CHEESECAKE PUMPKIN CAKE RECIPE
If you're a regular reader of this blog then you know that I normally send away all the sweets and desserts I make for the blog with my husband to work. There are plenty of workers coming in and out of his office all day so ends up always bringing back empty pans of desserts. Which makes me very, very happy.
I have admitted before that I lack any type of self-control around sugar cookie bars and pumpkin desserts. This cheesecake swirl pumpkin cake tested me badly, haha 🙂 I'll be honest and say that I did not let this one go with my husband to work. Nope! This delicious pumpkin cake stayed at the house. It lasted in the fridge for about a week before it was finally gone. It is so delicious!
Just like with anything pumpkin it seriously gets better and better the longer it's in the fridge. Which makes it the perfect dessert to make for Thanksgiving or dinner guests. You can make it the night before and then it will be ready to go when you need it.
As I mentioned, this cake sat in our fridge for at least 6 days and it was still just as good (if not better) on the 6th day. I would definitely suggest making this the night before you need it for the best taste.
Yes, you can make it and eat it warm or put it in the fridge for a few hours if you want it cold, and it would still be yummy. But if you really want to take it over the top, let it refrigerate overnight and then serve it cold straight from the fridge. Trust me. You'll be amazed!
It's a simple, homemade pumpkin cake and then you dollop a sweet cheesecake filling and swirl the two together. It creates this delicious combo of pumpkin cake + cheesecake in one bite.
Top it off with some whipped cream and chopped pecans. I totally went the easy route and used the spray can of whipped cream. You can also whip your own heavy cream (be sure and add some powdered sugar for sweetness) or you could even use some Cool Whip.
Tips for making Cheesecake Pumpkin Cake
This cake is so good eaten cold from the fridge. But you can also eat it after baking once it's cooled to room temperature. Because of the cheesecake swirl in the cake it does have to be refrigerated. Once you cool it to room temperature, cover it with plastic wrap and store it in the fridge for a few hours. We actually preferred this after it had refrigerated overnight.
To make the swirl you will add half the pumpkin cake mixture into the baking dish, then the cheesecake mixture, and then top it with the remaining pumpkin cake. With a knife swirl the two batters together until you see some cheesecake swirls on top. Be careful not to swirl too much or else you won't end up with pretty swirls of cheesecake.
I have only ever used full-fat cream cheese in this recipe because I think it's the best to use when baking. But if you prefer the ⅓ less fat then I am sure that would work fine too.
Try these other pumpkin recipes
- Pumpkin Cheesecake Whoopie Pies
- {no bake} Marshmallow Pumpkin Pie
- Cinnamon Streusel Pumpkin Cake
- Pumpkin Cheesecake Muffins
Cheesecake Swirl Pumpkin Cake
Ingredients
Pumpkin Cake
- 6 tablespoons butter, softened
- 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 can (15 oz) pure pumpkin
- ¼ cup whole milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Cheesecake Swirl
- 1 bar (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9x13-inch baking pan with cooking spray. Set aside.
Make the Pumpkin Cake
- In a large bowl with a handheld blender, or bowl of a stand mixer, beat together the butter and sugar until fluffy. About 1-2 minutes.
- Add eggs, pumpkin, milk and vanilla. Blend to combine.
- In a separate medium bowl, combine flour, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Stir with a wire whisk to break up any clumps.
- Add the dry ingredients into the pumpkin mixture and beat on low speed just until combined.
Make the Cheesecake Swirl
- In a medium bowl, using an electric mixer, beat cream cheese until smooth. Add the egg, sugar and vanilla. Beat together until smooth and combined.
Prepare for Baking
- Pour ⅔ of the pumpkin cake batter into the prepared baking dish.
- Spread cream cheese filling evenly over pumpkin batter in pan. Spoon the remaining pumpkin batter over cream cheese layer and smooth out in an even layer.** It won't be super easy to spread it, so you could also dollop spoonful's of the cheesecake mixture all over the pumpkin cake batter.
- Using a knife, trace the pan in a swirl motion to marble the cream cheese and pumpkin layers together. Be sure not to over swirl. If you want to clearly see the layers, just gently swirl the batters together.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
- Let cake cool completely before serving. Or make the night before and refrigerate until needed. We prefer this cake after it's been in the fridge for at least a few hours, preferably overnight.
- Garnish with whipped cream and chopped pecans, if wanted.
Notes
Nutrition
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I made this for my sisters birthday, she had requested some aimilar recipe but I went with this versikn. It was absolutely delicious!!!! Moist, flavorful, not overly sweet! Perfect balance between pumpkin cake and cheesecake. I just slathered the entire sheet cake with stabilized whipped cream instead! So good!!
This is so great to hear! I'm loving your idea of slathering the whole thing in whipped cream 🙂 yum! Thanks so much for coming back and leaving your comment.
Anyone who has made this: did you feel like it needed a cream cheese icing of some sort or did you feel like it was flavorful enough with just the whipped cream/cool whip?
Hey Lauren. I’ve made this several times with just the whipped cream on top and it’s so light & fluffy, and super moist. You could always try the cream cheese frosting but I worry it would be too sweet & heavy for the cake. But it would work just fine if that’s what you choose to do. And honestly, you could get away with not putting anything on top of it too.
My 7 yo granddaughter and I made this cake today. It’s wonderful, and a great alternative to pumpkin pie. I wish there were more cheesecake swirls, so I’m thinking of doubling that part of the recipe. I have no idea what will happen, except I’m guessing I’ll need to bake the cake a little longer. What do you think?
I've never tried doubling the cheesecake mixture, but I'm sure it would work just fine. I only worry that a double cheesecake will be too heavy for the cake?? So it may just all sink to the bottom. But again, I've never tried it so I could be wrong. That's so awesome your granddaughter made this. Good for her 🙂
This recipe was amazing, I didn't get to use a whole block of cream cheese, I used about 3/4th of a whole block and it still came out very good. I also didn't have the pumpkin pie spice, so I adjusted by adding like 1/8tsp of ginger paste to the pumpkin puree, 2 tsp of cinnamon, grounded up 2 cloves and one leaf of a star anise. Thank you for this recipe, even though I had to adjust for the things I didn't have, it came just the right texture and the taste was heavenly.