Moist chocolate cake topped with decadent pumpkin cream cheese frosting, this chocolate pumpkin sheet cake is a delightfully sweet fall treat!
Chocolate Pumpkin Texas Sheet Cake
Chocolate and pumpkin make an unexpectedly delightful flavor combination! It’s been a favorite of mine since my husband made these pumpkin chocolate avocado cookies a few years ago.
This delicious pumpkin chocolate sheet cake is perfect for fall gatherings because it feeds a crowd!
Even though this cake is made from scratch, it is quite easy to prepare and only takes about 45 minutes altogether. That makes it perfect for beginners or if you’re in a hurry (the holidays are always so busy am I right??)
I am a sucker for chocolate cake, and this one is super moist! We added a touch of pumpkin pie spice to make it more than just your usual chocolate cake.
And then the frosting, oh the frosting!
If you are also a fan of all things pumpkin then you will LOVE this pumpkin cream cheese frosting! It is absolutely divine!
Related: For a show-stopping fall treat, try our pumpkin chocolate layer cake too!
What You Need to Make Pumpkin Chocolate Sheet Cake
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For the Cake:
- Butter — We generally use unsalted for baking, but you could use salted too.
- Cold water
- Cocoa powder — Make sure it’s unsweetened cocoa powder for baking.
- Sugar — White granulated sugar
- Flour — all-purpose flour
- Eggs
- Baking soda
- Pumpkin pie spice
- Sour cream
- Vanilla extract
For the Pumpkin Cream Cheese Frosting:
- Butter
- Milk — We used whole milk, but any milk will work!
- Powdered sugar
- Pumpkin puree — Canned real pumpkin (no added sugar)
- Cream cheese — half of an 8oz block
- Vanilla extract
- Pumpkin pie spice
- Ground cinnamon— for sprinkling on top of the cake
Kitchen Tools Used
- 9 x 13″ cake pan
- Non-slip mixing bowls
- Stand mixer (we bought ours refurbished and saved a ton of money!)
- Saucepan
How to Make Chocolate Pumpkin Sheet Cake
This cake is super easy!
First, you’ll want to preheat your oven and prep your baking pan with non-stick spray.
While the oven heats up, melt the butter in a large saucepan and stir in the cocoa and water until it’s all smooth.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the rest of the cake ingredients. Pour the butter mixture into this bowl and whisk until you have a smooth batter.
Scoop the batter into your pan and bake for 20-25 minutes.
For the Pumpkin Cream Cheese Frosting
Whip up all the frosting ingredients using a stand mixer or electric hand mixer and spread onto the cooled cake.
Sprinkle with cinnamon for a little extra kick!
Can you use chocolate cake mix instead?
This is a from-scratch cake recipe, but I would rate it as “easy” and perfect for novice bakers!
However, if you want to save time you can absolutely use your favorite cake mix and add a dash of pumpkin pie spice to the batter before baking.
Does the cake need to be refrigerated?
Since the frosting contains cream cheese, the finished cake will need to be refrigerated.
However, if you want to prep the cake ahead, you can keep the unfrosted cake by itself for day or two on the counter. I’d recommend keeping it covered to prevent drying out.
Can you freeze the cake?
To freeze this cake, wait until you are ready to serve it and wrap the cake in plastic wrap and freeze. It should last about three months in the freezer.
More of our favorite sheet cake recipes:
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If you like this recipe, please rate it! We’d also love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.
Chocolate Pumpkin Sheet Cake
Equipment
- 9x13" pan
- Mixing bowls
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted sweet cream butter softened
- 1 cup cold water
- ½ cup cocoa powder
- 2 cups sugar
- 2 cups flour
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
- ½ cup sour cream
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
For the Pumpkin Frosting
- ½ cup unsalted butter softened
- ¼ cup whole milk
- 6 cup powdered sugar
- ⅓ cup pumpkin puree
- 4 oz cream cheese softened
- ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- Ground cinnamon to sprinkle on top
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F and coat a 9x13 baking dish with non-stick baking spray.
- Combine the butter, water, and cocoa powder in a large saucepan over medium high heat, stirring until the butter melts.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, eggs, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice, sour cream, and vanilla until combined.
- Slowly pour butter/cocoa mixture into your mixing bowl, whisking as you go.
- Scoop batter into your prepared pan and bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of cake comes out clean.
- Remove from oven and cool before frosting.
For the Frosting
- Using a standing mixer or electric hand mixer, beat together all frosting ingredients until smooth.
- Spread the frosting on top of the cake and sprinkle with cinnamon.
Nutrition
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Allison says
When I mixed the wet ingredients with the dry, I couldn’t get them to combine with any fork, spoon, or whisk! It was crumb soup, so I tossed the batter into the blender for a minute to break up the pieces. Any idea why that happened? Not sure how it’ll turn out after being blended, it’s still in the oven.
Stacey aka the Soccer Mom says
Hmm – did you fully mix the wet ingredients in their own bowl and fully mix dry ingredients in a another and then combine the two? That’s the best way to do it and should work well. A mixer would be fine to use…I’d worry a little about over mixing with a blender…but it should be ok. How did it turn out?