Pumpkin Pecan Cake with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Icing
A Cake To Welcome In Autumn
Pumpkin Pecan Cake with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Icing is the ideal cake to serve along side a beautiful cup of hot coffee. The Cinnamon Cream Cheese Icing perfectly pairs with the warm notes of cinnamon, vanilla, pumpkin, and toasty pecans of the pumpkin cake.
I have never been a baker but I have started a new baking series of “counter cakes” that are sort of a half homemade method of baking. If you are asking yourself what a “counter cake” is, it is a cake that you make to sit out on the counter in case guests pop by so they can be perfectly served a piece with a cup of coffee by a welcoming host or hostess.
I have two cakes in this series so far: my throwback to the 1990s Dunkaroos Cake and the Cinnamon Pecan Crunch Coffee Cake. Both cakes are delicious and this Pumpkin Pecan Cake with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Icing is a great addition to the Counter Cake line up.
Butter Pecan Cake Mix
Many of you may not even know this cake mix exists, but it does and has such a great buttery flavor. It is the Butter Pecan Cake Mix from Betty Crocker.
You DO NOT follow the directions on the box to make this cake. Follow only the ingredients and directions on the recipe card below.
If your store does not have this variety but they have Betty Crocker cake mixes, you can ask them to order this for you and they can and will. I believe this cake is also available to buy online.
If you cannot do any of these things, you can just use a yellow cake mix and it will be fine, but I highly recommend trying to get your hands on this butter pecan.
Pumpkin Pecan Cake with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Icing
Pumpkin Pecan Cake with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Icing is a moist and nutty flavored cake with hints of cinnamon and vanilla. This cake hits all the Fall notes and pairs perfectly with a hot cup of coffee.
Ingredients
- Cake Ingredients
- 1 Box of Super Moist Butter Pecan Cake Mix (Betty Crocker Brand, 13.5 ounces) *pictured in the post before the recipe card
- 8 tablespoons of butter
- 1 tablespoon of vanilla extract
- 4 eggs
- 1/4 cup of water
- 1 cup of pumpkin pie filling (from the can)
- 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
- 1/4 cup chopped pecans
- 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon for topping
- Icing Ingredients
- 8 ounces of Cream Cheese
- 1/2 cup of Salted Butter (8 tablespoons or 1 Stick)
- 1 teaspoon of Coarse Salt
- 1/2 tablespoon of Vanilla Extract
- 4 cups of Powdered Sugar (you may want to keep an extra cup on hand if you want to adjust the texture of your icing.)
- 1/4 teaspoon of Cinnamon
Instructions
- Melt the 8 tablespoons of buuter.
- In a large bowl add the cake mix, butter, water, pumpkin pie filling, cinnamon and vanilla. Mix for a minute, add the eggs and mix on medium to high for 2 to 3 minutes.
- Spray a 9 x 13 casserole dish with non stick spray or grease with butter. Pour in the cake batter and spread evenly in the baking dish.
- Bake at 350° for 30 minutes. *every oven bakes differently so keep an eye on this the first time you make it. Cake is done when the center is set.
- When the cake is done, make sure to cool the cake completely.
- To make the icing, let the cream cheese and butter soften to room temperature before attempting the icing.
- Beat the butter, cream cheese, salt, and vanilla extract together on high until light and airy and really whipped up. Also add in the cinnamon.
- Slowly add the powdered sugar a little at a time, then turn up the speed each time to really whip it up. I use four cups but you may want a more dense icing. Test and add more if you do.
- When it is really whipped up (this will be a denser icing and a little "gloopy") put it in a bowl and into the refrigerator for one hour.
- When it has sat in the fridge for one hour, ice the cake with as much of the icing as you wish. I do about 1/2 inch of icing. You can save the rest for the next cake or use graham crackers to dip in the little bit of remaining icing.
- Top the cake with the crushed pecans and sprinkle the cinnamon all over the top of the cake.
- Some may prefer to refrigerate the cake until serving, technically it should be, I personally leave it out on the counter and it is fine for us because it gets eaten fast.