This Pumpkin Spice Latte Cake is your favorite Fall beverage in cake form! Pumpkin spice cake with a coffee buttercream.
Carrying on with last week’s theme of pumpkin recipes, this week I bring you a Pumpkin Spice Latte Cake! It’s been a while since I’ve had a post for you that was riddled with failures, so this one surely won’t disappoint. Much to the dismay of the lazy baker in me, what you’re seeing here is actually version #2 of this cake…
I had been thinking about doing another pumpkin spice latte recipe for a while now, since it’s one of my favourite Fall beverages. I made a Pumpkin Spice Latte Bundt Cake last year, and I wanted to translate that into a layer cake for this year.
Let’s talk about these adorable little pumpkins, because they’re clearly the stars of the show here.
I wasn’t totally sure how I wanted to decorate this Pumpkin Spice Latte Cake initially — specifically, I didn’t know what to do with the frosting — but what I did know was that I wanted pumpkins on it in some way. I can be lazy, so I was really hoping to find some candy pumpkins that I could use as decorations.
Sadly, the closest I found were these ones from Wilton, which would have been good except they’re flat on one side, and I wanted them to be perfectly round. Sticking two together wouldn’t be “clean” enough for the look I was going for, so I gave them a pass.
How to make fondant pumpkins
I was going to have to resort to making my own. The old me would have been totally gung-ho for this, but the new me wasn’t particularly keen on it. Cake decorating used to be my main focus and I loved doing it, but it has been a loooong time since I’d worked with fondant or gumpaste in this capacity.
I was hoping to find pre-colored orange and green fondant to make my life easier, but no luck, so I ended up buying some white fondant that I would have to color (SIGH).
In hindsight, this actually worked out for the better, because I feel like there is more variety in the colors, and they’re not as bright as they likely would have been if I had used pre-colored fondant.
Oh, and I actually should have used gumpaste instead of fondant as it dries harder, which would have been better for the vines.
Can we talk about how much better the Wilton fondant is these days?? I hadn’t used it in years and have vivid memories of it being dry, hard to work with, and not very tasty.
I’m happy to say that I was pleasantly surprised. It’s virtually the same as the marshmallow fondant I made a few months ago. In texture anyhow, I didn’t actually taste it.
Anyhow, fondant in hand, I dug through my color gels and picked a few that I thought would work well. I ended up using combinations of the following:
- Pumpkins – Wilton Orange, Wilton Buttercup Yellow, Americolor Terracotta
- Vines – Wilton Kelly Green, Wilton Moss Green
- Stalks – Americolor Chocolate Brown
The pumpkins didn’t take all that long to make, and I totally enjoyed doing it. After the fondant was colored, I tore off small sections and rolled them into balls, then used a gumpaste tool (the teal one pictured here) to make the creases in the pumpkins.
I rolled a tiny amount of brown fondant between my fingers until it resembled a stalk, and did the same with the leaves except I flattened them out (I attached them with a bit of water using a small, damp paintbrush).
For the vines, I rolled a very thin strip and then coiled it around a chopstick. Here’s where the gumpaste would have been better — it would have dried quicker and been easier to work with, albeit more fragile. The fondant worked just fine overall, though. Note: if the fondant gets too sticky, just rub some shortening onto your hands and/or the fondant.
I am obsessed with how these pumpkins turned out!
Ok, so you’re probably wondering where the fail part of this Pumpkin Spice Latte Cake comes in…
Well, I didn’t take enough time to think about what I wanted to do with the frosting. I wanted the pumpkins to stand out, so I opted to go for completely smooth sides and top. Except that it wasn’t completely smooth and looked boring as *&^%.
I didn’t realize this until after I spent well over an hour taking pictures and cutting into the cake. UGH. I hated this damn cake. So much. And just so you can see what I’m talking about, here’s a pic.
After some much needed ranting and cursing to my friend Chrisy, I decided to redo the entire thing. Thankfully, I was able so salvage the pumpkins. I pulled them off the cake and stored them in an airtight container until I was ready to tackle it again.
I know it’s not that bad, but it’s just not what I had in mind for this Pumpkin Spice Latte Cake at all.
Version #2 went much better. I tried a naked cake style first, but thought it still looked too plain, so decided to go with swirls on the sides.
I wish I had kept the top flatter, but oh well! It is what it is, and it is better than the first. I added more espresso into the second version as well, which added more flavour and color.
OH except I just remembered that for some reason my frosting was totally grainy in the new cake. Like, completely grainy. I don’t know wtf happened there — I’d made swiss meringue buttercream dozens of times and it’s always perfect, but I guess I didn’t dissolve the sugar for long enough? When I tested it, it was hot and didn’t feel grainy. SIGH.
Oh, and I also over-baked the cake this time (lol). Whatever. This Pumpkin Spice Latte Cake still tasted delicious, albeit a bit crunchy from the frosting. All in all though, I’m really glad I redid it!
Looking for More Fall Cake Recipes?
- Pumpkin Cake with Candied Pecans
- Maple Cake with Maple Streusel
- Sweet Potato Cake with Marshmallow Frosting
- Maple Streusel Pumpkin Cake
- Pear & Walnut Cake with Honey Buttercream
Tips for this Pumpkin Spice Latte Cake:
- Converting pan sizes is always tricky. Here’s a site I use as a guideline.
- To make cupcakes, all you need to do is reduce the baking time — start checking at 15mins or so.
- The cooled cake layers can be baked ahead of time, double wrapped in plastic wrap, and frozen for up to 3 months. Take out 2-3 hours before assembly.
- The frosting can be placed in an airtight container and refrigerated for 1 week for frozen for 3 months. Bring to room temperature and rewhip before using.
- Be sure to use instant espresso powder (not granules) in the buttercream. Otherwise, dissolve the granules in 1 Tbsp hot water and let cool before adding to the frosting.
- I used the following color gels for the fondant pumpkins:
- Pumpkins – Wilton Orange, Wilton Buttercup Yellow, Americolor Terracotta
- Vines – Wilton Kelly Green, Wilton Moss Green
- Stalks – Americolor Chocolate Brown
- Be sure to check my Swiss Meringue Buttercream post for tips and troubleshooting.
- Learn how to keep your cakes moist using Simple Syrup.
- To help ensure your cake layers bake up nice and flat, check out my How to Bake Flat Cake Layers post!
Pumpkin Spice Latte Cake
Ingredients
Pumpkin Cake:
- 1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter melted, cooled
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 2/3 cup granulated sugar
- 2/3 cup light-brown sugar packed
- 1 cup pumpkin puree not pumpkin pie filling
- 2 large eggs room temperature
Coffee Buttercream:
- 3 large egg whites
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 cups unsalted butter cubed, room temperature
- 1 1/2 Tbsp instant espresso powder dissolved in 1-2 tsp hot water, cooled
Instructions
Pumpkin Cake:
- Preheat oven to 350F and grease & flour two 6" cake pans.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder, and salt.
- In a large bowl, whisk together sugars, melted butter, oil, pumpkin, and eggs.
- Add dry to wet and mix until just combined.
- Divide batter evenly between prepared pans and bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out mostly clean (approx. 35-40 mins).
- Cool in pans on wire rack for 10mins, then turn out onto wire racks to cool completely.
Coffee Buttercream:
- Place egg whites and sugar into the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk until combined.*
- Place bowl over a hot water bath on the stove and whisk constantly until the mixture is no longer grainy to the touch (approx. 3mins).
- Place bowl on your stand mixer and whisk on med-high until the meringue is stiff and cooled (the bowl is no longer warm to the touch (approx. 5-10mins)).
- Switch to paddle attachment. Slowly add cubed butter and mix until smooth.
- Add espresso. Whip until smooth.**
Assembly:
- Cut each layer of cake in half horizontally.
- Place one layer of cake onto a serving plate or cake stand. Top with 1/2 to 2/3 cup buttercream. Repeat with remaining layers.
- Crumb coat the entire cake (thin coat of frosting all over the cake). Chill for 30mins.
- Use the remaining frosting to cover the outside of the cake. Decorate the top and sides with a swirl if desired (I used a large offset spatula to do this). Decorate with fondant pumpkins.
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Notes
** The buttercream may look like it's curdled at some point. Keep mixing until it is completely smooth. If it looks soupy, place it in the fridge for 20mins and rewhip.
Originally published on Oct 9, 2016
Sonya Thompson says
Hey there. I am planning to use this recipe for cupcakes and noticed there is no milk. Is that because of the pumpkin? Just curious.
Olivia says
Hi Sonya! Yes, the pumpkin adds the moisture to the cake.
Stephanie Mumbower says
I made this in 2, 8” pans and it didn’t rise at all… They look like pancakes… I know I should have doubled the batter but is it normal for them to be so dense and not rise?
Olivia says
Hi Stephanie! The recipe calls for two 6″ pans. They would be quite flat in 8″ ones! The cakes are definitely more on the dense side (vs light & fluffy) and don’t rise a ton but they should rise. If there was no rise at all I would double check that your baking powder is still active.
Lyssa says
Hi there! If I wanted to infuse the cake with a flavored simple syrup (for an extra moist sponge), would you recommend a pumpkin pie spice or an espresso infused syrup? Or just a regular simple syrup? Thanks!!
Jacki says
I was thinking a pumpkin spice simple syrup for mine BUT I changed my mine because im swapping out the buttercream for an American buttercream so I can make the pumpkins out of it and they’ll hold up better. Im also doing a layer of spice apple pie filling and a salted caramel drip.
Basically, it’s going to be fall asf.
Olivia says
LOVE that flavour combo Jacki! Sounds crazy delicious.
Olivia says
Hi Lyssa! It really just depends on if you’d like to add more flavour anywhere. If it were me I’d do an espresso one 🙂
Lyssa says
Both of your ideas sound great! I’ll try an espresso simple syrup and let you know how it turns out 🙂
Mollie Simpson says
This cake was so moist and delicious! It was a huge hit! Thank you so much for the recipe! I needed a larger cake so I doubled the recipe and divided the batter into (6) 8-inch pans. I baked them for about 35 minutes. I ended up only using 5 of the layers for the cake and did not need to cut them in half. It definitely made a statement! Thanks again .
Olivia says
Hi Mollie! I’m so happy you loved this one. Thanks so much for your tips!
Tresa says
Liv, thank you so much for your website and recipes. I made this cake for a ladies’ luncheon and it turned out wonderful! This was the first time I ever did anything with fondant and the swirl icing worked great. The only thing I added was sprinkling a little cinnamon on the top.
Your blog and recipes have given me the courage to try to bake things I would have never even imagined.
Thank you so much.
Olivia says
Hi Tresa! Thank you so much for the sweet comment! I’m so happy you’re venturing into baking cakes and that my blog is helping you with that 🙂 Happy you loved this one! Can’t wait to hear what you try next 😀
Raj Vullakula says
Your cake looks super tall. How many 8 inch cakes did you bake? Thanks
Olivia says
Hi Raj! The recipe is for 6″ cake pans. I talk about the specifics in my post.