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Need a fun, delicious dessert for an upcoming fall event, or a sweet surprise for family and/or friends? This moist one-bowl pumpkin cake comes together in minutes, with no mixer needed. The fabulous salted caramel icing takes it to nirvana status!
If you enjoy a moist, tender-crumbed cake with all the warm, fragrant flavors of autumn, you will love this one-bowl pumpkin cake. And if you can stir it up quickly in one bowl and it has a fabulous salted caramel icing, let's just say it's probably the most perfect fall dessert you'll ever have the pleasure of meeting (and eating)!
I realized earlier this fall that, although I have a ton of pumpkin recipes on the blog (muffins, bread, soup, cupcakes, cookies, whoopie pies, granola bars, donuts, shortbread, even a pumpkin salad dressing), I've never posted a recipe for an easy, no-mixer, pumpkin cake. I knew that had to remedy this omission, so I've been working on this one-bowl pumpkin cake and I think you're going to enjoy it as much as we (and all of our guests) have!
As the name implies, this One-Bowl Pumpkin Cake is made with just one bowl and no mixer. You'll also need a whisk to stir everything together and a spatula to scrape the batter into the pan. To make it even simpler, I like to wash the bowl out while the cake bakes so I can make the icing in the same bowl, but that's up to you.
If you have your pantry stocked with some canned pumpkin puree, you probably have everything else you need (butter, eggs, flour, brown and granulated sugar, vanilla, leavening agents and pumpkin pie spice) for this one-bowl pumpkin cake. If you don't keep pumpkin pie spice on hand, it's easy to make your own.
To make the icing super easy, I melt store-bought caramels with a few tablespoons of milk or half and half and incorporate that mixture into the powdered sugar icing. A sprinkle of flaky sea salt over the finished cake gives a delicious little "salty" crunch with each bite.
You'll get lots of ooooohs and aaaaaahs with the first taste of this moist, tender-crumbed, One-Bowl Pumpkin Cake, so put this one on your "must make" list for fall. You won't be disappointed!
Café Tips for making this One-Bowl Pumpkin Cake
- I use an 8-inch round baking pan with 2-inch high sides for this recipe. If you have an 8-inch pan with lower sides, it won't be big enough for this recipe. Use a 9-inch round or square baking pan instead. The cake will be a bit larger in diameter and not as tall.
- I love these Oxo Good Grip Baking Pans. They have tall, 2-inch sides, a textured, nonstick finish and they clean up beautifully.
- Make sure to use pumpkin puree or pure pumpkin for this cake and not pumpkin pie filling. They are usually shelved right next to each other at the grocery store and have similar looking cans so it's easy to make an error. Pumpkin puree, as the name indicates, is just pumpkin that's been pureed. It's used for pies and other baked goods, as well as soups and other savory dishes. Pumpkin pie filling contains sugar and spices and is a convenience product used to make pumpkin pie.
- For the salted caramel icing, I've used Kraft caramels, Werther's soft caramels and fancy, gourmet caramels from Trader Joe's, all with good results. With Kraft caramels, 3½ ounces is approximately 12 caramels. Other brands differ in weight so you may need to weigh them or make a good guestimate.
- Did you know that chrysanthemums are edible? Yep, they're used in salads, stir-fries, tea and even wine! of course, you want mums that have not been treated with chemicals. Being familiar with the smell of these flowers though, I'm not sure that I'd really enjoy the flavor, but do I like knowing that I can safely decorate cakes and other desserts with these pretty and quintessentially fall flowers.
- For the icing, make sure your butter is nice and soft. I either leave it out overnight to soften or soften it in the microwave. To soften butter in the microwave, use 10% power for 1 to 3 minutes. Every microwave is different so the amount of time will depend on the power of your particular microwave.
- You may not need all of the icing. If you don't use it all, the icing will freeze nicely for a future use.
- This One-Bowl Pumpkin Cake calls for a sprinkle of flaky sea salt. I really like Maldon flaky sea salt. Maldon is what's called a finishing salt. It's not to be used as an everyday seasoning but rather as a gourmet finishing touch. Maldon is more expensive than regular salt or kosher salt but a box will last a long time.
If you enjoyed this recipe, please come back and leave a star rating and review! It's so helpful to other readers to hear other's results and ideas for variations.
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One-Bowl Pumpkin Cake with Salted Caramel Icing
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 8 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled for 5 minutes
- ¾ cups granulated sugar
- ½ cup dark brown sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 1 ⅓ cups pumpkin puree
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
For the icing:
- ¼ cup half and half or milk
- 3 ½ ounces store-bought caramels, (Kraft or Werthers) I use 12 Kraft caramels
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup dark brown sugar
- 6 tablespoons butter, very soft
- 2 ¼ cups confectioners' sugar
Instructions
For the cake:
- Preheat oven to 325˚F. Spray an 8-inch round cake pan with 2-inch sides. (If your 8-inch cake pan does not have 2-inch sides, use a 9-inch pan.) Line the pan with a round of parchment paper.
- Add both sugars to the cooled melted butter and whisk to combine. Add eggs, pumpkin puree and vanilla, whisk again until well combined.
- Sprinkle the flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda, baking powder and salt over the top of the wet ingredients. Whisk everything together until well combined and no lumps remain.
- Transfer the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top to level the surface. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. (Cover the top with foil during the last 10 minutes if it seems to be browning too much.)
- Cool the cake for 10 minutes in the pan, then turn out onto a wire cooling rack to cool completely before icing.
For the icing:
- Combine half and half, unwrapped caramels and brown sugar in a medium-size, microwave-safe bowl. Cook on high power for one minute. Remove from microwave and stir until smooth. If caramels are not completely melted, return to microwave for 15-second increments, stirring well in-between until completely melted and the mixture is nice and smooth.
- Add vanilla and powdered sugar and soft butter and whisk well to combine. Continue whisking until the icing is smooth and spreadable. If it’s too thin add a bit more powdered sugar, if too thick and a teaspoon of half and half at a time until nice and spreadable.
- Put a big dollop of frosting in the center of the cooled cake. Using an offset icing spatula, spread it to the edges and down the sides, adding more frosting to the top as you work your way around the cake. When the cake is completely iced, you can go back and add some swirls, if desired. Sprinkle with flaky sea salt and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
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Absolutely love this recipe and have made it several times. My grandson even asked me to make it for his birthday (in June!) this year!! It will be on our table this Thsnksgiving🍁
Blessings!
That's great, Kathy! Thank you for you the review!
Should I use unsalted or salted butter?
Hi Sabeen, we use salted but either will work!
Hello.I am planning to have this for our christmas lunch dessert.So if i baked this on christmas eve should i frost it christmas day?
Hi Liza, you can bake it and frost it on Christmas Eve and it will be great for lunch the next day.
could i freeze the cake with icing, or wait till thawed to do so?
Yes, it freezes well with the icing.
Delish! The second time I made this I forgot the baking soda, which resulted in a denser but even moister cake! QUESTION: wrapped caramels are impossible to locate. I used the tiny Kraft caramel balls, thinking measuring by weight would work. It didn’t-wasn’t enough. Any suggestions? The little balls also melt differently!
Hi Suzanne, so happy you enjoyed this recipe!
Regarding your question, you could use a good quality caramel sauce and cut back on the half-and-half in lieu of using wrapped caramels.
Can I double the recipe and make it as a sheet cake?
Hi Kim, I haven't tested this recipe as a sheet cake. It would probably work but I have tested this recipe and it's fabulous: https://thecafesucrefarine.com/one-bowl-no-mixer-pumpkin-sheet-cake/
Can this be made the day before Thanksgiving and kept in the fridge . . . or is it best cooked the same day?
It would be great made the day before, Georgia.
Such a huge hit! Would you use this caramel icing on a chocolate cake (it's now Easter!).
Hi Georgia, this would be fantastic on a chocolate cake. It's also wonderful on a white cake!
Woo hoo! Will make for our Big Fat Greek Easter!
Excellent cake and full of flavor! Thanks so much for this great tasting cake. My family loved it and I even left off the frosting. I just sprinkled a little powdered sugar on top for a little bit of decorating. Would you have the nutritional elements of cake without the frosting? My kids were asking me as they're trying to keep sugar to a minimum in their household.
Hi Mary Lou, so happy you enjoy it! Sorry, I don't have the nutritional info for just the cake as the recipe software calculates the whole recipe.
This looks delicious. Can I leave it on the counter or should it be placed in the refrigerator?
It's fine on the counter for a day but any longer and I would freeze or refrigerate it.
Chris,
Thank you for this amazing recipe. I made it today to take to our son’s house for dinner. So good with the moist pumpkin cake and salted caramel frosting. A wonderful fall dessert. Can’t wait to make again.
Happy fall!
Gayle
Happy fall to you too, Gayle! I'm so happy you enjoyed this cake and appreciate you sharing your results!
Incredibly moist and delicious cake. Taste wonderful with my morning coffee. I did cut the powdered sugar by half in the icing recipe, as I am trying to cut back on sugar. The icing was perfect, not too sweet . I was able to concentrate on the pumpkin flavors. Thanks Chris, you have the best recipes! By the way, we are neighbors, I live in Waynesville NC
Thanks so much, Lisa! So happy you enjoyed this.
We love Waynesville, such an adorable downtown!
TO DIE FOR!!!!!!! I will be making this recipe for Thanksgiving from now on....and any other time...it is delicious!!!!!
Thanks Barb! I love your enthusiasm 🙂
Could sweet potato substitute for the pumpkin? There is a famous-fabulous sweet potato cake made at a restaurant in Greenville, SC and I really want to try and make one!
Yes, I think that would work great. Just make sure the sweet potatoes are pureed nice and smooth.
I made this cake this morning. The icing looked great and I took a picture of the cake. When I came home this afternoon, the icing had all separated and the cake looks awful. I'm debating if I can even take it to the dinner party or if I should go buy one at the bakery. I think it should be made clear that the cake cannot be iced in advance. I love all your recipes that I've tried so far. This is my first failed recipe.
Oh, Monique, I'm so sorry this happened! That's awful! I made this cake and it was great for over two days. The icing looked the same the second day. I'm not sure why it would have separated but again, I apologize :(.
I made this cake and it was so moist and heavenly, the recipe had just the right amount of pumpkin spice without being over powering. The Caramel icing just took it over the top, what a nice Fall desert.
Yay! I’m so glad you loved this recipe! Thank you so much for sharing your results!! We're crazy about that caramel icing too 🙂
❤️ Chris
Hi Chris,
When do you add the butter in the icing?
Thanks
in step 2 of the icing, with the confectioners sugar. Hope that helps
I'm not sure if any of that salted caramel icing would make it to the cake! Wow! What a fabulous autumn dessert!
Thanks for this recipe! I'm so excited to try it and it looks awesome.
I have this really cool autumn bundt pan, do you think it would work if I tried it as a bundt cake?
Thanks again!
Linda Rose
Thanks so much, Rose! I think if I were going to make a bundt cake, it would use this recipe instead: https://thecafesucrefarine.com/pumpkin-buttermilk-pound-cake/
It's delicious and works out really well in a bundt or tube pan!
Thank you so much! I'll try that one instead. 🙂
Is this baked at 350?
Thanks for noticing that omission. I've corrected it, it is baked at 325˚F.
You're right! I added it!
Somehow, I don’t see the baking temperature in the recipe for the one bowl pumpkin cake recipe.
I'm sure happy I have extra eyes out there 🙂 I've added the temp, thanks!
Looks wonderful! I will definitely try this.
Made your Pumpkin Buttermilk Pound Cake last month, and it was soooooo scrumptious! Not overly sweet, but with a rich, delicious flavour, and so moist. The icing was out of this world. I didn’t have the correct tube pan, but my Bundt pan worked perfectly.
We sliced and froze the leftovers and have been enjoying them for an evening treat. I hear one calling me right now!
Thank you so much, this is definitely a cake that I will be making/gifting/serving again soon.
Victoria
Thanks so much, Victoria. I'm so happy that one turned out well for you. I hope you'll enjoy this one too!
Did I miss what temperature to bake cake?
Added that! Thanks!
This is my kind of cake Chris - and love the floral decorations 🙂 fall is my favorite time of year!