Pumpkin Sheet Cake with White Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting

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It’s that time of year to start thinking about all things pumpkin.  Actually, I would be totally happy having my pumpkin latte in May and my favorite Pumpkin Sheet Cake with White Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting any time of the year.  Although I suppose waiting for this cake all year makes it extra special when the weather starts changing and I want my kitchen to smell all sweet and spicy.

Enjoy the taste of fall with pumpkin and spices

First Published: January 6, 2015… Last Updated: Nov. 14, 2020

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When I think of pumpkin, I also think of spices and this cake has both.  Rich pumpkin puree mixed with fall’s favorite spices — cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves. This cake bakes up moist and rich with a delicate, spicy pumpkin flavor. Your kitchen will smell awesome when baking this cake.

To add more flavor, this cake is topped with a creamy white chocolate cream cheese frosting. Not only is the icing super simple to make but it is one of my favorite icing recipes ever! It’s creamy, not too sweet, and it has a bit of a tangy flavor from the cream cheese and the lovely white chocolate flavor.  Try it and you will understand what I mean. May I just say, YUMMY!

But wait, we’re not stopping there.  Add a sprinkling of chopped pecans, cranberries, and ginger on top of the frosting for another layer of flavor that takes this cake over the top.  You’re going to wish it was fall all year round.

What exactly is a sheet cake?

Sheet cakes are a one layer cake baked in a rectangle pan, like a rimmed cookie sheet or a jelly roll pan. Usually, for this type of sheet cake, the pan sizes are:

Half sheet pan – 18″ x 13″ x 1″

Quarter sheet pan – 13″ x 9″ x 1″

Jelly roll pans – 15 1/2″ x 10 1/2″ x 1″

Ingredients for the cake and frosting

• White sugar
• Brown sugar
• Canola oil
• Eggs
• Pumpkin Puree
• Vanilla
• Flour
• Baking powder
• Baking Soda
• Salt
• Cinnamon
• Nutmeg
• Cloves
• White chocolate
• Cream cheese
• Powdered sugar
• Pecans
• Dried cranberries
• Candied ginger

Cake ingredients

Icing ingredients

How to make and bake

Step 1. In a large mixing bowl add the white and brown sugar, pumpkin puree, beaten eggs, canola oil, and vanilla. You can mix this easily with a wire whisk until thoroughly combined.  When done mixing scrape down the sides of the bowl and remix a little if needed.

The great part of making this cake is you can mix everything in one bowl and use a wire whisk.  You can also mix everything in your KitchenAid, or use a handheld mixer, but sometimes I just like mixing by hand, and I realize that not everybody has a big stand mixer or even has room for one. For this cake batter, all you need is a good sturdy whisk.

Step 2. Mix all the dry ingredients – flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg.  Using a wire whisk or a fork makes this easy to mix up.

Step 3. Add the dry ingredients to the bowl and mix until the flour is completely combined. Scrape the bowl and remix.

Step 4. Prepare the 18″ x 13″ baking pan. Spray with cooking spray then generously coat the pan with sugar, make sure to tap the pan to remove the sugar that did not stick to the pan. Normally this is done with flour, but the sugar adds flavor and creates a little bit of caramelization on the bottom of the cake.

Step 5. Pour the batter into the pan and spread it out to make sure the edges are filled with batter. Bake in a 350 degree F oven for 20 minutes. When done remove from the oven and let cool completely before icing the cake.

Icing instructions

Step 1. Melt the white chocolate in the microwave. Do this by breaking the white cholate bar into smaller pieces and put into a microwave-safe bowl and then microwave for 20 seconds. Remove the bowl and stir the chocolate and microwave again for 20 seconds and stir.

Do this one more time. At this point, the chocolate should be melting and the bowl should be warm which will help melt the chocolate.

Keep stirring until the chocolate is melted.  You do not want to put the bowl in the microwave too much as it will cause the white chocolate to seize up. But if needed go ahead and put the bowl back in the microwave for maybe 12-second intervals to get everything melted.   I used Ghirardelli White Chocolate Baking Bar for this recipe.

Step 2. Beat the cream cheese and butter with a mixer on medium speed until combined, then beat in the melted white chocolate

Step 3. With the mixer on low speed, mix in sifted powdered sugar until all the ingredients are combined and the icing is creamy.

Step 4. Spread the icing on the cooled cake, then cut it into desired size squares and top with the chopped pecans, candied ginger, and dried cranberries.

Pecan, Cranberry, and Ginger Cake Topping

I love mixing candied ginger, pecans, and dried cranberries together.  This mixture can be used on so many different baked goods as a topping like bread, muffins, or pies; and, it is super tasty on top of a hot bowl of oatmeal.  I love it because it adds tons of color, flavor, and texture. For this recipe adding this mixture to the top of the white chocolate frosting makes this cake pop and pairs perfectly with the pumpkin flavor.

Just give this mixture a good chop so everything is in small pieces then sprinkle on top of the frosted cake.

Frost the cooled cake

Cut the cake into squares

Sprinkle the chopped pecans, cranberries, and ginger on top.

Now grab a plate and serve this moist, tender, and delicious pumpkin cake

This cake makes the perfect Thanksgiving dessert, and if you are at my house on Thanksgiving, we sometimes have a slice at breakfast with our tea.  I have been known to make two of these cakes because everyone loves it and they want to take some home with them.

This is why I love sheet cakes –

•  Sheet cakes are one-layer and are served directly out of the pan, so no depanning or leveling out the top of the cake.
• Frosting a sheet cake is easy since you just spread icing over the top of the cake.
• Simply cut the cake into the desired size squares to serve.
• Be creative and add fun and festive toppings over the frosting.
• The icing to cake ratio is perfect.  Every bite you get the perfect amount of cake and icing, that is super important!!!
• Sheet cakes are easy to transport to parties, pot lucks, or cookouts, they just seem to always to a real crowd-pleasing dessert.

This is the simplest cake to make. You first mix the wet ingredients and then add the dry ingredients, spread into a sheet pan, and bake.

Other cake topping to sprinkle on your frosted pumpkin cake

• A sprinkling of cinnamon
• Chopped pumpkin seeds
• Chopped pecans or walnuts or both
• Chopped dried cranberries

Try these other recipes for Thanksgiving

When you don’t want to roast a great big turkey this Turkey Roll-Up Casserole is perfect for a small gathering. The deli roasted turkey is rolled with stuffing and cranberry sauce inside then covered with gravy and baked. It’s really good.

Everyone loves as good side-dish and this recipe for Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Apples is simple and delicious.

You can’t have turkey without the Cranberry Sauce and this recipe only takes three ingredients.

If you serve a Thanksgiving brunch bake these Mini Cheese Quiches.

Another favorite pumpkin recipe is this Cranberry Pumpkin Bread, bake a loaf and top with a creamy orange glaze. This bread has some serious flavor.

One Hot Oven baking tips

• You can bake this cake in a 13″ x 9″ pans as well, just increase the baking time to about 30 – 35 minutes. Always test with a toothpick.
• For this recipe cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and ginger are used.  You can add even more of the spices if you like, and you can omit one or two if you prefer. You can also just use pumpkin pie spice.
• Sometimes pumpkin puree can be hard to find, I get mine at Trader Joes, or  Libby's or Organic 365 brands are all good, but you can also make your own from fresh pumpkins.
• Since this cake has a cream cheese frosting, make sure to refrigerate any leftovers. You can let this cake sit out at room temperature for up to 8 hours, but then stick it in the fridge.

Can you freeze the leftover cake?

If you have leftover cake (we never do, but if you do), this cake is easy to freeze.  Cut the cake into squares and place them in an airtight freezer container in a single layer.  When ready to serve take the cake out of the freezer and let sit for two hours to defrost.

Freezing the cake slices is perfect for small families. I like to send the slices home with my mother so she can freeze them, and then pull a slice out when she wants a homemade dessert. After all, she would never make a big cake like this for herself.

Recommended tools and ingredients for making this cake

I own lots of whisks for all different uses and a good sturdy whisk comes in handy for mixing and whipping ingredients, this 9' Oxo Good Grips Whisk is not expensive and I love the handle for good gripping.

Spreading icing over a large sheet cake is easy when you use an angled icing spatula. This 13' icing spatula is what I use and because it’s angled the knife won’t get into the icing.

There are several options for the white chocolate baking bars and these come in the 4-ounce size needed for this recipe Ghirardelli and Lindt are readily available.  Candy melts do not work as a replacement, so please get a bar of good quality white chocolate

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5 from 19 votes

Pumpkin Sheet Cake with White Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting

This moist flavorful fall Pumpkin Sheet Cake is full of spices and topped with a fluffy white chocolate cream cheese frosting. A sprinkling of chopped pecans, cranberries, and candied ginger on top adds more flavor and crunch. This is a perfect cake for Thanksgiving.

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword pumpkin, sheet cake, Thanksgiving dessert

Prep Time 1 hour

Cook Time 20 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 20 minutes

Servings 20

Calories 540kcal

Author Jere' Cassidy

Equipment

Sheet pans 12 x 16

Mixing bowl, large

Hand Mixer

Cutting board

#10061 - Wire whisk 9" https://www.amazon.com/OXO-Grips-9-Inch-Better-Whisk/dp/B00004OCNQ/ref=as_li_ss_tl?dchild=1&keywords=oxo+good+grips+wire+whisk&qid=1605416381&sr=8-2&linkCode=ll1&tag=onehotoven20-20&linkId=bc1b11a6f9c117a65dea641016eea511&language=en_US

Large wire whisk

Ingredients

Cake Ingredients

• 1 cup white sugar
• 3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
• 1 cup canola oil
• 15 oz. pumpkin puree
• 4 eggs at room temperature
• 1 tbls. vanilla
• 2 cups flour
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. salt
• 2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp. ground cloves
• 1/2 tsp. nutmeg

White Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting

• 4 oz. White chocolate bar chopped and melted
• 12 oz. cream cheese
• 12 tbls. unsalted butter softened butter
• 3 cups powdered sugar, sifted

Topping

• 1/4 cup dried cranberries
• 1/4 cup crystallized ginger
• 1/4 cups pecans, halves

Instructions

How to prepare the Pumpkin Cake

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
• Prepare an 18" x 13" baking sheet. Spray with cooking spray and dust with sugar
• In a large mixing bowl combine the sugars, pumpkin puree, beaten eggs, oil, and vanilla. Whisk the mixture until totally combined and the mixture is smooth.

  Instead of a whisk you can also use a mixer and beat at medium speed.
•  Mix all the dry ingredients – flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg.  Using a wire whisk or a fork makes this easy to mix up.
• Combine the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and mix until the flour is completely combined, using a whisk or a mixer.
• Spread batter into a greased and sugared pan.
• Bake for 20 minutes then transfer the cake to a wire rack to cool.

How to prepare the White Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting

• Melt the white chocolate in the microwave. Do this by breaking the white chocolate bar into smaller pieces and put into a microwave-safe bowl and then microwave for 20 seconds. Remove the bowl and stir the chocolate and microwave again for 20 seconds and stir.

  Do this one more time. At this point, the chocolate should be melting and the bowl should be warm which will help melt the chocolate.

  Keep stirring until the chocolate is melted.  You do not want to put the bowl in the microwave too much as it will cause the white chocolate to seize up. But if needed go ahead and put the bowl back in the microwave for maybe 12-second intervals to get everything melted.
• In a large mixing bowl beat the softened cream cheese and softened butter with a mixer until smooth.
• Add the melted white chocolate and beat to combine.
• Add the powdered sugar and beat on low speed until the icing is smooth and creamy.
• Spread frosting on the cooled cake.

The Crumbled Topping

• On a large cutting board place the pecans, candied ginger and dried cranberries and chop all together to get small pieces. Sprinkle this mixture on the frosted cake.
• Since this cake has a cream cheese frosting, make sure to refrigerate any leftovers. You can let this cake sit out at room temperature for up to 8 hours, but then stick it in the fridge.

Notes

The topping is optional for this cake.  Feel free to leave it off or add your favorite topping.

Use good white chocolate such as Ghiradelli, Lindt or Valrhona. 

This cake freezes well.  Place the cut squares in a freezer container in a single layer and freeze.  To serve remove from the freezer and let thaw for two hours.

 

Nutrition

Serving: 20slices | Calories: 540kcal | Carbohydrates: 53.2g | Fat: 32g | Cholesterol: 83mg | Sodium: 334mg

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About Jere’

From learning to cook on a farm in Indiana to culinary school in California,  my passion for food is never-ending.  Turning on my oven to bake something for friends and family is my happy place, and I am glad to be here at One Hot Oven sharing both sweet and savory recipes with all my baking friends.