This layered pumpkin spice cake with buttercream frosting has a caffeinated twist. Made with delicious espresso buttercream, every bite tastes like a pumpkin spice latte.
While I'm not a fan of pumpkin spice late (the drink) I am a fan of it in cake form- because who doesn't like cake?
This simple pumpkin late cake is made using boxed cake mix and pumpkin puree so that every bite is flavorful and moist but without a lot of effort. The frosting is a delicious blend of instant coffee and homemade buttercream and when you put them all together the cake looks, smells, and tastes amazing.
The semi-sweet chocolate ganache on top also helps to cut back on some of the sweetness and still gives you an indulgently rich taste in every slice.
Serve this cake up throughout the Fall, and it's sure to be a hit. Serve it up with some Homemade Pumpkin Spice Creamer in your coffee, and you have a perfect pairing.
Why This Recipe Works
- It's pretty simple. When it comes to making cakes, they can be challenging, but thanks to our boxed cake base, this recipe is actually a lot easier to make than you might think.
- It's impressive. Serve it up for a holiday or a party and watch everyone's jaws drop. This cake is as impressive to look at as it is tasty.
- It's really moist. This cake is so delicious, and it stays that way for days! Unlike some bakery cakes where the cake dries out by day 2, you can still eat fresh-tasting cake on day 4.
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🥘 Ingredients
For the Cake, you will need:
Boxed Spice Cake Mix- A box of spiced cake mix is needed for the base of this recipe.
Pumpkin Puree- Use homemade or canned pumpkin puree for a real pumpkin taste.
Large Eggs- These are the binding agent in the recipe and help the cake stay together.
Canola Oil- You will need cooking oil to help the cake stay moist.
Coffee- for a nice coffee flavor, use cooled coffee to ring the batter together. Milk or water can be used instead (but they won't be as flavorful).
Sour Cream- Use sour cream to make the cake richer in taste.
All-Purpose Flour- Adding in a little flour will help us get the cake batter to the correct consistency.
Spices- You will need both ground cinnamon and ground nutmeg to make this cake taste warm and inviting.
Vanilla Extract- Add some vanilla to the cake for some more flavor enhancement.
For the Frosting, you will need:
Powdered Sugar- Powdered sugar will get the frosting smooth and sweet.
Butter- Use butter (salted or unsalted) to make the frosting rich and creamy.
Salt- Adding in a little salt will help to naturally enhance the flavors well.
Instant Espresso- Use instant espresso or coffee (the dry stuff) to help give our frosting a caffeinated coffee flavor.
For the ganache, you will need:
Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips- Using semi-sweet chocolate will give us a richer flavor and allow us a nice contrast from the sweetness.
Heavy Whipping Cream- Use heavy cream to get the ganache to the correct spreading consistency.
For specific quantities, see the recipe card below.
🍽 Equipment Needed
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🔪 Instructions
Check out how to make pumpkin spice latte cake with these simple step-by-step instructions:
Cake
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the pumpkin puree, eggs, oil, coffee, and sour cream until blended.
Add in the cake mix, flour, cinnamon, and nutmeg, whisking until just combined.
Divide the batter into (3) 6-inch cake pans or (2) 8-inch cake pans.
Bake in the oven for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick can be inserted into the center and come out clean.
Let cool for 5 minutes in the pan, and then remove the cakes to cool completely on a wire rack.
Frosting
In a mixing bowl with an electric mixer or in the bowl of a stand mixer, whip together the butter, salt, and espresso powder until fluffy. This should take about 1 minute.
Add in the powdered sugar, one cup at a time, blending well between each addition. Remember to scrape down the sides of the bowl as you go.
Add a tablespoon of milk and the vanilla. If needed, add in a little more milk. Beat until light and fluffy in texture.
Ganache
Add heavy cream to a microwave-safe bowl and microwave for 1 minute. Remove it from the microwave just before it starts to bubble up.
Add the chocolate chips to the bowl and place a plate over the top of the bowl. Let rest for 3-5 minutes.
Whisk together the cream and milk until it comes together into a nice and smooth ganache.
Assembly
When the cakes have cooled, stack and layer them with the espresso buttercream as the filling and outer frosting.
Have the ganache cool to room temperature before drizzling it over the top of the cake.
Slice and serve.
🧾 Substitutions
Sour Cream. If you would like to, you can swap out the requested sour cream for plain flavored Greek yogurt. Regular yogurts will not work out because they're too sweet and have too much liquid content, but Greek yogurt is thick and perfect.
Coffee. This pumpkin spice latte cake recipe makes sense to include coffee in the actual cake batter, but you can swap it out for regular water or milk if desired.
Spices. If you do not wish to use cinnamon and nutmeg, you can swap them out for two teaspoons of pumpkin pie spice instead.
Pumpkin pie spice. You can DIY your own pumpkin pie spice by mixing together 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon (or 5 teaspoons) along with 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg, 1 teaspoon ground ginger, and ¼ teaspoon of ground cloves or allspice. Mix together and then use as much as directed. Save the rest for future recipes for up to 3 months.
🍴 Recipe Tips
After you make the espresso frosting, the texture will be slightly grainy (as a result of the coffee granules), but thanks to the added milk in the frosting, the granules will be softened and after several hours or a day, the frosting will be smooth in texture.
If you omit the milk in the buttercream and do not add any liquid (making the frosting very thick), the coffee granules may not soften at all as they need to use that extra moisture.
You can make this cake in (2) 8-inch round cake pans or in (3) 6-inch round cake pans. The recipe card below has the proper baking times for each, so pick what size cake you want and have fun!
💭 FAQs
The frosting, once made, can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week or in the freezer for up to 3 months before thawing overnight in the fridge and being used.
This cake is good for up to 5 days if stored in an airtight or well-covered container in the fridge. The frosting should be kept chilled to prevent the cake from spoiling.
Yes, once you have frosted the cake, you can freeze it if desired. You can also freeze the cake layers instead, and this would make the frosting and assembly be much easier as the cake crumbs are less likely to get into the frosting layers. If freezing a frosted cake, do so for up to 3 months, but do not add the ganache until closer to serving time as it will "sweat" as it thaws.
More great pumpkin recipes to check out soon
- Edible No Cook Pumpkin Playdough
- Easy Pumpkin Cupcakes
- Pumpkin White Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Homemade Pumpkin Spice Creamer
- Pumpkin Pancakes with Butter Pecan Syrup
- Honey Roasted Pumpkin Seeds
📖 Recipe
Layered Pumpkin Spice Latte Cake
Equipment
- Cake Pans
Ingredients
Cake
- 1 box (15.25 ounce) spice cake mix ($1.24)
- 1 can (15oz) pumpkin puree ($2.62)
- 3 large eggs ($0.24)
- ⅓ cup canola oil ($0.16)
- ½ cup coffee ($0.02)
- ½ cup sour cream ($0.40)
- 2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour ($0.01)
- 2 teaspoon cinnamon ($0.20)
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg ($0.02)
Frosting
- 1 Tablespoon vanilla ($0.06)
- 4-5 cups powdered sugar ($0.92)
- 1 cup unsalted butter ($1.50)
- 1-2 Tablespoon heavy whipping cream ($0.12)
- ½ teaspoon salt *omit if using salted butter ($0.05)
- 2 ½ teaspoon instant espresso ($0.35)
Ganache
- 6 ounces bag chocolate chips ($0.98)
- ½ cup heavy cream ($0.50)
Instructions
Cake
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
- In a large mixing bowl whisk together the pumpkin puree, eggs, oil, coffee, and sour cream until blended.
- Add in the cake mix, flour, cinnamon, and nutmeg, whisking until just combined.
- Divide the batter into (3) 6 inch cake pans or (2) 8 inch cake pans.
- Bake in the oven for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick can be inserted into the center and come out clean. Note that 6 inch cake pans will take about 5-10 minutes longer than the larger sized cake pans.
- Let cool for 5 minutes in the pan and then remove the cakes to cool completely on a wire rack.
Frosting
- In a mixing bowl with an electric mixer or in the bowl of a stand mixer, whip together the butter, salt, and espresso powder until fluffy. This should take about 1 minute.
- Add in the powdered sugar, one cup at a time, blending well between each addition. Remember to scrape down the sides of the bowl as you go.
- Add in a tablespoon of milk and the vanilla. If needed add in a little more milk. Beat until light and fluffy in texture.
Ganache
- Add heavy cream to a microwave safe bowl and microwave for 1 minute. Remove it from the microwave just before it starts to bubble up.
- Add the chocolate chips to the bowl and place a plate over the top of the bowl. Let rest for 3-5 minutes.
- Whisk together the cream and milk until it comes together into a nice and smooth ganache.
Assembly
- When the cakes have cooled, stack and layer them with the espresso buttercream as the filling and outer frosting.
- Have the ganache cool to room temperature before drizzling over the top of the cake.
- Slice and serve.
Notes
Substitutions
- Sour Cream. If you would like to, you can swap out the requested sour cream for plain flavored Greek yogurt. Regular yogurts will not work out because they're too sweet and have too much liquid content but Greek yogurt is thick and perfect.
- Coffee. This pumpkin spice latte cake recipe makes sense to include coffee in the actual cake batter but you can swap it out for regular water or milk if desired.
- Spices. If you do not wish to use cinnamon and nutmeg you can swap them out for two teaspoons of pumpkin pie spice instead.
Recipe Tips
- After you make the espresso frosting the texture will be slightly grainy (as a result of the coffee granules) but thanks to the added milk in the frosting, the granules will be softened and after several hours or a day the frosting will be smooth in texture.
- If you omit the milk in the buttercream and do not add in any liquid (making the frosting very thick) the coffee granules may not soften at all as they need to use that extra moisture.
- You can make this cake in (2) 8 inch round cake pans or in (3) 6 inch round cake pans.
Storage
- The frosting once made can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week or in the freezer for up to 3 months before thawing overnight in the fridge and being used.
- This cake is good for up to 5 days if stored in an airtight or well-covered container in the fridge. The frosting should be kept chilled to prevent the cake from spoiling.
- Once you have frosted the cake you can freeze it if desired. You can also freeze the cake layers instead and this would make the frosting and assembly be much easier as the cake crumbs are less likely to get into the frosting layers. If freezing a frosted cake, do so for up to 3 months, but do not add the ganache until closer to serving time as it will "sweat" as it thaws.
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