Pumpkin Sheet Cake with Brown Butter Cream Cheese Frosting
Updated September 25, 2025
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Quick Summary
This Pumpkin Sheet Cake is soft, moist, and perfectly spiced with a dreamy brown butter cream cheese frosting. It’s easy to make, feeds a crowd, and is the ultimate fall dessert for parties, potlucks, or cozy family dinners. A must-bake pumpkin recipe for autumn!
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Pin ItThe Pumpkin Sheet Cake I Make Every Fall (And You Should Too!)
Do you have a can of pumpkin in your pantry and aren’t sure what to do with it? You need to make this Pumpkin Sheet Cake.
It’s moist, tender, rich with pumpkin flavor, and topped with the most irresistible brown butter cream cheese frosting. Don’t tell the cake, but I think the frosting is the best part and I am not usually a frosting fan. It really is the icing on the cake!
This cake has become a fall tradition in our house. It’s one of those desserts that’s low-effort but high reward. Plus, since it’s a sheet cake, it’s perfect for serving a crowd, no layering, no fuss, just slice and serve. My kind of cake!
The cake can be made in advance and kept in the fridge. I actually like to eat it cold. I’ve been known to sneak in the fridge and eat a piece right from the pan. If you are going to serve the cake to guests, just take it out of the fridge and let it come to room temperature. It is the perfect cake to serve at fall potlucks, Friendsgiving Thanksgiving, or just because you are craving cake! It always gets rave reviews!
Ingredients You’ll Need (with Tips!)
For the Pumpkin Cake:
- Unsalted Butter: Browning the butter adds a nutty, rich depth that makes this cake extra special. It is worth the extra step, I promise!
- All-Purpose Flour: Spoon and level when measuring!
- Baking Powder & Baking Soda: Both leaveners help give the cake a light, fluffy texture.
- Pumpkin Pie Spice: Use a good quality blend, or mix your own with cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves.
- Granulated Sugar: Keeps the cake sweet and moist.
- Eggs: Add richness and structure; bring them to room temperature for better mixing.
- Pumpkin Puree: Use pure canned pumpkin, not pumpkin pie filling. The only ingredient should be pumpkin.
- Vanilla Extract: Rounds out the flavor and complements the warm spices.
For the Brown Butter Cream Cheese Frosting:
- Unsalted Butter: Only brown half of it for a rich, nutty flavor while keeping the other half for a creamy frosting.
- Cream Cheese: Use full-fat, block-style cream cheese.
- Powdered Sugar: Adds sweetness and structure; sift it if it’s lumpy.
- Vanilla Extract & Salt: Just a touch of both to balance the sweetness and enhance flavor.
Tips for Making the Best Pumpkin Sheet Cake
- Brown the butter first so it has time to cool before mixing.
- Use room temperature eggs for a smoother batter and more even texture.
- Don’t overmix the batter once the dry ingredients are added. Stir just until everything is combined to keep the cake tender.
- Use a jelly roll pan (13×18″) for the perfect sheet cake thickness. Grease it well or use parchment paper. If you don’t have a jelly roll pan, you can use a 9×13-inch pan. Just know the cake will be thicker and take longer to bake, usually around 25 to 30 minutes. Keep an eye on the center and use a toothpick to check for doneness.
- Watch your bake time, every oven is different. Check at 18 minutes and use the toothpick test.
- Cool completely before frosting! The cream cheese frosting will melt if the cake is warm.
- Brown only half the butter for the frosting. This gives you that toasty flavor without losing the creaminess you need for spreading.
- Make sure your cream cheese is at room temperature before mixing! You don’t want clumpy frosting!
- Top with a sprinkle of cinnamon or chopped pecans (or candied pecans) for a little crunch and visual appeal.
- Make it a day ahead. The flavors actually deepen and improve by the next day! Store it well covered in the fridge and let it come to room temperature before serving.
Pumpkin Sheet Cake with Brown Butter Cream Cheese Frosting
Moist, tender, and packed with cozy fall flavor, this Pumpkin Sheet Cake is topped with a luscious brown butter cream cheese frosting. Easy to make and perfect for feeding a crowd!
Ingredients
For the pumpkin cake:
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, cut into tablespoon pieces
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 4 large eggs, at room temperature
- 15 oz can pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
For the Brown Butter Cream Cheese Frosting:
- 1 cup unsalted butter, divided
- 8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- Pinch of salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 18″ X 13″ jelly roll pan with nonstick cooking spray or butter and set aside.
- Place the butter in a medium skillet. Melt the butter over medium heat, swirling it in the pan occasionally. The butter will foam and pop, so be careful. Continue to swirl the pan often. Remove pan from heat once the butter starts to brown and smells nutty. There will be small brown bits on the bottom. The butter should be an amber color. Pour butter into a small bowl and cool to room temperature. You can put it in the fridge to speed up the process.
- While the butter is cooling, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and pumpkin pie spice. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, mix the brown butter and sugar together with the beater blade on medium speed. Mix until smooth. Add in the eggs, one at a time, and mix until combined. Beat in the pumpkin and vanilla extract. Mix until combined.
- Turn the mixer to low and add in the dry ingredients. Mix until just combined, don’t over mix. Stir the batter with a spatula to make sure all of the ingredients are combined.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan and use a spatula to make sure it is evenly spread out.
- Bake the cake for 18-24 minutes or until the cake springs back lightly when touched, is golden brown around the edges, and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool completely.
- While the cake is cooling, make the brown butter cream cheese frosting. First, brown ½ cup of the butter. Only brown half of the butter for the frosting. Cut ½ cup of the butter into tablespoons and place it in a medium skillet. Melt the butter over medium heat, swirling it in the pan occasionally. The butter will foam and pop, so be careful. Continue to swirl the pan often. Remove pan from heat once the butter starts to brown and smells nutty. There will be small brown bits on the bottom. The butter should be an amber color. Pour butter into a small bowl and place in the freezer for about 20 minutes. You want it to solidify a little.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat together the cooled brown butter, regular butter, and cream cheese. Beat until smooth, about 3 minutes. Add the vanilla extract and pinch of salt and beat again. Add powdered sugar one cup at a time, mixing well between each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
- Frost the cooled pumpkin cake with the brown butter cream cheese frosting. Serve!
Notes
How to Store: The cake will keep covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Let it come to room temperature before serving. Although, I do like to eat it cold from the fridge:) Want to freeze it? Store in a freezer container and freeze for up to 2 months, then thaw and frost when ready to serve.
Have you tried this recipe?
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Aw, happy birthday Caleb!! Gotta love sheet cakes because they are so easy, perfect for a crowd, and this one looks DELISH! I need to run to the store to grab some more pumpkin…
Thank you!
That frosting sounds divine!
Never can go wrong with pumpkin and cream cheese!!
I agree!
You had me at BROWN BUTTER CREAM CHEESE FROSTING
It’s life changing!
Such a brilliant idea to make this on a sheet-tray! Such a perfect fall dessert!
Everything about this looks so good Maria- I can only imagine that frosting!!!
Brown butter cream cheese icing? I’ll just take the icing, please. 😉 Seriously, though, this looks good!
This is so ridiculously good that I am fighting myself not to have another piece before bed! How did you cover it in the fridge so that foil doesn’t stick to the top??
Ha! I can never just have one piece. I covered it with plastic wrap.
I only made the frosting as I already had a pumpkin cake in the freezer. It was INSANELY good!!!! Tasted like a decadent caramel frosting. Yum!!!!
Hi, I’m making this today for a potluck tomorrow! Should I use parchment paper? Is a dark coated jelly pan ok to use?
I grease the pan without parchment and it comes out fine, but if you are worried, you can for sure grease and use parchment paper. If you use a dark pan, it will brown sooner so make sure you watch it. Enjoy!
I’ve never browned butter before so this was a first for me and the brown flakes that appeared at the bottom of the pan were then still in my frosting. It didn’t come out white and pretty like yours did! What did I do wrong??
You want the butter to be browned, the cream cheese should make the frosting white still. Mine did have little brown flecks but maybe you can’t tell in the photos. It wasn’t brown though. I hope that helps!
Hi Maria! I made this last fall two or three times In a tow for various fall gatherings..what a hit! Can they be turned into cupcakes for a fall themed bridal shower do you think? Or would that be similar to your pumpkin cupcakes w salted caramel? Thanks!
If I wanted to halve the recipe what size pan should I use?
Do you have to refrigerate it or is that your preference?
You don’t have to, you can store it on the counter.
This recipe is FANTASTIC! I made it as a cake and LOVED it! I also used the same recipe for mini cupcakes and just baked for 15 mins. They turned out perfectly. I’m adding this recipe to my Fall must-bake list!
I absolutely love this cake! I have made this recipe 4 times so far. I get numerous requests for the recipe when I take it to functions. I did make 2 slight changes. I increased the pumpkin pie spice in the cake to 3 teaspoons and added 1/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice to the frosting.
Glad you love the cake! Thanks for letting us know!
For the cake, could I substitute brown sugar? Or half granulated half brown? I love the flavor of brown sugar with pumpkin!
Yes! You can do half brown sugar and half granulated sugar.
The recipe calls for a jelly roll pan but it is called a sheet cake.
Aren’t those two different things?
I think of a sheet cake like a pan you would make cookies on.
Absolutely delicious!! The cake is so moist and the icing is so light… not too sweet! The perfect Thanksgiving dessert! ❤️
This is an outstanding recipe. I’ve made pumpkin bars (like sheet cake) with cream cheese frosting before and it was good, but the brown butter and method of making the frosting takes this to a whole new level of outstanding and excellent. I followed the recipe to the letter. We loved it and can’t wait to share with our guests.
Sounds delicious! What size pan would I use if I wanted to make half of the recipe?
How many people will this cake feed?
delicious and a big hit, as all your recipes are. Thank you! I did notice the tsp of salt in the ingredient list is not listed in the instructions. I added with the dry ingredients 🙂