Easy Pumpkin Snack Cake Recipe

This pumpkin snack cake is moist and fluffy; it's an easy fall recipe. Homemade from scratch, it's only 15 minutes to prepare with a few wholesome ingredients. It's also no secret from my community that the optional cream cheese frosting makes this simple cake over the top exceptional.

My best friend recently told me that she makes this recipe every Thanksgiving for her family; she's a girl who loves good food but doesn't like to be in the kitchen all day. Take it from her, this cake is truly worth making for the ones you love.

I am always trying to make my recipes with simple and wholesome ingredients, and I hope that's what you notice in the healthy snack recipes I share on this blog. Less sugar, maybe some whole wheat, adding seeds or nuts when I can just like you will see in my favorite fall recipes, including apple snack cake, pumpkin seed cookies, and gingerbread pumpkin muffins!

Why you will love this recipe:

• It's pumpkin season: The tender texture and moist crumbs alongside the pumpkin spice taste make this the best fall snack cake recipe. Next, try my fall apple popsicles and my pumpkin spice granola!
• 9x13 pan of snack cake: This cake makes a 9x13 pan size! It's a perfect ready-to-go snack for up to a week, or freeze it into individual squares, or bring the whole pan to a potluck!
• Wholesome: Using pumpkin puree and spices is the key to boost the nutrient density of this pumpkin snack, just like in my pumpkin oatmeal balls.
• Optional twist: Add a maple cream cheese frosting on this pumpkin snack cake! Or throw in some dark chocolate chips for that pumpkin chocolate combo.

Ingredients for pumpkin snack cake

Many of the ingredients you need for this cake I am sure you probably already have in your kitchen! See the recipe card below for quantities and the full recipe.

• Pumpkin purée: You want to use pure pumpkin puree, not pumpkin pie filling (pumpkin pie filling has added sugar and spices).
• Ground cinnamon: This fall spice increases the pumpkin flavor, you could also use pumpkin spice mix instead!
• Flour: I often use white flour if I am baking this cake for company. If I am making it more for snack time and for my kids, I use half milled wheat flour and half organic white flour.
• Oil: You can use mild olive oil, vegetable oil, grapeseed oil, or melted coconut oil. I used grapeseed oil.
• Brown sugar or coconut sugar: Either works to complement the pumpkin and sweeten the cake. I honestly love the flavor of coconut sugar, however I know it's not common in everyone's kitchen.
• Milk: I used almond milk, to make this cake dairy free, but any milk works!

Optional - 2 Ingredient Cream Cheese Icing:

Adding frosting to this easy pumpkin snack cake makes it creamy and delightful. Honestly, this cake is perfect without icing, but I know some of us love a little cream cheese pumpkin combo!

• Cream Cheese: A cream cheese icing with pumpkin cake takes it from lovely to top-tier dessert level. All you do is mix the cream cheese with maple syrup.
• Maple Syrup: The maple syrup sweetens the 2-ingredient cream cheese icing, and gives it a fall flavor too!

Substitution and variations

Here are a few ways you can change this snack cake recipe, or switch it up the next time you make it!

• Chocolate chips: Add ½ chocolate chips with the wet ingredients to make pumpkin chocolate chip snack cake for all the chocolate lovers!
• Pumpkin spice flavor: Use pumpkin pie spice blend instead of cinnamon. These warm spices will increase the fall flavor, making a delightful pumpkin spice snack cake!
• Pumpkin bread: Bake this cake batter in a greased loaf pan lined with parchment paper at 350 degrees Fahrenheit (175°C) for 60-70 minutes. Enjoy the pumpkin bread with icing too!

How to Make pumpkin snack cake

Follow the step-by-step photos from my kitchen to make this easy recipe.

Learn from me: When testing this recipe, I tried to make it a 1 bowl recipe; however, I found I got a bite with a baking soda taste in the cake. Therefore, mixing the dry ingredients first and adding them to the wet is the best way to make sure we don't overmix the cake, yet everything is evenly mixed.

Step 1: Prepare the pan (9x13 rectangular pan) by greasing the sides and bottom with a little oil. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (175°C). In a medium bowl, place the dry ingredients and use a whisk to mix thoroughly.

Step 2: In another bowl, place the oil, brown sugar, pumpkin puree, vanilla, and eggs. Use the whisk to combine well.

Step 3: Dump the flour mixture into the wet pumpkin mixture. Using a scraper, just mix until all the wet and dry ingredients are combined. If there are a few flour streaks left before you spread the cake batter into the pan, that's fine, just stir that flour section in as you spread the batter into the pan.

Step 4: Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan, and spread it until it is evenly distributed in the pan. Bake for 25-30 minutes.

It will be ready when the middle of the cake slightly springs back when you touch it. Let it cool.

How to make 2-ingredient cream cheese icing

Using this pumpkin cake icing recipe is not needed to make this cake delicious. However, if you have cream cheese in the house and want to take this cake to the next level, it makes the perfect fall dessert...

Step 1: Place the softened cream cheese and maple syrup into a mixer with a whisk attachment. Whisk for 2 minutes, then scrape down the sides of the bowl before whisking another 3-5 minutes until completely smooth.

Step 2: Spread cream cheese icing on the cooled pumpkin cake. (Putting the icing on when the cake is still warm will cause the frosting to melt and become runny instead of thick and fluffy).

Pumpkin snack cake FAQ's

More Delightful Fall Snacks

🎃 Did you make this easy pumpkin snack cake recipe? Would you please leave a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ star rating and a comment! I see every single one and it helps others find this recipe.