This pumpkin olive oil cake is a super moist single layer 8 inch cake. It is full of pumpkin and spice flavor and topped with cinnamon cream cheese frosting. It is so easy to make and is the perfect fall bake!
Would you like to save this?
We'll email this post to you, so you can come back to it later!
This moist pumpkin flavored olive oil cake is soft, fluffy and full of warm fall flavors. It’s topped with a luscious cinnamon cream cheese frosting. This cake comes together quickly and is perfect for a small get together or for anytime you’re craving pumpkin cake!
I love baking with olive oil. I wanted to create a fall version of my popular lemon rosemary olive oil cake. Pumpkin and olive oil make a delicious combination!
For more pumpkin recipes, try my pumpkin carrot cake, pumpkin banana muffins, and my chocolate pumpkin pie.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- This simple pumpkin snack cake is a unique twist on a classic recipe.
- It makes the perfect snack with coffee and is special enough for special occasions!
- Pumpkin and olive oil make the cake extra moist. It stays moist for days. It’s a perfect make-ahead dessert.
- The batter comes together in minutes. You don’t need any special equipment to make this easy pumpkin cake recipe!
Ingredient Notes
Here are some useful notes on the ingredients for this pumpkin olive oil cake recipe. Please see recipe card for a full list of ingredients and their measurements.
- Pumpkin puree- Use 100% pure pumpkin puree. Be careful not to confuse pumpkin puree with pumpkin pie filling. They are not the same thing.
- Olive oil- Olive oil provides moisture and flavor. It’s best to use a good quality extra virgin olive oil.
- Pumpkin pie spice- I use a store bought pumpkin pie spice mixture. It is made up of this is made of cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, cloves and ginger.
- Butter-Use unsalted, room temperature butter for the frosting.
- Cream cheese- Cream cheese makes the frosting creamy and fresh tasting. Use full fat, room temperature cream cheese for the frosting. Do not use the spreadable cream cheese that comes in a tub.
Step by Step Instructions
Here are the directions on how to make and bake this pumpkin spice olive oil cake.
Step 1: Combine the dry ingredients. In a large mixing bowl, whisk to combine the all purpose flour, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder, and salt.
Step 2: Mix together the wet ingredients. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the olive oil, pumpkin puree, granulated sugar, brown sugar, eggs, and vanilla extract until smooth.
Step 3: Pour the wet mixture into the dry ingredients. Stir until just combined.
Step 4: Bake. Pour into an 8 inch round cake pan sprayed with baking spray and lined with parchment paper.
Bake for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick comes clean when inserted in the center. Cool completely on a wire rack.
Step 5: Sift the powdered sugar. Sift together the powdered sugar and cinnamon.
Step 6: Beat the butter and cream cheese. In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter and cream cheese until smooth and well combined.
Next, beat in the vanilla and salt. With the mixer on low, slowly add the powdered sugar mixture. Once the powdered sugar is no longer visible, turn the mixer to medium high and beat for 1 minute.
Step 7: Frost the cake. Use an offset spatula to frost the cake. Slice and enjoy!
Substitutions and Variations
- Canola or vegetable oil can be used instead of olive oil.
- Pumpkin puree can’t be substituted with pumpkin pie filling. Pumpkin pie filling includes spices and sweeteners. Pumpkin puree is purely pumpkin with nothing else added.
- Chopped nuts or a dusting of cinnamon can be added as decoration on top.
- This cake is delicious without frosting too. Top it with icing or maple caramel sauce or a dusting of cinnamon or powdered sugar.
Expert Tips
Tip # 1: Use pure pumpkin puree. Make sure not to grab pumpkin pie filling by mistake. You want to use pure, pureed pumpkin for this olive oil cake and not pumpkin pie filling.
Tip #2: Allow cake to cool completely. Cool cake completely before frosting. The frosting will melt if the cake is still warm.
Tip #3: Use room temperature cream cheese. Make sure your cream cheese. Cold cream cheese will give you lumpy frosting.
Tip #4: Use an offset spatula to frost the cake.
Recipe FAQs
Pumpkin puree is good for about 5 days in the fridge. Pumpkin puree should be stored in an airtight container.
I use preblended pumpkin pie spice for this cake. A combination of cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, cloves, and ginger can be used as a substitute. I haven’t made my own blend of pumpkin pie spice, so I can’t provide exact measurements of these spices.
Yes! Double the recipe to make two 8-inch round cakes.
Storage
Room temperature: Store the unfrosted cake in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
Refrigerator: Store the frosted cake covered in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. Allow the cake to come to room temperature before serving. Since the frosting is made with cream cheese, the cake should be stored in the refrigerator.
Freezer: Freeze the unfrosted cake in an airtight container for up to 2 months. Defrost it in the refrigerator or at room temperature. Cream cheese frosting does not stand up well to freezing. It’s best to freeze the cake without frosting.
More Pumpkin Recipes You’ll Love
Pumpkin Olive Oil Cake
Equipment
- 8 inch round pan or use a 9 inch round pan
Ingredients
Pumpkin Olive Oil Cake
- 1 cup (125 g) all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon (1 teaspoon) baking powder
- ½ teaspoon (½ teaspoon) baking soda
- ½ teaspoon (½ teaspoon) cinnamon
- 1 ¼ teaspoon (1 ¼ teaspoon ) pumpkin pie spice
- ½ teaspoon (½ teaspoon) salt
- ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar
- ¼ cup (55 g) brown sugar, light or dark packed
- 1 cup (225 g) canned pumpkin puree
- ½ cup (118.29 ml) olive oil extra virgin
- 2 (2) large eggs room temperature
- 1 teaspoon (1 teaspoon) vanilla extract
Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting
- ¼ cup (56.75 g) unsalted butter room temperature
- 4 ounces (113.4 g) cream cheese full fat, room temperature
- 2 cups (240 g) powdered sugar sifted
- ¾ teaspoon (¾ teaspoon) cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon (½ teaspoon ) vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon (¼ teaspoon) salt
Instructions
Pumpkin Olive Oil Cake
- Spray an 8 inch round cake pan with baking spray. Line with a round of parchment paper. Spray the parchment paper. Preheat oven to 350 Fahrenheit.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk to combine the all purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon and salt. Set aside.
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together til just combined the oil, granulated sugar, brown sugar, eggs, pumpkin puree and vanilla extract.
- Pour the pumpkin mixture into the dry ingredients. Use a rubber spatula or mixer to mix until just combined.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Spread evenly with an offset spatula. Bake 35-40 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the center of the cake.
- Place the cake pan on a wire rack. Allow to cool completely. Once cooled, run a knife along the edge of the pan to make sure it is not sticking. Remove cake from pan. Make sure cake is completely cool before frosting.
Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting
- Sift together the powdered sugar and cinnamon. Set aside.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment or in a large mixing bowl using a hand held mixer, beat the butter and cream cheese until completely combined, creamy and fluffy. Mix in the vanilla and salt.
- Turn mixer off and add the powdered sugar mixture. Beat on low until powdered sugar is no longer visible. Turn mixer to medium high and beat for one minute.
- Use right away or cover with plastic wrap or in an airtight container. Refrigerate for up to 4 days.
Notes
Nutrition
Please note that nutritional values are created by an online calculator and should only be used as an estimate.
MJ
This recipe is absolutely amazing. I’ve made it four times in the last two months for different events and it’s always been a huge hit and crowd fav! I’d love to try them as cupcakes for my son’s fall festival. Would you change any of the steps to make them cupcakes? Oven temp or baking time? TYSM for this gem — will be a fall favorite for life!
Natalie
Hi! Oh my gosh thank YOU too! I’m thrilled that you love this recipe and that it’s been a big hit 🙂 Great idea to make this recipe as cupcakes. A few people have sent me pictures of cupcakes they made out of this recipe and I think it should definitely work. I haven’t made them yet so I can’t say for sure what to change. I’d use cupcake liners and fill them about 4/5 full and would try baking them at either 350 or 375. They definitely will bake faster than the cake, so I’d check them as soon as they start to make your kitchen smell amazing 🙂 Thank you again for making this recipe and taking the time to share such a sweet comment! XO -Natalie
Cam
This is a fantastic recipe! My new fall favorite.
quick tip: My mom and I have both made it and found we needed about 10-15 extra minutes in the oven to avoid an undercooked center.
Natalie
Hi Cam,
Yay so happy you loved this cake! I will definitely retest it to check for the baking time. Thanks for your comment and feedback. Hope you enjoy your day 🙂 Natalie
Debbie
this cake was so simple to make and absolutely delicious. The olive oil added so much flavor!
Natalie
Hey Debbie,
Thank you so much for making this cake! I’m so happy you loved it 🙂 That’s what I love about it too-how simple it is and I also love the flavor the olive oil adds. Thanks for your comment and have a great Friday!
Jay
Hi,
I would love to try this recipe in an 8 inch square pan, how long should I bake it?
Natalie
Hey Jay, I haven’t tried this cake in an 8 inch square pan yet, so I can’t say for sure how long it would take unfortunately. Since they are different measurements, the baking time will likely change. I’d suggest keeping an eye on the cake as it bakes and check for doneness a little earlier than the recipe states with the round pan. Hope that helps 🙂 -Natalie
Ester
Is there any way you could upload this same recipe but with measurements in grams? Thank you so much!
Natalie
Hi Ester, Yes! Thank you very much for asking. I just added the option to change the measurements into grams. Hope that helps and please let me know if you have any other questions. Have a great day! -Natalie
Becca
I am excited to give this recipe a try. I just put the cake into the oven! Two things I noticed with the recipe that I wanted to bring to your attention. The first is the cooking time. On the banner of the recipe it says prep time 1 hour and cook time 25 minutes. But when you go to the written step #5 of the recipe it says cook for 35-40 minutes.
Also, I saw in one of your comments that you had provided the option to use grams for the ingredients but I could not find this option any where on the website.
I hope this does not come off as rude because I do really look forward to this recipe and appreciate you providing it. I first saw it on instagram!
Thank you.
Natalie
Hi Becca! Thanks for making this cake. I’m excited for you to try it! Thanks for pointing out that error on the banner of the recipe. It doesn’t take an hour to prepare it (as you probably already figured out). So sorry about that. I just fixed that. Also you are correct. I added a feature on my website that would provide conversions. Unfortunately, I do not see the conversion option anymore now that you pointed it out. I have contacted the creator of that plugin for help. Hopefully I’ll get that fixed and will find out how to prevent that feature from disappearing again. So sorry for that inconvenience! Please let me know if you have any other questions 🙂 -Natalie
Rose
Where are the measurements for each ingredient? I cannot find them listed. Thanks.
Natalie
Hi Rose, If you click the button “Jump to Recipe” at the top of the blog post, it will take you to the list of ingredients and their measurements. You could also just scroll down to the bottom of the blog post and you’ll see the full recipe. Hope that helps. Please let me know if you have any other questions 🙂
Raquel
I’ve never made pumpkin cake before (Even though I have plenty of experience cooking and baking) so I was a little skeptical since it was something new to me, but this cake turned out AWESOME!!!! ♥️ By far one of the best cakes I’ve ever made. It is so good and moist. Not too moist, but definitely not dry. Give it a try!! You won’t regret it.
Natalie
Hey Raquel! Happy Saturday! Thanks so much for making this pumpkin cake! I really appreciate your awesome feedback and love to hear that it was enjoyed! XO Natalie
Alice
This was a great fall/pumpkin recipe. I was having neighbors over for coffee and dessert and wanted to make something simple but delicious. This checked all the boxes,everyone enjoyed it and I made another one the next day to share with my family. This cake will be a recipe I will make often. Moist and flavorable!
Natalie
Hey Alice, So happy you found this recipe! Love how easy and delicious it is too and I’m thrilled you’ve made it twice! Thanks for your comment! XO Natalie
Marisa
This cake was an absolute HIT! Everyone loved it. Any chance you have the recipe for a regular oilive oil cake? Do I just omit the pumpkin puree and spice?
Natalie
Hey Marisa!
So glad this cake was a big hit! Thanks so much for making it! I have an olive oil chocolate cake (it’s searchable by the term mini chocolate cake here on my blog), a lemon rosemary olive oil cake and a blood orange olive oil cake! I wouldn’t recommend omitting the pumpkin and spice in this cake since I haven’t tested it that way and can’t say how it would turn out but my other olive oil cakes are tested and delicious 🙂 Please let me know if you try them and hope you enjoy! Have an awesome rest of your week 🙂 Natalie
Micaela
Hello, excited to try this recipe today! Do you think it would work to stack two of them and make a layer cake?
Natalie
Hi Micaela, Yes! I think you could definitely make two and stack them as a layer cake! Please let me know if you try it. Hope you enjoy it XO Natalie
Brooke
I just made this tonight! I did NOT substitute the olive oil, I USED PURE EXTA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL! It was DELICIOUS! Adds such a depth of flavor I didn’t know i was missing! And the frosting, absolute PERFECTION! Thank you so much for sharing such an easy yummy fall recipe!
Natalie
Hi Brooke! Thank you for making this cake and for your sweet comment! I’m so happy you enjoyed the cake (including the extra virgin olive oil flavor and the frosting!) Have a great rest of your week! -Natalie
Pam Errichetti
Absolutely delish. It is so good that we have made this cake twice in the past 3 days. The EVOO gives it an amazing flavor. For the icing the cinnamon really makes it, we even skipped the butter and you would never know it’s missing. Truly Awesome recipe. 🎃🎃🎃🎃🫶🫶🫶🫶🫶🫶Thank you.
Natalie
Hi there! Thank you so much for making this cake and for taking the time to write a comment! I’m so happy you enjoyed it and such a big compliment that you’ve made it twice already:) Great tip about skipping the butter in the frosting. I’ll have to try that sometime. Have a great weekend! -Natalie
Lynda
Hi Pam. I wanted to drop off some to three different places as it is Canadian Thanksgiving. Do you think i could double the recipe and carefully bake as cupcakes?
Natalie
Hi Lynda, Hope you had a nice Thanksgiving. I’m sorry for not getting back to you over the weekend. I hope you were able to make these as cupcakes. I think your idea to double the recipe and bake them as cupcakes would work. I haven’t tried it yet, so I can’t say for sure about how many it would make or how long to bake them. Some readers have shared photos of them as cupcakes and they looked great. Please let me know if you try it. Thanks and have a great week! -Natalie
Christina H
I seen no reviews on this s0 I was skeptical but gave it a shot… and wow It was just what my 6 month pregnant self was craving coming into fall soon…I substituted olive oil with veg oil instead and I am so thankful and satisfied!! Perfect recipe if your craving a sweet pumpkin treat!! Thanks sooo much for such a great recipe!!
Natalie
Hey Christina! You are so sweet for taking the time to write such a nice comment. I’m so happy you tried this recipe and that it satisfied you fall cravings for a sweet pumpkin treat! You described the cake perfectly! Best wishes with your pregnancy! XO Natalie
Kasey
Could I make this gluten free with almond flour?
Natalie
Hi! I’m sorry but I haven’t tested this cake with almond flour so I can’t say for sure how it would turn out. Sorry I couldn’t be more helpful. Please let me know if you have any other questions! -Natalie
Anne-Marie
Hi Natalie,
This cake looks super delicious and I’d love to make it. However, I’m from the Netherlands where canned pumpkin puree is not widely available. Do you have (a link to) a recipe to make it from scratch, or is it just plain pureed pumpkin?
Thank you!
Natalie
Hi Anne-Marie, So sorry for the delay getting back to you. I’ve been on vacation/away from my computer. So happy you want to try this cake. Hmmm unfotunately I don’t have a recipe to make pumpkin puree but yes it’d just basically be plain pureed pumpkin. I’ve only made this cake with canned pumpkin puree. I think homemade might be a little different than canned, but it could work. Sorry I haven’t tried using homemade, so I can’t say for sure. Please let me know if you do end up giving it a go! Have a great rest of your day. 🙂 Natalie
Makeda
roast a whole pumpkin (empty, cut in half, brush with oil and roast cut side down) and freeze what you don’t use for the cake. you’ll have pumpkin puree forever!
Natalie
I’ll have to try this! Thanks for sharing 🙂
ellie
I recommend squeezing it out to get rid of extra water, canned pumpkin tends to be dryer(not in a weird way)
Natalie
Thanks for the tip Ellie!
Dawn
Can almond flour be used instead of AP flour?
Natalie
Hi Dawn, Unfortunately I haven’t tried this with almond flour yet, so I can’t say for sure how it would work. So sorry I couldn’t be more helpful. Please let me know if you try it with almond flour or if you have any other questions. Have a great day. -Natalie
Wil
what amount would I use if using fresh pumpkin?
Natalie
Hi! Unfortunately I haven’t tried this recipe using fresh pumpkin, so I can’t say for sure what amount or how it would work. So sorry I couldn’t be more helpful. Please let me know if you have any other questions.
Andrea
I used an all purpose gluten free flour (Bob’s red mill 1 to 1) and it turned out beautifully.
Natalie
Hi Andrea,
Thanks so much for making this recipe. I’m so glad it turned out with all purpose gluten free flour. Thank you for letting me know! Have a great day 🙂 -Natalie
Karen
Can I use 1 to 1 gluten free flour?
Karen
Sorry I just noticed it’s been answered!
Natalie
Hi Karen, Apologies for the late response. Many readers have used 1 to 1 gluten free flour to make this cake and have said it turned out great! Please let me know if you try it or if you have any other questions 🙂
Brittany
Hi Natalie,
This looks amazing. Could I use a different neutral oil in this recipe and still end up with a perfectly moist cake? I’m not a huge fan of olive oil in baked sweets. I’ve made brownies with it before and could taste the olive oil.
Natalie
Hey Brittany! Yes- you can definitely use canola oil or vegetable oil in place of olive oil. Please let me know if you have any other questions. Hope you love the cake! -Natalie
Ray
could you use a loaf pan for this recipe? I would guess that the cook time would be different. Would you have any idea of what the time would be? Thank you.
Natalie
Hi Ray, I haven’t tried making this in a loaf pan, so I can’t say for sure how it would turn out. I think you’re right that the baking time would change and I’d suggest checking it as it bakes. I believe I’ve seen some pictures of people making it in a loaf pan, but again, can’t speak too much to it without actually trying it out. Please let me know if you have any other questions. 🙂 Natalie
Ray
Natalie,
I made this recipe in a loaf pan. The cooking time had to be adjusted from the time stated in your recipe. I started with 40 minutes and checked with a toothpick and it came out coated. Let it go for 15 minutes more and the toothpick came out clean. Total cook time was 55 minutes. It is a awesome tasting recipe that I will be making again.
Natalie
Hey Ray,
Awesome! Thanks for making this cake and for sharing the baking time for the loaf pan :)So happy to hear you enjoyed it and will be making it again! Have a great week. -Natalie