This recipe makes super moist pumpkin cake bars topped with a homemade cream cheese filling. These are more cakey than traditional pumpkin bars – so get that jelly pan out and let’s get baking!
I can’t get enough pumpkin this time of year in pumpkin bread or pumpkin pie recipes, so when my sister emailed me this recipe to try – I was all in. With my little helpers at home, we made the pumpkin cake bars and then our own cream cheese frosting to top them off with. This recipe was easy, it was delicious and it will made every fall in our home.
How to Make Pumpkin Cake Bars
- Combine the wet ingredients and add the dry ingredients. Mix well.
- Spread batter into greased jelly roll pan and bake for 20 minutes at 350˚ F. Let cool.
- Whip together the cream cheese frosting ingredients.
- Top the cooled cake with the cream cheese frosting and candied pumpkins.
Tips for Making This A Success
- Alternate ingredients. After creaming the sugar and adding the eggs you will want to alternate between the mixed dry ingredients and the butter to avoid making a splash.
- Use room temperature ingredients. The eggs, butter, milk, and pumpkin should all be at room temperature to avoid curdling. Although if curdling does occur, it will be fine once you add the dry ingredients.
- Let the cake fully cool before adding frosting. The frosting will melt and not spread well if the cake is not fully cooled. Cooling a cake takes a few hours so I suggest making the cake bars the first day and frosting the cake when finished.
- Refrigerate the cake. Because of the cream cheese frosting, you will want to refrigerate any leftovers.
This recipe goes deliciously with a hot cup of coffee after a delicious homemade dinner. Enjoy in the fall – but if you have leftovers stick them in the freezer as this recipe freezes well. Enjoy!
PrintPumpkin Cake Bars
This recipe creates a super moist pumpkin cake bar that is topped with a homemade cream cheese frosting.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 24 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
Pumpkin Cake Bars
- 1 1/2 cup butter, softened
- 1 1/4 cup sugar
- 2 large eggs, room temp
- 1 cup pureed pumpkin, room temp
- 1 cup whole milk, room temp
- 2 1/2 Cups all-purpose flour
- 1 Tablespoon baking powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon salt
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 15 oz. cream cheese, softened
- 1 stick unsalted butter
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- milk or cream (3 teaspoons or additional until frosting is smooth)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350˚ F.
- In a bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, ground cloves, cinnamon, ginger, and salt together. Set aside.
- In a mixer, cream the butter and sugar until smooth. Add the eggs one at a time until well incorporated. Add the pumpkin and mix well. Slowly add the dry ingredients and the milk alternately to the creamed mixture and mix until smooth.
- Spread batter onto a greased jellyroll pan (11×17) and bake for 20 minutes at 350˚ F. Let cool.
- To make the cream cheese frosting, add all ingredients to a large bowl and whip until smooth. Add an additional 1 teaspoon of milk at a time until desired consistency.
- After the cake is cooled top with cream cheese frosting and a candied pumpkin on top of each square.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slice of cake
- Calories: 389
- Sugar: 31.1
- Sodium: 177.1
- Fat: 23
- Carbohydrates: 42.8
- Protein: 4.5
- Cholesterol: 111.7
Keywords: pumpkin cake, pumpkin cake bars
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