I hope your Autumn season is off to a beautiful start! Today I am sharing a fun recipe with a modern twist, my Old Fashioned Pumpkin Gingerbread Cake. This dessert is bursting with the flavors of the season including ginger, cinnamon, clove, molasses, pumpkin, and citrus buttercream. My family went bonkers for it! I hope you love it just as much.

Does Old Fashioned Pumpkin Gingerbread Cake have to be a layer cake?

Fear not! This recipe does not have to be prepared as a two layer round cake. It fits perfectly into a 9×13 pan as well, or can even be made into cupcakes.

While this cake does have a gingerbread-like flavor, it also has a slight carrot cake flavor which would make it a great one to add some texture to. Coconut flakes, walnuts, craisins or golden raisins would all go so well on the frosting or in the batter of this one!

I prefer to eat this cake chilled as I feel like it brings out the spices and best flavor of the cake. It also makes slicing super clean and easy!

Tips for a 2 layer cake

Grease pans with a paper towel and Crisco shortening
Trace two rounds on a sheet of parchment paper, cut them out and place them in the bottom of the pans
When cakes are cooled for 10-15 minutes, use a butter knife to go around the edge of the pan. Carefully turn the pan upside down with your hand supporting the cake, and turn it out onto a cooling rack.
Use a sharp serrated knife to slice off the tops of the rounds so the cakes can stack flat.
Cover in plastic wrap and freeze cake layers for a couple of hours for easy frosting.
The citrus frosting is rich and vibrant so I do not feel that the whole cake needs to be covered, the center and top is plenty!

Old Fashioned Pumpkin Gingerbread Cake

Handmade Farmhouse

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Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups All purpose flour
1 1/2 cups light brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup Buttermilk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1/4 cup molasses
2 eggs
1 teaspoon orange zest

Citrus Buttercream Frosting

1 cup softened butter
2 Teaspoons Lemon extract
2-3 Tablespoons Heavy cream or milk to thin
3-4 cups Powdered sugar
1 pinch salt
1/2 teaspoon fresh orange zest

Instructions

Whisk together dry ingredients and set aside.
Combine wet ingredients and mix just until combined. Add dry ingredients 1/2 at a time and mix well.
Prepare a 9×13 pan or two 8" rounds or cupcake trays with baking spray.
Bake cake(s) at 350° for 30-35 minutes or until toothpick test comes clean. Cool on a wire rack and then chill in the fridge after frosting the cake if desired. We prefer it served cold.