This easy pumpkin snack cake recipe is moist and fluffy. Homemade from scratch, only 15 minutes to prepare with a few wholesome ingredients. This pumpkin treat is simple!
Why You Will Love This Recipe:
- Pumpkin Season: The tender texture and moist crumbs alongside the pumpkin spice taste make this the best fall snack cake recipe.
- Snack for the week: This cake makes a 9x13 pan size (that's a rectangular pan)! Perfect snack for a couple of days, or freeze into individual squares to have as a on-the-go fall snack.
- Wholesome: Using pumpkin puree, spices, are the key ingredients to boost the nutrient density of this healthy cake. It's completely acceptable to eat this pumpkin cake for breakfast or an easy dessert!
- Optional twist: Add a maple cream cheese frosting on this moist pumpkin cake! Or throw in some dark chocolate chips for that pumpkin chocolate combo.
Jump to:
- Why You Will Love This Recipe:
- Ingredient Notes
- Nutrition Facts About Pumpkin
- A Note on Cinnamon
- Detailed Instructions to Make Pumpkin Snack Cake
- How to Make 2 Ingredient Cream Cheese Icing
- Top Tip for Fluffy Pumpkin Snack Cake
- Substitution and Variations
- Storage and Freezing Snack Cake
- FAQ
- Other Easy Baked Snacks
- Easy Pumpkin Snack Cake Recipe
Ingredient Notes
Below are the ingredients needed to make this easy snack cake. Many of the ingredients 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, not pumpkin pie filling.
- Ground Cinnamon: This fall spice increases the pumpkin flavor.
- Flour: Use, whole wheat or all-purpose flour. For all my baked goods I choose to use organic flour, however, whatever you have will work.
- Baking soda: This makes the cake rise, and gives it a cake-like texture.
- Salt: This boosts the pumpkin taste.
- 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.
- Vanilla Extract: We love a burst of vanilla for flavor.
- Eggs: Having eggs in this cake makes a moist crumb and helps it rise.
- Milk: I used almond milk, but any milk works!
Optional - 2 Ingredient Cream Cheese Icing:
Adding this pumpkin cake frosting makes this cake creamy and delightful. Honestly, this snack 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 bread or cake takes it from lovely, to dessert level. All you do is mix the cream cheese with maple syrup.
- Maple Syrup: This sweetened the 2 ingredient cream cheese icing, and the maple gives a fall flavor!
Nutrition Facts About Pumpkin
Pumpkin is a winter squash, it is a complex carbohydrate meaning energy is released to your body slower (instead of a simple carbohydrate where your blood sugar will rise quickly and crash quickly after eating).
Pumpkin is a good source of Vitamin A, C, potassium and magnesium.
A Note on Cinnamon
Cinnamon contains warming properties (meaning it literally makes you warmer when you eat it, probably why we eat it more in fall and winter!). It supports the spleen, lungs, kidney, heart, and uterus function.
Detailed Instructions to Make Pumpkin Snack Cake
Follow the step-by-step photos to make this easy recipe. For full quantities of each ingredient look in the recipe card below.
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. 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.
Prepare the pan (9x13 rectangular pan) by greasing the sides and bottom with a little oil. Preheat the oven to 350 F. In a medium bowl place the flour (2 cups), baking soda (2 tsp), sea salt (½ tsp), cinnamon (2 tsp), and nutmeg (1 tsp). Use a whisk to mix thoroughly.
In another bowl place the oil (¾ cup), brown sugar (1 cup), pumpkin puree (2 cups), vanilla (2 tsp), and eggs (3). Use the whisk to combine well.
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, then stir the flour in as you spread the batter into the pan.
Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan, and spread until it is evenly distributed in the pan. Bake for 25-30 minutes (27 minutes comes out perfect for me every time), 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 bread 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 and make it the perfect fall dessert.....
Place the softened cream cheese, and maple syrup (4 tbsp) 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.
Spread icing on the cooled 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).
Top Tip for Fluffy Pumpkin Snack Cake
Don't over-mix the batter, this will dry out the cake and make it rise less.
Substitution and Variations
Here are a few ways you can change this healthy 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 F for 60-70 minutes. Enjoy the pumpkin bread with icing too!
Storage and Freezing Snack Cake
This snack cake will last about three days on the counter (keep covered), if you want to make it last longer place the cake in the fridge after that. If you are frosting this snack cake, store it in the fridge.
This healthy cake is also freezer-friendly. Cover the tray well with saran wrap and tin foil to freeze. To dethaw leave the cake leave it on the counter at room temperature for a few hours or overnight. Or wrap individual cake pieces and freeze, grab as needed and eat on the go. Enjoy the pumpkin cake within 3 months of freezing, after that, it won't go bad, it just may not taste as fresh.
FAQ
Snack cake is usually single layer cakes made in a sheet pan, or square pan instead of a round layer cake. To make snack cakes healthier ingredients are often included such as vegetables (carrots, zucchini, pumpkin) or fruit (apples, pear, strawberries). Snack cake is commonly eaten without icing.
Most usually homemade cake is healthier than store-bought cake. Homemade cake is healthier because it contains no preservatives, less sugar, and less processed ingredients. Homemade cake often uses whole food ingredients that are minimally processed with vitamins and minerals still intact.
Leftover pumpkin puree can be used for various recipes: pumpkin muffins, add it to creamy hummus, use it as baby food, make pumpkin pie, a pumpkin cheesecake, homemade pumpkin spice latte, or make savoury dishes like pumpkin soup there are so many awesome pumpkin puree recipes!
Yes, you can make your own pumpkin puree from your whole pumpkin that you picked from the fall pumpkin patch!
To make your own homemade pumpkin puree:
All you need to do is chop the whole pumpkin into pieces (no bigger than about a baseball). Bake chunks of pumpkin on a cookie sheet in the oven (375 degrees) for 45 minutes to 1 hour until it is soft.
Remove the pumpkin seeds from the cooked pumpkin (you can use these for something else or throw them out). Remove the pumpkin flesh from the pumpkin skin and place the orange flesh in a food processor, blend until smooth. If you want it thicker you can strain the pumpkin puree. This pumpkin puree freezes well.
Read the unopened canned pumpkin to see what the best-by date or expiration date is.
Pumpkin puree will last in the fridge for about 5-7 days. Be sure to store opened pumpkin puree in a sealed container when keeping it in the fridge. Use your senses to look for any signs of spoilage, such as a bad smell or mold growth.
If you have leftover pumpkin puree you can use it for other delicious pumpkin recipes. If you open a large can of pumpkin puree or pumpkin pie filling from the grocery store and don’t plan to use it right away, the best way to use a can of pumpkin purée over an extended period is to freeze it for later use, this reduces food waste.
You can freeze fresh pumpkin puree (homemade) or canned store-bought puree in an airtight container (make sure to use freezer-safe containers), or a plastic freezer bag.
Another easy way to freeze canned pumpkin puree is into ice cube trays, after they are solid, transfer the cubes to freezer bags and place them back into the freezer (these ice cubes make it the easiest way to defrost the leftover puree)!
To prevent freezer burn on pumpkin puree remove as much air from the bag or container as possible. With proper storage, the frozen puree will last a long time, 6-8 months in the freezer.
Other Easy Baked Snacks
Looking for other healthy and easy snack recipes like this? Try these:
Did you make this easy pumpkin snack cake recipe? I wanna hear about it! Let me know down below the recipe! And give this recipe a star rating. It would totally make my day!
Easy Pumpkin Snack Cake Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients:
- 2 cups organic white flour
- 2 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- 2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon nutmeg optional
Wet ingredients:
- ¾ cup oil
- 1 cup brown sugar or coconut sugar
- 2 cups pumpkin puree
- 2 teaspoon vanilla
- 3 eggs
Optional Icing:
- 1 cup cream cheese, soft 1 block, 250 grams
- 4 tablespoon maple syrup
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon (optional for extra flavor)
Instructions
- Start by greasing a rectangular 9x13 pan and preheating the oven to 350 F. In a medium bowl place the flour (2 cups), baking soda (2 tsp), sea salt (½ tsp), cinnamon (2 tsp), and nutmeg (1 tsp). Use a whisk to mix thoroughly.
- In another bowl place the oil (¾ cup), brown sugar (1 cup), pumpkin puree (2 cups), vanilla (2 tsp), and eggs (3). Use the whisk to combine well. Dump the flour mixture into the wet pumpkin mixture, using a scraper fold the mixture together just until mixed, don’t over stir.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan, spread until it is evenly distributed in the pan. Bake for 25-30 minutes (27 minutes comes out perfect for me every time), it will be ready when the middle of the cake slightly springs back when you touch it. Let it cool.
- Optional Icing: Place the softened cream cheese, and maple syrup (4 tbsp) 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. Spread icing on the cooled cake.
- Storing: Cover, and store cake in fridge if using icing. Cover and keep at room temperature if you make the cake without icing. It will stay good for 1 week.
Notes
-
- 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 fall a pumpkin 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 F for 60-70 minutes.
- This snack cake will last about three days on the counter (keep covered), if you want to make it last longer place the cake in the fridge after that. If you are frosting this snack cake, store it in the fridge.
- This healthy cake is also freezer-friendly. Cover the tray well with saran wrap and tin foil to freeze. To dethaw leave the cake leave it on the counter at room temperature for a few hours or overnight. Or wrap individual cake pieces and freeze, grab as needed and eat on the go. Enjoy the pumpkin cake within 3 months of freezing, after that, it won't go bad, it just may not taste as fresh.
Rachel
Love this recipe, it is so quick and easy to make and also easy to modify to make it gluten free. My family all loves this pumpkin cake, it tastes amazing and is so moist and flavorful!
Danika Vanderpyl
I love hearing that this works well with gf flour too! Thanks for sharing!
Aileen Davidson
SO DANG GOOD! Made this yesterday and enjoyed some for work snacks today. I added some other spices like cardamom, turmeric, cloves, and the amount of cinnamon the recipe calls for and it's so tasty. I made a ridiculous amount of pumpkin puree (good winter squash year in my garden this year!) so this will definitely be repeated many times this winter! Perfect texture.
Danika Vanderpyl
Yeah you did! Yay! Yesss this is a fave and I have also made it on repeat. Extra hi 5 for the real pumpkin !!
Erik
Such a tasty recipe- I’ve made it twice now!
Danika Vanderpyl
Great to hear, I'm sure the flour was just the perfect texture for you to enjoy this amazing fall cake.
Jordi
I used GF flour and made them into muffins! So moist, so good!! Definitely will be my go to pumpkin recipe!
danikavanderpyl
Thanks for sharing this Jordi! So helpful, glad you enjoyed these!
Danika R
This was deliciously light and fluffy, and spiced perfectly. I subbed half the white flour for whole wheat and used homemade purée. Mine took a lot longer to bake (close to 40 minutes) but I should have maybe accounted for high elevation.
danikavanderpyl
Thanks for taking the time to share this Danika, glad you enjoyed it.
Kennedy Schmidt
Ok this was soooo good. Basically pumpkin pie in loaf form. So moist and subtly sweet but not over the top. IN LOVE.
danikavanderpyl
Incredible right?! Thanks for sharing Ken.