Brown Butter Pumpkin Spice Cake
Fall into fall baking with this moist brown butter pumpkin spice cake! Perfectly moist cake flavored with baking spices, pumpkin, and brown butter then filled and topped with mascarpone orange whipped cream. What’s not to love about pumpkin season with a cake like this?
About This Easy Brown Butter Pumpkin Spice Cake Recipe:
Autumn is the season for pumpkin and pumpkin is the season for fall baking. Everything turns into apple picking and pumpkin spice the second September hits despite the fact that fall actually hits three weeks in. I am 100% one those people who needs to wait until it’s actually fall before I join in on all of those amazing fall flavors. This moist brown butter pumpkin spice cake recipe is super easy to make and put together and a good option for Thanksgiving dessert if you’re not into all the classic pies.
This brown butter pumpkin spice cake uses brown butter to give a nuttier flavor to cake because browned butter makes everything better, as well as topping with an orange mascarpone cream to brighten it up as well as make it just a bit more decadent. I like topping mine with chopped crystallized ginger just to give it an extra kick.
The Origin of Pumpkin Spice
Pumpkin spice everything comes every September 1st, but what made it so popular?? Starbucks. That’s who. Once the pumpkin spice latte (or PSL) debuted in 2004 it became a wild success, and pumpkin spice everything started popping up everywhere! The individual spices themselves (plus others!) are native to the Southeastern Asia Islands or present day Indonesia.
The Dutch brought those spices around the world with the Dutch East India Company where different nations had their spice blends. Pumpkin being one of the earliest crops to be cultivated was being used in pumpkin pie in Europe with cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and mace. With the rise of pumpkin pie, and the need for those spices included, came the need to just make a spice blend to make the process easier. And that is the history of many spice blends we know today; making life in the kitchen easier. Learn more about the history of pumpkin spice here!
Brown Butter Pumpkin Spice Cake Ingredients
- Pumpkin puree: Canned pumpkin is perfectly fine for this pumpkin bake.
- Pumpkin pie spice: Supermarkets have made it easy to put all the spices needed for pumpkin pie by combining them for you! However, you can make your own with 4 parts cinnamon, 1 part allspice, 1 part cloves, 2 parts nutmeg and 2 parts ginger.
- Crystallized ginger: An optional ingredient you may find at your local grocery store. It is just ginger that has been crystallized and gives a good, spicy kick. It’s great for garnishing.
Major Allergens Present: Gluten, dairy, eggs
Equipment Needed
- 8″ Cake Pan: You just need one cake pan! Of course if you want it to be layered then you would need two or to bake it twice.
- Stand or hand mixer (optional): Not needed for the cake but helpful for the whipped cream. Of course you can always whip the cream and mascarpone by hand. If you are using a machine, use the whip attachment for a stand mixer and the beaters for a hand mixer.
How to Make Brown Butter Pumpkin Cake:
What is Brown Butter Pumpkin Spice cake Made of?
This moist brown butter pumpkin spice cake is a quick recipe to make when in a pinch! The pumpkin spice cake from scratch uses pumpkin puree, browned butter, and our favorite fall baking spices like cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, allspice, and ginger. The pumpkin puree and buttermilk makes this cake super moist! But what makes this the best brown butter pumpkin spice cake recipe in town is the mascarpone whipped cream flavored with bright and zesty orange!
Brown the butter:
The best part in my opinion! Browned butter adds a wonderful nuttiness to a dessert, and I love to up my dessert game by just browning the butter. Definitely brown this right away since it takes some time to cool down to room temperature before it’s ready for use. When browning butter, use a medium sized pan since it does bubble and expand while cooking. Browned butter smells very nutty so you’ll know it’s ready when you smell it. It will also turn a nice brown color (hence the name). If you love brown butter as much as I do then check out my other brown butter recipes!
Make the easy Brown Butter pumpkin spice cake batter and bake:
As simple as whisking ingredients together in order. Nothing fancy about it. Make sure your butter is cooled otherwise you will cook your cake batter before it hits the oven! This cake is done when it springs back when poked or when a knife inserted comes out clean.
Make the orange mascarpone cream and finish:
Mascarpone is creamy and dreamy and goes perfectly with the pumpkin cake. I like to add orange zest and optional orange liquor to brighten it all up a bit. Before combining with the heavy cream in your mixer bowl, massage it with a spatula to loosen it up, then just whip it all together until stiff peaks. You have two options, dump it all on top, or slice the cake in half horizontally and fill and top with the cream. Regardless of your choice, decorate with orange zest and optional crystallized ginger. Enjoy this for your Thanksgiving dessert in lieu of pie.
Helping Making Easy Brown Butter Pumpkin Spice Cake:
How to Brown Butter and Add:
Brown butter is such a fantastic way to add depth and flavor to a dessert and I have several brown butter recipes in my arsenal. Check out these tips below on how to brown butter and add.
- You will want a medium sized pot for this recipe and larger if you multiply it. The butter will foam and rise in the pot, so if you choose a pot too small it may bubble right out.
- Once it reaches the foaming stage, it will stop boiling and just brown. You will need to swirl the pan around to see the color beneath the foam. You are looking for a deep golden brown and a nutty aroma.
- Remove from heat immediately and allow to cool completely before adding it. If you add it right away you could cook your batter before baking it. Also, definitely do not go for a spoon taste before cooling because you’re essentially working with hot oil!
- Scrape all the browned bits from the bottom of the pan; that’s where all the yummy flavor is!
Enhancing This Moist Brown Butter Pumpkin Spice Cake:
- Instead of orange, add a packet or two of instant coffee to the mascarpone cream to give this cake a pumpkin spice latte feel.
How to Store and Freeze Brown Butter Pumpkin Spice Cake:
- Store in the fridge with any exposed, inside cake covered in plastic wrap for up to 5 days.
- Only the cake can be made ahead of time, wrapped in plastic wrap, and kept in the fridge for up to 2 weeks or in the freezer for up to 2 months.
Troubleshooting The Brown Butter Pumpkin Spice Cake:
- My mascarpone cream is super lumpy! It is over whipped, and now it’s separated. You will have to start over. Only whip until stiff peaks or slightly under. And keep an eye on it; it sneaks up on you!
- I have weird lumps in my batter! Your butter was too hot before adding and you cooked some of your eggs. Next time, make sure your browned butter is at the most warm.
Something else going wrong? Reach out and we will troubleshoot together!
Brown Butter Pumpkin Cake
Equipment
- 8" Cake pan
Ingredients
Pumpkin cake:
- 145 g Butter, unsalted 1 stick plus 2 TBS
- 109 g Light brown sugar
- 2 ea Eggs
- 65 g Buttermilk
- 278 g Pumpkin puree
- 218 g All purpose flour
- 1 tsp Baking soda
- ¼ tsp Kosher salt
- 1 Tbs Pumpkin pie spice
Orange mascarpone cream:
- 100 g Mascarpone cheese
- 100 g Heavy cream
- 28 g Granulated sugar
- 1 ea Orange zest and juice
Optional garnishes
- Crystallized ginger chopped
- Orange zest
Instructions
To prepare the pumpkin cake:
- Weigh out the butter in a medium pot and cook until browned. See my tips on browning butter above for more information! Allow to cool completely.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F, and prepare an 8" cake pan with pan spray and parchment paper.
- Whisk together the sugar, eggs, buttermilk, and pumpkin puree until combined.
- Whisk in the dry ingredients until combined.
- Whisk in the browned butter.
- Pour into the prepared baking pan, and bake for 35-40 minutes or until a knife inserted comes out clean. Allow to cool on a cooling rack for an hour then place in fridge to cool for another hour before topping with the cream.
To prepare the orange mascarpone cream and finish:
- Combine the cheese, cream, sugar, and orange zest in a bowl. Either whip by hand or with a hand or stand mixer until stiff peaks. Fold in the splash of orange juice or orange liquor and set aside in the fridge.
- Slice the cake in half vertically and spread half the mascarpone cream on top. Top with the cake and spread the remaining mascarpone cream on top of the cake. Top with orange zest and optional crystallized ginger.
Nutrition
