About the recipe

We all love Pumpkin Pie and Pumpkin Cheesecake but how about a Pumpkin Spice Cake with irresistible frosting?

This delicious cake contains pumpkin puree in the layers and also in the frosting.
It is very moist, tasty and rich and has a delicious pumpkin spice flavour.
The mascarpone frosting is the ultimate tasty addition to this cake that makes it really special.
This cake is a variation of my super popular Moist Vanilla Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting but with added pumpkin. There is also a chocolate version which I called Chocolate Truffle Cake.

A quick look at the recipe

6-layer pumpkin cake with mascarpone frosting.

⏱️ Preparation time: 1 hour
🔥 Baking temperature: 350℉ (180 ℃)
⏲️ Baking time: 50 min
⏳ Fridge Time: 3-4 h
🥘 Pan size: 7 inch/ 18 cm - use a different size
👥 Servings: 12
🫙How to store: 3-4 days in the fridge

Analyze and summarize on:

What Ingredients you need

For the layers:

Eggs: for volume and stability
Brown and white sugar: a favorite combo for increased moisture and softer crumb.
Cake flour + baking powder: for structure
Oil instead of butter for extra moisture
Pumpkin puree: store bough or homemade
Spices, vanilla and salt which create the unique flavor of this cake.

For the frosting:

Mascarpone cheese: it is my favorite frosting ingredient which pairs perfectly with almost any cake.
Whipping cream: helps to make the frosting flueffier
Pumpkin puree: adds taste and light color
Powdered sugar: as a sweetener
Rum extract: optional but goes very well with the pumpkin pie spices in the layers. feel free to use vanilla instead.

The complete ingredient list with detailed instructions is in the recipe card below the post.⤵️

Preparation tips

Make sure you use the indicated quantity of pumpkin puree in the recipe. Adding too much of it may ruin the layers or the frosting with too much moisture.

Don't overbake the cake! When a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean, remove the pans from the oven.

Cool very well the layers before cutting them in 3 parts with a serrated knife. If you find the cutting difficult, you can make a 4-layer cake and cut them in two pieces each.

Refrigerate the cake for at least 3 hours before serving. It will taste even better after the flavors combine well together.

Decoration tip

Use specifically marzipan to decorate this cake, not fondant. Here is the reason why: fondant is made almost completely out of sugar and it will melt on top of the mascarpone. How do I know? I've tried it myself with other desserts and trust me, they didn't look so good after 5 hours in the fridge.

Marzipan contains almond flour so it is in fact a solid product (as opposed to pure sugar), therefore a bit of moisture will not melt it. I left this cake in the fridge together with the decoration for several days. The little pumpkins became kind of wet on top due to the moisture in the fridge but didn't melt and the food coloring did not bleed around.

Make your autumn celebration a great success with this luscious Pumpkin Layer Cake with Mascarpone Frosting! And if you don't have a reason to celebrate, here is one: you probably never made such a beautiful pumpkin cake before!

Please share with me your experience with this recipe, if you've made it. I am always happy to hear from you 🙂