Fall is the most inspiring time of year for me when it comes to recipes. The cold weather always gets me in the mood to bake, so that helps, but it’s the cozy flavors of the season that really amp me up. When I was thinking about new flavor pairings for my favorite pumpkin layer cake, I instantly thought Biscoff frosting would be incredible. Spoiler alert: I was not wrong. This cake is what Fall cake dreams are made of! 

This is my favorite pumpkin cake recipe, ever. It’s deliciously moist, packed with pumpkin flavor, and has just the right amount of spice. It’s been my go-to for years and something I crave every single Fall. I’ve paired it with cream cheese frosting for a classic combo, made it into a pumpkin pie-inspired layer cake for Thanksgiving, and used it to make the pumpkin spice latte cake you’ll find in my book. This pumpkin Biscoff cake, though. It is NEXT LEVEL. 

The Biscoff frosting completely elevates this pumpkin cake. Made with Biscoff cookie butter spread, it has gorgeous notes of cinnamon and caramel that really amplify the spice flavor in the pumpkin cake. Together, these flavors are absolutely perfect for Fall. To take things a step further, I crumbled Biscoff cookie crumbs in between the cake layers and added them as garnish on the outside of the cake. Because you can never have too much Biscoff. 

I’m lucky to be able to find Biscoff cookie butter spread at my local grocery store and Target, but if you’re having a hard time finding it locally you can get it here on Amazon. You can also substitute any cookie butter in place of the Biscoff spread, so if you have a different favorite brand feel free to use that instead! 

To decorate this cake, I used a Wilton cake comb to create the grooved texture in the Biscoff buttercream and left the top edge raw. It looked nice and rustic like that. Then, I added Biscoff cookie crumbs around the bottom edge of the cake and topped it with Biscoff buttercream swirls and more cookie garnishes. I used Wilton Tip 1M for the swirls here. 

However you decorate, this cake is bound to impress at your next Fall gathering! It would make an excellent Thanksgiving cake or just an all-around cozy bake for a rainy day. I’m completely in love with this flavor pairing and I hope you love it as much as I do! 

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Spiced Pumpkin Biscoff Cake

Deliciously moist pumpkin cake layered with Biscoff cookie butter frosting and crumbled Biscoff cookies throughout. The perfect next-level Fall cake!

Prep Time 40 minutes

Cook Time 35 minutes

Servings 15 slices

Ingredients

Pumpkin Cake

• 2 3/4 Cups (290g) sifted cake flour
• 2 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp allspice
• 1 tsp nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1 Cup (226g) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 3/4 Cup (140g) packed brown sugar
• 1 Cup (200g) granulated sugar
• 3 large eggs, room temperature
• 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 Cups (12 oz) canned pumpkin purèe
• 1 Cup (240ml) full fat buttermilk* DIY recipe in notes

Biscoff Frosting

• 1 1/2 Cups (339g) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 3/4 Cup (188g) Biscoff spread or cookie butter
• 5 Cups (600g) powdered sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 4 Tbsp (60ml) whole milk, room temperature
• 1/4 tsp salt, or to taste

Additional Fillings/Toppings

• 1/2 Cup (50g) crushed Biscoff cookies, divided
• 4 Biscoff cookies, halved

Instructions

Make the Pumpkin Cake

• Preheat the oven to 350ºF/177ºC and prepare three 6-inch or two 9-inch cake pans by spraying the sides with cooking spray and placing a wax or parchment paper circle into the bottom of each one. Measure the cake flour by spooning into your measuring cup and leveling it. Place it into a medium sized bowl and add the baking powder, baking soda, salt, ground cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, and ground ginger. Whisk together and set aside.
• In the bowl of your stand mixer (a handheld mixer works fine too!), cream the butter on high for two minutes until it's light and fluffy. Add in white and brown sugars and continue to mix on high for another two minutes, scraping down the bowl and paddle as needed. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing thoroughly after each addition. Add pumpkin puree and vanilla and mix for one minute on medium-high, scraping down the bowl and paddle once more.
• With the mixer on low speed, add in the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Add the buttermilk in a steady stream and mix until just incorporated. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl and give it a few stirs to make sure there are no lumps. Batter will be slightly thick, but pourable.
• Pour batter evenly between the cake pans (fill them no more than ⅔ full) and bake for 35-40 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool the cakes in the pan for ten minutes before removing and continuing to cool on a wire rack or flat surface.

Make the Biscoff Frosting

• With a hand mixer or paddle attachment on your stand mixer, cream the butter and Biscoff cookie spread together on medium-high until it’s creamy and fully combined, about 5 minutes.
• Turn the mixer to low and add the powdered sugar a few cups at a time, scraping down after each addition and making sure each addition is fully incorporated before adding the next. Add the vanilla, whole milk, and salt and continue to mix on low for another 2 minutes, scraping down the bowl and paddle as needed, until fully incorporated and smooth.

Assembly

• Once the pumpkin cakes are completely cooled, level them to your desired height. Add a swipe of Biscoff frosting onto a cardboard cake circle and place the first cake layer on top. Add a layer of Biscoff frosting as filling, then sprinkle on about 2 Tablespoons of crushed Biscoff cookies before adding the next layer on top. Repeat the filling and stacking process with the final cake layer. Crumb coat the cake with Biscoff frosting, then place it in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes to let the buttercream set firm.
• To create the design pictured, frost the cake with Biscoff frosting and use a cake comb to create grooved texture on the sides. Keep the top edges raw. While the frosting is still tacky, gently press Biscoff cookie crumbs around the bottom third of the cake. Pipe swirls of Biscoff frosting on top of the cake and place half of a Biscoff cookie in between each swirl. Finish by sprinkling the rest of the Biscoff cookie crumbs over the swirls.

Notes

*DIY Buttermilk recipe: add 1 Tbsp of white vinegar to a jar and top it with 1 Cup of whole milk. Stir and let sit for 15 minutes before using in the recipe. 

Make Ahead Tips: 

1. The pumpkin cake can be baked ahead and stored at room temperature, wrapped in plastic wrap, for up to two days. Alternatively you can store the cakes in the freezer for up to two months.  
2. The Biscoff frosting can be made ahead and stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. When you’re ready to use it, bring it back to room temperature and re-mix in your stand mixer to bring it back to smooth buttercream consistency. 

I hope you fall head over heels for this pumpkin Biscoff cake like I have! Let me know what you think in the comments below and feel free to tag @sugarandsparrowco on Instagram if you post a pic! I love to see what you create.

The post Spiced Pumpkin Biscoff Cake appeared first on Sugar & Sparrow.

These past few months have been crazy. Between the demands of the holiday season coming up and working on a never-ending list of house projects, I am feeling perpetually frazzled these days. Despite the chaos, I thought a little recipe creating sesh would be perfect for me because baking does something good to my soul. I was right. I put on some Springsteen and decided to try my hand at creating the perfect pumpkin layer cake. Five rounds of bakes and a handful of albums later, I am so thrilled with how this Pumpkin Layer Cake turned out.

I tried baking this recipe with all purpose flour vs. cake flour, with buttermilk vs. whole milk, with just white sugar vs. a combination of white and brown sugars. In the end, the winners were cake flour, buttermilk, and the white and brown sugar combo. It’s deliciously moist because of the buttermilk, totally fluffy from the cake flour, and the combination of sweetness and spice is divine. Just look at this crumb: 

The pumpkin flavor of this cake comes from canned, pureed pumpkin and a medley of beautiful spices: cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, and ground ginger. It’s so classic to pair this pumpkin layer cake with cream cheese buttercream, and in my opinion the flavor combo never gets old. I bet it would taste amazing with my spiced chai vanilla buttercream too if you want to get really autumnal (imagine a pumpkin spiced chai latte but in cake form!). 

The cream cheese buttercream recipe you’ll find below is sturdy and pipe-able without being overly sweet, which is why it’s my forever go-to. I colored some of it with Americolor Orange and Wedgewood and used Wilton Tips 8B and 4B to pipe those cute little pumpkins on top. Probably the easiest way to create buttercream pumpkins, ever. I piped them into a crescent moon shape because it gives me all the feels, but you do you. 

I decided to repurpose some of the pumpkin cake scraps into toasted cake crumbs that I pressed onto the sides of the cake and sprinkled around the piped pumpkins on top. It adds a great texture and I always feel good about finding a way to use leftover cake! I just crumbled the cake scraps into a pan and toasted them on the stovetop for about 10 minutes, stirring them frequently until they began to crisp. You can toast cake crumbs in the oven as well, but it takes almost an hour at a low temp, and I was impatient (hence the stovetop). Just be sure to let them cool completely before you use them on your cake and you’re good to go!

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Perfect Pumpkin Layer Cake

A Fall classic. Layers of moist, fluffy Pumpkin cake with just the right amount of spice, filled and frosted with tasty cream cheese buttercream.

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 40 minutes

Ingredients

Pumpkin Layer Cake

• 2 3/4 Cups (290g) cake flour, sifted before measuring
• 2 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp allspice
• 1 tsp nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1 Cup (226g) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 3/4 Cup (140g) packed brown sugar
• 1 Cup (205g) white granulated sugar
• 3 eggs, room temperature
• 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 Cups (12 oz) canned pumpkin puree
• 1 Cup (240ml) full fat buttermilk DIY recipe in notes below

Cream Cheese Buttercream

• 1 Cup (226g) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 16 Oz cream cheese, room temperature brick-style, not the spreadable kind
• 8 Cup (960g) powdered sugar
• 1 Tbsp pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp salt

Instructions

Make The Pumpkin Layer Cake

• Preheat the oven to 350ºF and prepare three 6-inch or two 9-inch cake pans by spraying the sides with cooking spray and placing a wax or parchment paper circle into the bottom of each one. Measure the cake flour by spooning into your measuring cup and leveling it. Place it into a medium sized bowl and add the baking powder, baking soda, salt, ground cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, and ground ginger. Whisk together and set aside.
• In the bowl of your stand mixer (a handheld mixer works fine too!), cream the butter on high for two minutes until it's light and fluffy. Add in white and brown sugars and continue to mix on high for another two minutes, scraping down the bowl and paddle as needed. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing thoroughly after each addition. Add pumpkin puree and vanilla and mix for one minute on medium-high, scraping down the bowl and paddle once more. 
• With the mixer on low speed, add in the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Add the buttermilk in a steady stream and mix until just incorporated. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl and give it a few stirs to make sure there are no lumps. Batter will be slightly thick, but pourable.
• Pour batter evenly between the cake pans (fill them no more than ⅔ full) and bake for 35-40 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool the cakes in the pan for ten minutes before removing and continuing to cool on a wire rack or flat surface.

Make The Cream Cheese Buttercream

• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and cream cheese on high until light, fluffy, and uniform (no lumps), about five minutes. Turn the mixer to low and add the powdered sugar a few cups at a time, mixing thoroughly after each addition. Add the vanilla and salt, mixing on low for another 30 seconds.

Assembly

• Once the Pumpkin Cake layers have cooled completely, fill and frost the layers with Cream Cheese Buttercream. To create the design pictured, divide the leftover buttercream into four separate bowls. Use food color gel of your choice to create orange buttercream in the first bowl, light blue buttercream in the second, and brown buttercream in the third, keeping the last bowl uncolored. Fit three piping bags with Wilton Tips 8B (for the larger pumpkins) and 4B (for the smaller ones), then fill them with the orange, blue, and white buttercreams. Pipe pumpkins in a crescent moon design on top of the cake, then pipe a dot of brown buttercream on top of each one to look like stems. Finish the cake by pressing toasted cake crumbs** onto the sides and sprinkling them over the top (recipe in the notes below).

Notes

Make Ahead Tips: 

1. The cake layers can be made ahead and stored, wrapped in plastic wrap, at room temperature for up to two days. Alternatively, you can store the wrapped cake layers in the freezer for up to 2 months before thawing and frosting.
2. The Cream Cheese Buttercream can be made ahead and stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. When you’re ready to use it, bring it back to room temperature and re-whip in your stand mixer to bring back to smooth buttercream consistency. 

*DIY Buttermilk Recipe: Add 1 Tbsp white vinegar into a mason jar or measuring cup. Add one cup (240ml) whole milk and let sit for at least 15 minutes before using in a recipe. 

**Toasted Cake Crumbs Recipe:  crumble cake scraps into a frying pan and toast on the stovetop on medium for about 10 minutes, until the cake crumbs begin to crisp. Let them cool completely before using them in your cake decorating.

This pumpkin layer cake recipe is a true crowd pleaser, perfect for any Fall gathering! I hope you love it as much as I do. Let me know what you think in the comments below and feel free to tag @sugarandsparrowco on Instagram if you post a pic! I love to see what you create.

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