This super easy recipe produces the most delicious pumpkin spice cake. You won’t be able to resist! It’s an easy quick bread loaf cake with pumpkin, spices, nuts, and raisins. This tasty cake goes great with a mug of hot tea, or a creamy latte on a chilly autumn afternoon.
Autumn is here! I love this time of year. The leaves are changing, the air is crisp, and Thanksgiving is fast approaching. It is most definitely my favorite season… in part, because of pumpkins! I can’t help smiling when I go to the grocery store and see those gorgeous orange pumpkins piled high in the produce section. It’s the symbol of the season. And in my home, it means that pumpkin spice cake will be baking in my oven soon!
Pumpkin spice is everywhere at this time of year… in lattes, scented candles, cookies, cocktails, soaps. I even saw pumpkin spice butter at the market recently! It reminded me of my pumpkin challah recipe with cinnamon butter. There is something so cozy and warming about this combination of spices. But where, exactly, did this trend originate?
The History of Pumpkin Spice Cake
Let’s start with pumpkins, which originated in Central America over 7,500 years ago. Native Americans cultivated pumpkins and prized them as a food source. Because of their thick and solid flesh, they could easily be stored throughout the winter. Like other forms of squash, pumpkins are easy to grow. They became a favorite with immigrants to the New World, particularly in New England.
Pumpkins were (and still are!) prized for their versatility; they were cooked into pies, stews, tarts, soups, and puddings. The flesh could be boiled or roasted, fried or mashed. Pumpkin seeds were dried and salted as a nutritious snack food. In the early 1800’s, decorative pumpkins called jack-o’-lanterns were carved to celebrate the autumn harvest season. Washington Irving featured a jack-o’-lantern in his 1819 short story The Legend of Sleepy Hollow as the “head” of his Headless Horseman character. Consequently, this played a role in the jack-o’-lantern’s association with the Halloween holiday. In the mid 1800’s it became stylish to serve pumpkin pie for the Thanksgiving holiday, a trend that continues to this day.
The “spice” part of pumpkin spice begins in 1934, when McCormick company debuted a blend of warming spices they called “Pumpkin Pie Spice.” Naturally, the original intent of this spice blend was to add flavor to pumpkin pies. It wasn’t until around 2010 that the popularity of pumpkin spice as a seasonal flavor began to trend. The blend signals comfort and coziness as the chilly fall season approaches.
Fast forward to today, and you can find thousands of pumpkin spice flavored products on the market. And of course as a result of this trend, you can also find hundreds of pumpkin spice cake recipes online! I originally published this pumpkin spice cake recipe in 2011, so I guess the flavor combination was trending at that point. Honestly, I don’t remember developing this cake as a “trendy” recipe. However I do get excited when fall rolls around… in our home, the fall season always means pumpkin spice cake.
Baking with Pumpkin
I love cooking and baking with pumpkin. Pureed pumpkin adds gorgeous color and moisture to baked desserts, and a special essence that just feels like fall. It adds moisture without too many calories, unlike oil and butter. When combined with pumpkin spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and cloves, pumpkin takes on a magical quality.
Case in point, my pumpkin spice cake. This delicious loaf cake is one of my favorite harvest-style desserts. Some might refer to this recipe as a quick bread or pumpkin bread. In our home this is most definitely considered dessert, which is why we call it a cake. When you bake it, your house will smell like autumn. Every bite is soft, moist, sweet, and delicious. I enjoy baking this cake for Thanksgiving, Sukkot – or just because!
Recommended Products:
Pumpkin Spice Cake
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup raisins (optional)
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup light brown sugar
- 1/2 cup avocado oil, plus more for brushing pan (you may substitute canola or vegetable oil; I prefer avocado oil for its nutritional value)
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon allspice
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon ginger
- 1 pinch ground cloves
- 1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
NOTES
Instructions
- Place the raisins in a small bowl and cover with hot water. Let the raisins plump in the hot water while you create the cake batter.
- Use an electric mixer to mix together sugar, brown sugar, oil and eggs until smooth. Add pumpkin puree and vanilla extract. Mix again until blended.
- In a separate large bowl whisk together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, allspice, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves.
- Pour liquid ingredients into dry ingredients. Mix together until blended. Do not over-mix.
- Drain the raisins and pat dry with a paper towel. Fold the raisins and chopped walnuts into the batter.
- Grease a standard loaf pan with a layer of oil. Pour batter into the pan.
- Bake cake at 325 degrees F for about 1 hour, until the edges brown and a toothpick inserted into the thickest section of the cake comes out clean. Remove cake from the oven and let it cool in the pan for 15 minutes.
- Gently release the cake from the pan and place on a wire rack.
- Allow to cool completely before slicing.
Janet says
wonderful recipe! I changed it just a tad, doubled the recipe, used 3 eggs and cut the oil back to 2/3 cup. used half white whole wheat flour, added about 2 T flaxseed meal and 2 T wheat bran. doubled the nuts and the fruit! used dried cranberries and cherries instead of raisins. awesome!!! thank you, I love your recipes
kristy says
I love the addition of raisins and walnuts to this bread! I’m tempted to go make a batch right now. 😉
Hannah says
Made the cake and it was delicious, even my daughter who is a picky eater loved it!
Tori Avey says
Happy you enjoyed it Hannah!
Colleen Bierstine says
This looks like an incredible cake. I can only imagine how moist & soft it is from the pumpkin. YUM 🙂
Kita says
I haven’t had any baked pumpkin deliciousness yet this season, for I fear I won’t look back once it starts, but this bread – if it were in front of me, I would not be able to resist.
RavieNomNoms says
That is an absolutely gorgeous looking cake. I love all things pumpkin this time of year. Looks fabulous!
Claudie says
I absolutely love the look of this cake, especially with the walnuts and raisins in it! Looks amazing and so tasty!
jen says
This pumpkin spice cake looks so moist and beautiful! Your kitchen must have smelled amazing while this was baking!
Ann says
I saw this on the Zabar’s website – it’s a terrific cake! Moist, delicious and I’d LOVE some with a cup of coffee….I’ll make the coffee if you bring the cake!
Kelly says
This looks amazing and your pictures are gorgeous! I’m loving all the pumpkin recipes! 🙂
Michelle says
Yum!!! I love fall!
Steph@stephsbitebybite says
This looks heavenly! Perfect to have with my morning cup of joe!
Tina@flourtrader says
Lovely fall cake! I will need to try-I especially like this recipe due to the addition of the raisins and nuts. It looks very tasty-great post.
Susie says
I love pumpkin and the combination of spices in this cake sound warm and fantastic everything I love about fall and baking.
Kimberly (Unrivaledkitch) says
Beautiful Bread, I love all these autumn recipes but i feel like its going by too fast to make them all. It still feels like a little bit of summers hanging on in southern California but its always like that here. I’ll just have to wait till dark to get the real autumn feel. thanks for sharing 🙂
Joy says
That looks wonderful.
Elaine says
I happen to have a pumpkin loaf in the oven right now. Sounds similar, but sans raisins and nuts. Nice to smell pumpkin while reading your recipe!
Bonnie Banters says
Now I’m craving all things pumpkin! You’ve incorporated all of fall’s spices and flavor in this wonderful cake! Thanks for the history and the recipe!
Leah says
This look so delicious! I love the idea of making it for Sukkot too! May have to do the same.
Linda says
This look simply delicious Tori! Fabulous pics…love the colors!