Pumpkin Pie Angel Food Cake
Keep things simple and so delicious by mixing up this 3 ingredient Pumpkin Pie Angel Food Cake with amazing cinnamon cream cheese frosting!
Moist and airy, without falling apart, this Pumpkin Pie Angel Food Cake brings together the best parts of fall and your favorite cake! All you’ll need is an angel food cake mix, pumpkin pie spice and pumpkin puree to create the mouthwatering cake and a few pantry staples for the decadent cinnamon cream cheese frosting.
Simple Pumpkin Bliss
In this house, dessert is super important, and thankfully it’s not about how long was spent making it but how incredibly amazing it tastes, so this Pumpkin Pie Angel Food Cake is a huge winner. For both the cake and the frosting, I just dump delicious ingredients into a bowl and mix and after a little baking, we get to enjoy a light pumpkin cake with a cinnamon frosting that is so good it should be illegal. I always have pumpkin puree on hand just for this reason. While the pumpkin spice brings in the feeling of fall, the lightness of this cake makes it a perfect year round dessert.
Other Recipes to Serve with Pumpkin Pie Angel Food Cake
- Ice cream always goes well with cake but so does a milkshake, like a Bourbon Pumpkin Milkshake– you should always go big with dessert!
- Are we having this cake with breakfast? I’m not judging, I’m totally on board and in that case, you need to whip up an Iced Pumpkin Spice Latte for a super powered up day.
Ingredients
For the cake: Pick your favorite boxed angel food cake mix but don’t worry about getting the additional ingredients mentioned on the back. You won’t need them. Instead, you will need a can of pumpkin puree and pumpkin pie spice.
For the frosting: To make the frosting, you will need softened cream cheese, unsalted butter, vanilla extract, powdered sugar and cinnamon.
How to Make Pumpkin Pie Angel Food Cake
STEP ONE: Grease a 9×13 baking dish and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. In a large bowl, mix the angel food cake mix and pumpkin pie spice, and then add the pumpkin puree. Mix until the ingredients are incorporated, and then pour the batter into the cake pan.
STEP TWO: Bake for 25-30 minutes until the edges of the cake are slightly golden brown and the center springs back to the touch. Remove the cake from the oven and allow it to cool completely before frosting.
STEP THREE: In a stand mixer or large bowl with a hand mixer, beat the butter and cream cheese together until smooth. Drizzle in the vanilla extract and mix. Add the powdered sugar a little at a time and then mix in the cinnamon. Beat until the frosting is smooth and fluffy.
STEP FOUR: To serve the cake, you can either spread the frosting over the entire cake before slicing, or slice the cake into squares and pipe the frosting onto individual pieces. Both are delicious and beautiful options!
Tips for Success
- As with any angel food cake, whether from a mix or homemade, the key is not to overmix the batter. Once the ingredients have been mixed and there are no clumps, stop stirring and pour the batter into the pan. Overmixing leads to a flatter, more dense cake.
- While this cake will not have the height of a traditional angel food cake, since you’re using a cake pan and not an angel food cake pan, the texture will be that of an angel food cake. If you want to use an angel food cake pan, follow the directions on the back of the box for angel food cake pan/Bundt pan cooking times.
- The cinnamon cream cheese frosting is too amazing for words, but if you’d like to use a whipped topping instead, then go for it, it’s a tasty option!
How is angel food cake different from other cakes?
Angel food cake differs from other cakes in a couple of ways. First, this cake does not use any butter and secondly, cream of tartar is needed to help the eggs get frothy, neither of which is common in cake baking. The whipped egg whites give an angel food cake its airy, spongy texture and are the largest part of what makes an angel food cake. The pan used to make an angel food cake is also different, with its height and the fact that it needs to be inverted to release the cake, similar to a Bundt cake pan.
Can you cook angel food cake in a Bundt pan?
Due to the spongy, more delicate texture of angel food cake, cooking it in a Bundt pan is not a good idea. Typical Bundt cakes are pretty hearty, as far as cake goes, so the intricate, non-stick design of Bundt pans works for Bundt cakes but would make getting an angel food cake out of one less than pretty. An angel food cake needs the uncoated sides of a tube pan to stick to as it rises and a smooth bottom surface to easily release from, rather than getting stuck and tearing in the designs of a Bundt pan.
Enough pumpkin sweet treats to last you all year long
- Classic Pumpkin Roll
- Pumpkin Pie Truffles
- Caramel Pumpkin Blondies
- Turtle Pumpkin Cheesecake
- Cheesecake Filled Pumpkin Bundt Cake
*This post was originally posted on 09/20/2014.
Pumpkin Pie Angel Food Cake
Ingredients
Cake
- 16 ounces angel food cake mix (1 box)
- 15 ounces canned pumpkin puree
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
Frosting
- ½ cup unsalted butter at room temperature
- 6 ounces cream cheese softened
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 ½ cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
Cake
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9-inch x 13-inch baking dish and set it aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the angel food cake mix and pumpkin pie spice. Then stir in the pumpkin puree until well combined. Pour the cake batter into the prepared baking dish and spread evenly.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the edges of the cake are slightly golden brown and the centers springs back to the touch.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely on a wire rack. (If the cake isn't cooled all the way, the frosting will melt.)
Frosting
- Using a stand mixer or hand mixer, beat together the butter and cream cheese until well combined and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Mix in the vanilla. Beat in the powdered sugared 1/2 cup at a time before adding the cinnamon. Continue to beat until everything is well incorporated and the frosting is fluffy, about 2-3 minutes.
- Once the cake has cooled completely, you can cut it into 12 slices and pipe the frosting onto each slice, or simply spread the frosting over the entire cake before cutting.
I made this today and it tastes amazing. I will definitely be making this again
I am so glad, April! 🙂 It really can become your new go-to fall dessert recipe.
I just made these into cupcakes!!!! Made the cake mix like it said on here and then put it in cupcake papers about 3/4 full in a muffin tin. Then put in in the oven at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. They turned out great!!! Can’t wait for people to try them!!!!!
Yay! That is awesome, Mary! 🙂 I am happy to hear that someone tried baking them as cupcakes and it worked. Thank you for stopping back and sharing that info with us all.
do you add the condensed milk
Hello Debbie! Condensed milk to what- the cake or the frosting? You wouldn’t normally add that ingredient to either one of those as far as I know. But for this recipe? No condensed milk! 🙂
I made this for a co-workers birthday and it was a huge hit! Turned out perfect, thanks!
Oh wonderful, Emily! I am glad it turned out perfectly for you. 🙂
I made this recipe just the way you said without water just the angel food mix pumpkin purée & spice & it turned out horrible flat & crumbled up this sure was a disappointment
I am so sorry that it turned out that way, Ann. I have no idea why. I made the one pictured above using the exact recipe instructions I shared in this post, and it turned out wonderful. Did you jostle the pan while baking or shortly after taking it out of the oven? Sometimes that can make an angel food cake fall.
Would this work with a normal white cake mix?
Hello Val! I would venture to say no… at least not with just the cake mix, pumpkin pie spice, and pumpkin puree. You would probably still have to add eggs, water, etc if you used a cake mix other than angel food. I couldn’t tell you the exact ingredients for that because you would have to factor in the moisture that the pumpkin puree adds & that would mean cutting back on some of the egg, oil, water, etc that a regular cake mix calls for. I haven’t tried that way myself, to be honest. You can maybe Google adding pumpkin puree to a boxed cake mix and seeing what you can find?
I know this is an old thread, but I’ve made a yellow cake mix and pumpkin puree with pumpkin spice added without any other ingredient and it turns out really good, it’s dense but delicious!
could you use pumpkin pie spice also in the frosting
You certainly could if you would like! 🙂 I think the pumpkin pie spice would work well in the frosting also.
Do you leave out the eggs and water?
Yep! 🙂 Just the angel food cake mix, pumpkin pie spice, and pumpkin puree. No water, no eggs for this.
Just the cake mix without everything else like eggs and water?
Hello Beth! Yep. No water or eggs. Typical angel food cake mixes do not call for eggs anyhow, just water. But for this recipe you just need the cake mix, pumpkin, and pumpkin pie spice- that’s it! 🙂
What is pumpkin purée?
Hello Sissy! It is basically the canned pumpkin you find in your grocery store. You could also use your own homemade pumpkin puree if you would like in this. 🙂
I just made the ppl in cake and it was very thin and flat. When making the cake do you add the water the cake mix requires or just the pumpkin and pie spice. I didn’t add the water.
Hello Patricia! Nope, no water. Just the cake mix, pumpkin puree, and spices. I am not sure why your’s came out flat? Do you maybe live at a higher elevation? I know sometimes that can make a difference. Also, if you jostle around the pan too much while baking or right after baking (maybe checking on it or thinking that it needed rotated?), if will cause an angel food cake to fall if it hasn’t had a chance to bake all the way through and set up.
There are 2 types of boxed mix; a one-step and a two step. You need to use the 1-step.
If you open your mix and find a separate envelope of powdered egg whites, you have the wrong mix.
Can I make these in cupcake papers? How long would I bake them for?
Hello April! I have not tried baking angel food cake in cupcake liners before, so I am not sure? I would try Googling it or checking to see if there are cupcake directions on the box of angel food cake mix. If you do bake them as cupcakes, please stop back by and let us know how they turned out! 🙂
I’m crazy for ALL things pumpkin, so you KNOW I need to make this as soon as possible! Pinned!
Thank you for the pin, Becca! 🙂 You will definitely want to have this recipe saved somewhere!
Does it matter that I dont have unsalted butter for the frosting recipe
Hello Tabitha! I usually recommend unsalted butter in all my baking because salted butter does have salt in it (as the name suggests). While the salt content in salted butter isn’t extremely high, it could affect the flavor of the frosting a little but it may not be enough to really notice. You could give it a try if that is all that you have a hand. 🙂
I only buy salted butter,and it tastes just as great!
Fall is my favorite baking season too especially anything with pumpkin 🙂 This pumpkin cake looks delicious! I love that cinnamon cream cheese frosting!
Thank you, Kelly! 🙂 I am pretty sure fall is my favorite baking season too. Bring on the pumpkin!
I love the fall season. So any fall recipes would be great.
I agree! Fall is definitely my favorite season of the year, Laura. 🙂 And fall recipes? THE BEST.
What a great idea! This looks like a delicious way to jazz up a boxed cake mix and angel food cake is so light and perfect! Thanks for sharing!!
Thank you, Marion! 🙂 Boxed cake mixes can be a life saver for busy mamas!
Do u make the cake mix as directed?
Nope, Amy. Just as directed above in the recipe box up there. You will not follow the directions on the box to make the angel food cake this way. 🙂
Thanks for asking that question! I already had it mixed to directions above but wasn’t 100% sure if I should add the water!
Looks great can’t wait to try it !!!
Thank you, Carol! 🙂 You will love it!