Why This Pumpkin Praline Cake with Cream Cheese Icing Is a Must-Make This Season!
23 days ago
This pumpkin praline cake is going to be your new favorite fall dessert, thanks to the lightly spiced and moist pumpkin cake, mouthwatering pecan praline, and a homemade cream cheese frosting.
Where do I begin with this delicious dessert? Once you have a bite, you’re going to instantly want to go back for seconds – it’s that good. It starts with a super moist and lightly pumpkin-spiced cake. Then we have the irresistible pecan praline layer between the cakes, which is so flavorful as it’s made with pecans, brown sugar, whipping cream, and butter. The final element is this homemade cream cheese frosting. Together, all these layers combine to make the most indulgent cake.
This pumpkin praline cake also makes a great fall or holiday dessert for your Thanksgiving table. Do you know what it would pair with perfectly? My sugar-free pumpkin spice latte. There’s no such thing as too much pumpkin in my book!
Heat oven to 325°F. In a 1-quart heavy saucepan, stir together one stick butter, whipping cream, and brown sugar. Cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, just until butter is melted.
In a large bowl, beat cake mix, pumpkin, water, oil, eggs, and 1 teaspoon of the pumpkin pie spice (save the rest for the icing) with an electric mixer on low speed until moistened. Then beat on medium speed for 2 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally.
Bake for 40 to 45 minutes or until cake springs back when touched lightly in the center.
Cool for 5 minutes, then remove the cakes from the pans to the cooling rack. Cooling them in the pans for an extended time will make the praline mixture stick to the pan, which we definitely don’t want. Cool completely, or for about 1 hour.
Drizzle with caramel topping and additional pecans. For additional flavor, add toasted pecans (just toast them quickly on a cookie sheet in the oven).
Storage
Store your pumpkin praline cake loosely covered in the fridge for up to five days.
Recipe Notes
If you don’t have pumpkin pie spice available, you could do 1/2 teaspoon each of cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger instead.
You can serve the cake chilled, at room temperature, or heated for 20 seconds in the microwave.
For a spiced bourbon cream cheese frosting, follow the frosting instructions but add in one quarter cup of bourbon and 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon, 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg, and 1/8 tsp ground cloves.
If you’d prefer, you can bake the cake in a 9×13-inch pan. Cooking time will need to be adjusted to approximately 30 minutes.
Make sure your cake layers are cooled before you add the icing, otherwise it will slide right off!
Now, this cake is pretty indulgent as is, but you can also serve it with whipped cream or a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Recipe FAQs
Do I have to use pecans for this praline pumpkin cake?
Well, pecans make the praline a praline, so technically yes. However, if you’d prefer not to use pecans, you can use walnuts instead.
Can I make this pumpkin cake recipe ahead of time?
Absolutely. Bake and assemble the cake and then keep it in a cake container or loosely covered in the fridge overnight. Keeping it in the fridge ensures your cream cheese icing won’t melt. Take the cake out of the fridge about an hour before serving.
Here are some more sensational cakes to bake this fall:
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