This sheet cake is about to blow your mind! My Cinnamon Roll Pumpkin Sheet Cake is simply perfect for your Holiday Dessert table, packed with sweet cinnamon cake and pumpkin flavors.
Sheet Cake
You are in for such a treat with my festive pumpkin cake recipe! Making a cinnamon roll recipe might be some of my favorite desserts ever. If you love cinnamon rolls, I think you are going to love my simple “perfect for Thanksgiving” texas sheet cake recipe!
Here I give you my Cinnamon Roll Pumpkin Vanilla Sheet Cake. I love watching the reaction of my boys sampling my baked goods. I gave them a bite after school a couple days ago of this sheet cake and their expression was priceless. Don’t let the cake mix in the recipe scare you away. I assure you, no one will know this is a jazzed up cake mix recipe. It is gooey and tastes just like a sweet pumpkin cinnamon roll in square cake form.
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What You’ll Need
- yellow cake mix– Head to the baking section of the grocery store and pick out a yellow cake mix.
- large eggs– When selecting eggs, use large eggs for consistency. That’s what I’ll use for all of my recipes to keep consistent.
- canola oil– Canola or vegetable oil works just fine. Keeps the cake moist and soft.
- milk or buttermilk– 2% milk works great or buttermilk added to the cake batter.
- sour cream– Sour cream may sound like an odd cake ingredient, but it adds to the cake’s soft texture.
- heavy whipping cream– Heavy whipping cream is found in the dairy department near the milk. It also helps keep the cake moist and soft.
- pumpkin puree– When looking for pumpkin puree, make sure you don’t get the canned pumpkin pie filling. They’ll be sold close to each other. Get canned pure pumpkin puree.
- instant vanilla pudding mix– Make sure your pudding box says instant vanilla pudding. Not the box you have to cook first.
- butter, I use salted– Salted or unsalted butter works just fine for this recipe. Just make sure you don’t get margarine.
- brown sugar– I use light brown sugar for this recipe. You’ll notice there’s light and dark brown sugar available.
- ground cinnamon– Ground cinnamon is found in the spice section of your grocery store. It’s a popular spice in Fall baking. Very aromatic and delicious with pumpkin.
- powdered sugar– Powdered sugar is also referred to as confectioners sugar, it’s used to make the icing.
Start with dumping all of the cake ingredients into the mixer. No particular order really, which is so nice. No messing this up 🙂
How To Make Pumpkin Sheet Cake
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. and spray a half sheet size baking pan (13 x 18 x 1) with non stick cooking spray.
- Place cake mix, eggs, oil, milk, pudding, sour cream and pumpkin into a stand mixer or electric mixer, beating until well combined, about 1 1/2 minutes. Pour into prepared pan, spreading evenly.
- Place butter into a microwave safe bowl and melt, about 30-40 seconds. Add brown sugar and cinnamon to bowl, mixing until combined. Drizzle mixture evenly over cake then take a knife and run it through to swirl.
- Bake cake for 30-35 minutes, until cooked through and remove. Place powdered sugar and cream into a large bowl and mix until creamy and smooth. Drizzle over warm cake then let cool for 20 minutes before cutting into squares. Refrigerate if not serving same day. Enjoy with milk!
What is a Sheet Cake?
Sheet cakes are simple, one-layer, frosted cakes that are often prepared for celebrations that involve a dozen or more participants. This type of cake has become a popular option for birthday parties, celebrations in the workplace, and family reunions and anniversaries.
What Size Pan Do I Use?
I prefer the half sheet size. A half-sheet cake is typically baked in a 12-inch-by-16-inch pan, but may also be made in a 11-inch-by-15-inch pan. A half sheet typically feeds 40 people. It can be sliced into 32 2-inch-by-3-inch slices or 48 2-inch-by-2-inch pieces.
Gorgeous pumpkin cake batter.
Transfer the sheet cake batter to the prepared baking sheet.
Spread the cake evenly to the edges.
Melt your butter, add the brown sugar and cinnamon 🙂 Drizzle the cinnamon mixture over your cake.
Does not have to be perfect. Just drizzle evenly and you’re good to go. Run a knife through the batter, up down, side to side, to swirl the goodness then bake 350 for 30-35 minutes.
Here’s a shot of how it looks right after baking, wait until you smell the aroma!
When the cake comes out of the oven, whip up the drizzle. Drizzle while the cake is still warm….
….so it melts lovely like this 🙂
Try serving warm with a small dollop of vanilla ice cream too.
How To Serve
Serve sheet cake for dessert at any occasion. It’s particularly perfect for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Can be served warm, room temperature or even chilled.
How To Store Leftovers
Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Cinnamon Roll Pumpkin Vanilla Sheet Cake
Equipment
- Oven
- mixing bowl or stand mixer
- measuring cups
- measuring spoons
- half sheet pan
- butter knife for swirling cake batter
Ingredients
- 1 box yellow cake mix
- 4 large eggs
- 1/2 cup canola or vegetable oil
- 1/2 cup milk, or buttermilk
- 3.4 ounce box Vanilla Instant Pudding Mix
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 15 ounce can pumpkin
- 1 stick 8 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 3/4 cups powdered sugar
- 1/4-1/2 cup heavy cream start w 1/4 cup and add a little more cream if needed
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. and spray a half sheet size baking pan (13 x 18 x 1) with non stick cooking spray.
- Place cake mix, eggs, oil, milk, pudding, sour cream and pumpkin into a stand mixer or electric mixer, beating until well combined, about 1 1/2 minutes. Pour into prepared pan, spreading evenly.
- Place butter into a microwave safe bowl and melt, about 30-40 seconds. Add brown sugar and cinnamon to bowl, mixing until combined. Drizzle mixture evenly over cake then take a knife and run it through to swirl.
- Bake cake for 30-35 minutes, until cooked through and remove. Place powdered sugar and cream into a large bowl and mix until creamy and smooth. Drizzle over warm cake then let cool for 20 minutes before cutting into squares. Refrigerate if not serving same day. Enjoy with milk!
Nutrition
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Made this for the first time today! Came home with an empty pan from Grandma’s. Definitely a four star recipe! Even the non pumpkin eaters loved it!
AMAZING RECIPE! I’ve made it several times and it turns out perfect every time! So fluffy, moist, and pumpkin-y. Im not kidding when I say everyone loves it. Thanks for this one Jenny!
Thanks Lisa!
Could I use white chocolate instant pudding instead?
This was a HUGE hit at my event today. It’s not like me to try out a new recipe when I’m going to a potluck, but I was brave.
Does yours actually turn our like a cake consistency? Mine is very soft and creamy. Maybe I didn’t bake it long enough, but everyone liked it this way!
I didn’t have sour cream in the house so I mixed some evaporated milk with a little vinegar. My mom taught me to do that in dessert recipes that call for buttermilk or sour cream. I also had no heavy cream so I made my glaze with 1% milk.
This is a keeper recipe!! Thank you so much for posting.
I’m drooling over these!! Definitely going to try them for a weekend breakfast!
Thanks for the post. It is really nice recipe,Cinnamon roll pumpkin vanilla sheet cake. It is one of the favorite for me. I want to add one more thing, this is coffee flavor. If I will mixed it, It will be more testy.
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I have made this recipe several times over the past two years. I love the moist smooth texture and the perfect balance of flavors. It’s my go to recipe when I want a pumpkin treat. Since I don’t have a 1/2 sheet cake pan, I use both a 13×9 and a 4×4 glass baking dish. Mine always turn out as beautiful as the ones pictured in this site. THANK YOU for this recipe! It made a pumpkin lover out of me.