Tis the season for Pumpkin Spice Lattes, and here’s a delicious way to enjoy those cozy fall flavors in cake form: a homemade, ultra-moist Pumpkin Spice Latte Cake that balances pumpkin, warm spices, and a hint of espresso.
This Pumpkin Spice Latte Cake is adapted from a classic scratch pumpkin spice cake with a few tweaks to highlight coffee and latte-inspired flavors. The layers are brushed with espresso simple syrup and the cake is filled and frosted with a cinnamon espresso cream cheese frosting, then finished with dollops of sweetened whipped cream for a true latte experience.
How to Make Pumpkin Spice Latte Cake
Below is a concise overview of the main steps. The full printable recipe with ingredients and detailed instructions follows further down.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease and flour three 8-inch round pans and line the bottoms with parchment circles for easy removal.
- Whisk together the dry ingredients: cake flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- Combine the wet ingredients in a separate bowl: milk, canned pumpkin (not pie filling), vegetable oil, vanilla, and instant espresso dissolved in water.
- In a stand mixer, beat softened butter until smooth. Add white and brown sugar and beat on medium speed about 5 minutes until fluffy.
- Add eggs one at a time, mixing after each until the yolk color is fully incorporated.
- With the mixer on low, add the dry and wet ingredients alternately, beginning and ending with the dry. Mix just until combined—do not overmix.
- Divide batter into prepared pans and bake at 350°F for 20–25 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs. Cool 10 minutes in pans on a wire rack, then remove to cool completely.
How to Make Espresso Syrup
The coffee syrup gives the cake a subtle espresso boost that complements the pumpkin and spices.
Combine sugar and water in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and stir in instant espresso granules until dissolved. Cool before using. When assembling the cake, use a pastry brush to lightly coat each cake layer with the syrup—don’t soak them; a light coating adds flavor and keeps layers moist.
How to Make Whipped Cream
Homemade sweetened whipped cream is a quick, perfect finish for this cake.
Chill your mixing bowl and beaters in the freezer for 10 minutes. Pour heavy whipping cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla into the chilled bowl. Beat on low and gradually increase to medium-high until soft peaks form (about 1–1½ minutes). Stop when stiff peaks form—lift the whisk and the cream should hold a peak. Do not overbeat or it will turn to butter.
Assembling the Pumpkin Spice Latte Cake
Place the first cake layer on a cake stand or serving plate. Brush lightly with the espresso syrup, then spread a layer of cinnamon espresso cream cheese frosting. Repeat with the second and third layers.
Frost the exterior with the remaining cinnamon espresso cream cheese frosting. For a decorative finish, pipe borders if desired. Spoon or pipe the sweetened whipped cream as cloud-like puffs across the top and dust lightly with cinnamon.
Recipe FAQs
Yes. Because the cake uses cinnamon espresso cream cheese frosting and whipped cream, it should be refrigerated. For the best texture and flavor, bring the cake to room temperature 1–2 hours before serving so it softens slightly.
Yes. These layers freeze well. After baking and cooling, place each layer on a foil-covered cake board, wrap tightly in plastic wrap, then in aluminum foil. Freeze up to three months. Thaw on the counter still wrapped for 30–45 minutes, then unwrapped until ready to assemble. Some bakers assemble while layers are partially frozen for easier handling.
The espresso is present but not overpowering. If you prefer a stronger coffee flavor, add 1–2 teaspoons of coffee extract to the batter and more to the frosting to taste.
Instant espresso is dehydrated brewed espresso in granule form. It dissolves easily in liquid and delivers a richer coffee flavor than standard instant coffee. If you don’t have instant espresso, instant coffee is an acceptable substitute.
More Pumpkin Cakes!
If you enjoy pumpkin desserts, try other pumpkin cake variations such as pumpkin cupcakes, pumpkin snickerdoodle cake, or pumpkin gingerbread cake. Each recipe offers seasonal spice profiles and delicious cream cheese frostings that pair wonderfully with pumpkin.
Pumpkin Spice Cake-
Pumpkin Cupcakes
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Pumpkin Spice Cake~Doctored Cake Mix
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Pumpkin Cheesecake Cake
More Coffee Flavored Cakes
If you love coffee-flavored desserts, explore mocha cakes, tiramisu layer cakes, gingerbread latte cake, and mocha toffee crunch cake for similarly rich and aromatic options.
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Mocha Cupcakes
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Caramel Espresso Pound Cake
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Mocha Cake (Doctored Mix)
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White Chocolate Mocha Cake
Have you made this? We’d love your rating, a comment, and a photo of your cake. Your feedback helps others enjoy this recipe!
Pumpkin Spice Latte Cake from Scratch
Ingredients
For the Cake
- 1½ sticks unsalted butter, slightly softened (170g)
- 1 cup white sugar (200g)
- 1 cup light brown sugar (217g)
- 4 large eggs, room temperature
- 3 cups cake flour (342g)
- 1 Tablespoon pumpkin pie spice (5g)
- ½ teaspoon salt (3g)
- 1 Tablespoon baking powder (14g)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda (5g)
- ½ cup milk (121g)
- 1 15-oz can pumpkin (425g)
- ¼ cup vegetable oil (54g)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (6g)
- 2 Tablespoons instant espresso granules dissolved in 1 Tablespoon water
For the Coffee Syrup
- ¼ cup sugar (50g)
- ¼ cup water (114g)
- 1 Tablespoon espresso or instant coffee granules
For the Cinnamon Espresso Cream Cheese Frosting
- 2 sticks unsalted butter, softened (226g)
- 16 oz cream cheese, softened (226g)
- 1 Tablespoon espresso granules dissolved in 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon (2g)
- 6 to 6½ cups powdered sugar (690–747g) as needed
For the Sweetened Whipped Cream
- 1 cup heavy cream (240g)
- ¼ cup confectioners’ sugar (29g)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (4g)
Instructions
For the Pumpkin Spice Cake Layers
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour three 8 x 2-inch pans.
- Whisk flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together; set aside.
- In another bowl combine milk, pumpkin, oil, vanilla, and dissolved espresso; set aside.
- Beat softened butter in mixer until smooth. Add white and brown sugar and mix on medium speed about 5 minutes until fluffy.
- Add eggs one at a time, mixing until yolk color disappears.
- With mixer on low, add dry and wet mixtures alternately, starting and ending with dry (3 additions dry, 2 wet). Mix until just combined.
- Divide batter into prepared pans, smooth tops, and bake 20–25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes in pans, then remove to cool completely.
For the Coffee Syrup
- Combine sugar and water in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and stir in espresso granules until dissolved. Cool before using.
- Brush a light coating onto each cake layer when assembling. Reserve leftover syrup for other uses.
For the Cinnamon Espresso Cream Cheese Frosting
- Beat sliced butter until softened. Add cream cheese and beat until blended.
- Add cinnamon and the espresso–vanilla mixture, then gradually beat in powdered sugar on low to medium speed until the desired consistency is reached. Chill briefly if it becomes too soft.
- This frosting will fill and frost a three-layer 8–9 inch cake.
For the Whipped Cream Topping
- Chill mixing bowl and beaters for 10 minutes. Add heavy cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla. Beat starting on low and increase to medium-high until soft to stiff peaks form. Do not overbeat.
Assembling the Cake
- Place first layer on a cake plate, brush lightly with espresso syrup, and spread a layer of frosting. Repeat with remaining layers.
- Frost the outside of the cake with the cinnamon espresso cream cheese frosting. Pipe or spoon whipped cream puffs on top and dust with cinnamon.
Notes
Substitution for Cake Flour
If you don’t have cake flour, replace each cup of cake flour with 1 cup all-purpose flour minus 2 Tablespoons, plus 2 Tablespoons cornstarch. For this recipe (3 cups), remove 6 Tablespoons of flour and add 6 Tablespoons cornstarch, then whisk to combine.
Substitution for Pumpkin Pie Spice
Make your own: 1½ teaspoons cinnamon, ¾ teaspoon ground ginger, ½ teaspoon nutmeg, ⅛ teaspoon allspice, and ⅛ teaspoon cloves.