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!
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.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- One of the easiest most delicious cakes you’ll make!
- It starts with a cake mix, no one will ever guess.
- The cinnamon roll flavors have people coming back for more!
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What You’ll Need
Here are the ingredients you’ll need to make this delicious sheet cake recipe. See the recipe card located at the bottom of the post for full details and instructions.
- 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.
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.
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.
Add Cake Ingredients To Stand Mixer. 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.
Prepare Cinnamon Roll Mixture. 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. Bake cake for 30-35 minutes, until cooked through and remove.
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.
Prepare Icing. 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!
Try serving the sheet cake 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
Refrigerate. Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Try More Sheet Cake Recipes!
- Banana Cookies and Cream Sheet Cake
- Cinnamon Roll Banana Bread Sheet Cake
- Best Texas Sheet Cake Recipe
- Strawberries and Cream Sheet Cake
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!
I made this for work birthdays and they all went absolutely crazy over it! My coworker said it was “the best thing I”ve ever put in my mouth”. Three people asked if I would make it for THEIR birthday. I didn’t have a half sheet pan either, I just found the biggest rimmed cookie sheet I own. I believe it was 11 x 15. It turned out just fine, was done a few minutes earlier! Thanks for always being my go-to for fun and unique baking ideas!
I made this for “Women’s Day” yesterday and it was a BIG hit! My intentions were to take a picture before it was served but people had already started eating it while it was still in the kitchen
Just ate it and was surprised I don’t usually like things with pumpkin and cinnamon but when I tried this I was in awe of how delicious it was keep bakin to give us more recipes
This was awesome! I think it will be my contribution to Thanksgiving dinner this year. I’m going to add some walnuts to the batter.
Thank you for the lovely recipe. Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family.
This is absolutely amazing. I have made this several times and my family loves it and I make it every year for Christmas and Thanksgiving. Thank you for sharing this wonderful recipe.
This cake was absolutely delicious!! Definitely the most moist cake ever with such a great flavor! Thanks for sharing!
Wow this looks amazing can’t wait to try it. I wonder how it would be with a spice cake mix instead of yellow cake! Yummy
Very good! Thanks for the recipe. Next time I think I’ll add some pumpkin pie spice.
If I’m making it the night before and serving at a work function, how long beforehand should I take it out of the fridge?
You can serve it chilled or room temperature so any time is fine. 🙂
Oh my word, this is ridiculously good! I just made it now and it is unfair how good it is! I did adjust slightly by adding a teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice to the batter and did half cinnamon and half pumpkin pie spice for the topping. Beyond good! Thanks for this wonderful recipe!
You’re welcome. Glad you like it. 🙂
THAT LOOKS DELICIOUS!
I can’t wait to make this, it looks so nice!
Such a lovely idea around the time of halloween to! I love baking, its so much fun! 🙂 I can’t wait to try this out!
Abbie xxx
This is really, really good and very gooey! The only substitution I made was to use melted butter in place of oil in the cake because that is all I had at home. I am already sharing this recipe with a friend and it is definitely going in with my other favorites. Thank you for sharing! 🙂
So glad to hear it! Thanks for sharing!
I saw you post this on Facebook yesterday! I made it for my family last night and it was DELICIOUS!! It smells sooo good while baking 🙂 Love, love, love and I will be making it again for sure! 🙂
Thanks for sharing, so glad you love it. 🙂
Hello. Is it possible to leave out the pumpkin and make this a plain vanilla cinnamon roll cake or would it totally change the texture? Thanks.
Hi Candice, yes you can leave out the pumpkin no problem. I have done it before 🙂
Can’t wait to try this recipe! Thank you!
Hi! What size jelly roll pan would I use? Can’t wait to make this. Thank you!
You would use a half sheet size. 🙂
Hi! This looks amazing!
Egg allergy alert! I have an allergy to eggs, and was wondering if you have a recommendation to replace the eggs: maybe more sour cream, or silken tofu, or unsweetened applesauce?
Thanks!
Hi Rachell, although we have not tested this recipe replacing the egg, you can replace the egg since the recipe calls for only 1. Some products I’ve heard of, but not necessarily tried, are bananas, like you said applesauce & tofu, and ground flaxseed and water. try this page for suggestions: http://www.kidswithfoodallergies.org/resourcespre.php?id=104&#egg-substitutes-in-baking Good Luck!
What can I use instead of heavy cream in the icing? Lactose-free substitution necessary.
Hi Leah, I’m sorry I do not know. I’ve never looked into Lactose-free products. I would start by searching for specific substitutes for heavy cream. 🙂
Made it this evening and it was a big hit with the kiddos….. and Mom lol. Thanks so much for sharing. Its definitely a keeper!
Sherri, Thanks for the comment! 🙂
I just made this and it was fantastic. Truly a winner of a recipe. I served it with the Pioneer Woman’s maple cream and it was heavenly. Thanks for the recipe!
Megan, thanks for your comment. 🙂
This recipe sounded so good, and looked so good. My husband couldn’t wait for it to get done. The flavor was good but the middle stayed like pudding. Just too much liquid in the recipe I think it was the stick of butter that caused the problem. We were very disappointed in the outcome. I even baked it for 10 min.s more to try to dry it out. Just didn’t work.
I tried this with the spice cake mix instead because that is what was in my pantry, OH YUM!!!
This was a huge hit..Absolutely delicious!! The only change I made was using a can of sweet potatoes instead of pumpkin because it was all I had on hand. I just pulsed the sweet potatoes in the blender a few times to smooth them out. My family loved this!! Will definitely make it again.
Hi! Not sure what I did wrong but this didn’t have a cake texture at all. It was very dense. Almost had the appearance of pumpkin pie when you sliced it and looked at it from the side. Is that how it was supposed to turn out? It was more like a bread pudding or something?! Help!! Thanks!
Sorry for missing your question. Sounds like you needed to cook it longer. 🙂
Tried this for thanksgiving and it was delicous!
Mine is very gooey…. it’s been in the oven for over an hour now! I’m not sure what the consistency is supposed to be. Oh dear.
I never feel compelled enough after eating anything to leave a comment, but this is by far the best pumpkin dessert I have ever had, and as far as desserts go it goes right up there with creme brule and a hot chocolate flourless cake I had on a cruise, thanks so much!!
I’m making TWO of these cakes for Thanksgiving this year! One for my family and one for the in-laws!!! I made it last year and it was a BIG hit! Thank you sharing this most amazing cake!!!!
This recipe is literally all of my favorite desert flavors in one. I made this tonight for my coworkers and it turned out amazing. The only things I did differently was use cheesecake pudding, since i didn’t have any vanilla. I added a little vanilla extract to the batter and the icing, and used a bit of baileys coffee creamer in that to see how it would taste. And it came out wonderful. It was hard not to eat the batter! Thanks for the great recipe!
I made this last night and it came out delish! Really moist and yummy- every one loved it. For people who are asking about size pans – I used two disposable 1/2 sheet ovenware from e-z foil. Came out perfect
This is a great recipe, however mine tastes a little “eggy”. I think I’ll only add 3 eggs if I make this again.
I made this today and it is AMAZING!
OMG this was WONDERFUL
I chose to make it for a Pumpkin cook off for work- well of course I had to make 2, 1 to try at home, and the other for the contest , we just cut into the first one – AND WONDERFUL!!!! Thank you so much
OOOO also i ended up mixing the butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, powdered sugar and cream together and baking it for the normal time. and it came out good. it was just on the verge of being cristalized. i did it that way so it wouldnt be so messy.
I was requested to make it for my best friend daughters bake sale!!
I baked this for my friends at work for a trial run. Before i made it for my scentsy party. Everyone loved it. Those that dont know me that well at my job call me the bake lady !! 🙂