and grease and line a 9"x13" pan.
- Combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and spices in a medium bowl and whisk them together. Set aside.2 cup (250g) all-purpose flour, 1 tsp baking soda, 2 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp salt, 2 tsp cinnamon, 1 tsp nutmeg, 1 tsp cloves, 1 tsp ginger
- Combine the eggs, granulated sugar, brown sugar, oil, pumpkin puree and vanilla in a large bowl until they're completely combined and smooth.4 large eggs, 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar, 1/2 cup (95g) light brown sugar, 3/4 cup (177mL) canola oil, 1 (15oz) can pumpkin puree, 2 tsp vanilla
- Fold the dry ingredients into the wet and mix just until the flour is incorporated. Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 35 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and allow it to cool in the pan for at least 30 minutes. Remove it from the pan and allow it to cool completely before frosting.
Chai Frosting
- Combine the powdered sugar with the spices and set aside.3 cups (360g) powdered sugar, 1 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp cardamom, 1/2 tsp nutmeg, 1/2 tsp ginger, 1/2 tsp cloves, 1/4 tsp black pepper, 1/4 tsp salt
- Using an electric mixer, at medium-high speed, beat the cooled brown butter, cream cheese and vanilla until the mixture is pale and fluffy.1/2 cup (113g) brown-butter, 4 oz cream cheese, 1 tsp vanilla
- Lower the speed and slowly add in the powdered sugar mixture. Beat for at least 5 minutes until all of the sugar is dissolved and doesn't feel grainy.
- Spread the icing over the cooled cake, sprinkle some crushed ginger cookie crumbs or dusting of cinnamon on top and serve.
Notes
- For clean slices, refrigerate before slicing.
- Serve slightly chilled or at room temperature.
Nutrition
Serving: 1gCalories: 270kcalCarbohydrates: 36gProtein: 3gFat: 13gSaturated Fat: 4gPolyunsaturated Fat: 8gCholesterol: 46mgSodium: 225mgFiber: 1gSugar: 26g
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!