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+ servings

Brown Butter Pumpkin Cake

This easy Brown Butter Pumpkin Cake is light, fluffy, and topped with a buttery maple glaze; an impressive Thanksgiving dessert that's not pie!
Prep Time40 mins
Cook Time30 mins
Cool Time50 mins
Total Time2 hrs
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Keyword: brown butter cake, fluffy pumpkin cake, friendsgiving dessert, maple glaze, pumpkin cake, thanksgiving cake, thanksgiving dessert
Servings: 16 slices
Calories: 355kcal
Author: Jennifer Debth

Ingredients

Brown Butter Pumpkin Cake

  • 1 (15 oz) can pure pumpkin puree drained*
  • 1 cup unsalted butter 2 sticks
  • 3/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 3/4 cup dark brown sugar
  • 1 large egg room temperature
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour spoon and leveled, then sifted to remove lumps
  • 1 tablespoon cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
  • 1/2 teaspoon ginger
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda

Maple Glaze

  • 1/4 cup unsalted butter
  • 1/2 cup pure maple syrup
  • 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar sifted + more if you like a thicker glaze
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt

Instructions

Brown Butter Pumpkin Cake

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and grease a glass 9x13 inch baking pan with cooking spray. Set aside.
  • Melt butter in a sauté pan over medium heat.
  • Once melted, whisk continually until brown bits start to form and the butter is foaming, golden in color, and has a nutty aroma, about 1-5 minutes.
  • Carefully and quickly pour into a large bowl and let cool slightly, about 10 minutes.
  • To the cooled butter, add in granulated sugar, brown sugar, egg, vanilla, and drained pumpkin, then whisk until smooth.
  • Use a rubber spatula to gently fold in flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves, salt, and baking soda until *just* combined (over-mixing will yield a dense cake).
  • Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan, then bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out mostly clean (a few crumbs sticking to the toothpick is ok).
  • Cool for 10 minutes before topping with glaze.

Maple Glaze

  • Place butter and maple syrup into a microwave safe bowl and microwave for 30 seconds, or until the butter has melted.
  • Whisk in powdered sugar and salt, whisking in additional powered sugar until the desired consistency has been reached***.
  • Pour over warm cake, then cool for 30 minutes before slicing and serving****.
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Notes

*Line a fine mesh sieve with paper towels, scoop the can of pumpkin into the lined sieve, then allow to drain for 30 minutes while the butter is browning and cooling. After 30 minutes, gently blot the top of the pumpkin with additional paper towels to get rid of any excess moisture, then proceed with the recipe as written.
**Draining the pumpkin and browning the butter keep this cake really light and fluffy by getting rid of some of the moisture that both pumpkin puree and butter have!
***I like a thinner glaze, because it melts into the cake which makes it nice and moist, but feel free to make a thicker glaze if that’s desired!
****This cake is fantastic warm, but can be a bit crumbly to serve when warm.

Nutrition

Serving: 1slice | Calories: 355kcal | Carbohydrates: 54g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 15g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 50mg | Sodium: 263mg | Potassium: 123mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 37g | Vitamin A: 4598IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 41mg | Iron: 1mg