This fresh pumpkin cake is made with roasted pumpkin and ground almonds, so it eats more like a Bakewell tart than a sponge: dense, moist and soft in the middle, with a cinnamon butter frosting and chopped almonds on top.
I roast the pumpkin in wedges with the skin on, then blend the flesh and leave it to drip, so the cake gets the taste of the pumpkin without the water. Below I explain which pumpkin to buy, how to get the purée right, and how to tell when the middle is baked.
Pin itFresh Pumpkin Cake with Almonds
Butter and brown sugar beaten until pale, five eggs, a cup of roasted pumpkin purée, and a lot more ground almonds than flour. It bakes in a 23 cm (9 inch) springform tin for about an hour, cools completely, and then gets a thick layer of cinnamon butter frosting and toasted chopped almonds. One cake cuts into 12 slices.
Which Pumpkin to Use
- Kabocha. Dense, dry, orange flesh with a nutty taste. It is what I used for this cake, and the one I would buy. Hokkaido (red kuri) is very close and works the same way.
- Butternut squash. Easy to find and works well. It is a little wetter, so give the purée its full time in the sieve.
- Carving pumpkins. The big Halloween ones are watery and stringy and taste of very little, so I would not use them for baking.
- Canned pumpkin purée. I have not made it with canned, so I cannot promise the same cake. More on that in the FAQ below.
A Closer Look at the Ingredients
Nine ingredients, and each one has a job.
- Roasted pumpkin purée 250 g, drained, from about 700 g of raw pumpkin. It gives the cake its colour, its taste and its moist middle. Instead: butternut squash, roasted the same way.
- Butter 190 g, soft. Creamed with the sugar, it gives the cake its rich, close crumb.
- Light brown sugar 190 g. It has a light caramel taste that goes well with pumpkin and cinnamon. Instead: caster sugar, for a paler, plainer cake.
- Eggs Five large ones, at room temperature. With so little flour, the eggs are what hold the cake together.
- Ground almonds 225 g. They are what make it eat like a Bakewell tart, and they keep it moist. Instead: almond flour, which is the same thing.
- Plain flour 75 g. Just enough to give the almonds a bit of structure.
- Baking powder One teaspoon. A small amount on purpose, because this is a dense cake, not a risen sponge.
- Cinnamon A teaspoon in the cake and half a teaspoon in the frosting.
- Chopped almonds 80 g, toasted, for the top. They give crunch against the soft cake.
How to Make Fresh Pumpkin Cake, Step by Step
Full quantities are in the recipe card below. The pumpkin can be roasted a day ahead, which turns this into a much easier bake.
- Roast the pumpkin. Cut about 700 g of pumpkin (I use kabocha) into wedges, scoop out the seeds and leave the skin on. Roast on baking paper at 200C (390F) for 45 to 60 minutes, until a knife slides in easily and the edges have caught.Roasting dries the pumpkin out and browns it, so it tastes of more than boiled pumpkin does.Do not worry about the dark edges: a bit of colour is flavour, just scrape off anything burnt black.
Pin it- Make the purée. Scoop the flesh off the skin, blend or mash it smooth, then tip it into a sieve over a bowl and leave it for 20 minutes. Weigh out 250 g.Do not skip the draining: the water that drips out would otherwise end up in the middle of the cake, and that is how you get a wet, sunken centre.
- Cream the butter and sugar. Heat the oven to 170C (340F), no fan. Line the base of the springform tin and butter the sides. Beat the soft butter and brown sugar for 3 to 4 minutes, until pale and fluffy.The air you beat in here is a big part of what lifts the cake, so give it the full time.
- Add the eggs and pumpkin. Beat in the eggs one at a time. If the mixture starts to look curdled, add a spoonful of the ground almonds and keep going. Then fold in the pumpkin purée.Room temperature eggs: take them out of the fridge an hour before you start.
- Fold in the dry ingredients. Mix the ground almonds, flour, baking powder, cinnamon and a pinch of salt, and fold them in until there are no dry streaks.The batter should be thick and hold its shape on the spatula, like in the photo.Do not overmix: stop as soon as it is even.
Pin it- Bake. Spread the batter into the tin, smooth the top and bake for 60 to 70 minutes, until the top is golden and a skewer in the middle comes out with moist crumbs but no wet batter.If the top browns too fast: cover it loosely with foil after about 40 minutes.Is it done: a cake with this much almond and pumpkin stays moist inside even when it is baked, so look for crumbs on the skewer, not a clean one. Wet batter means it needs longer.
Pin it- Cool, then frost. Leave the cake to cool completely in the tin. Beat 100 g soft butter with 60 g light brown sugar, 60 g icing sugar and half a teaspoon of cinnamon for about 5 minutes, until light and creamy. Spread it thickly over the cold cake and cover with the toasted chopped almonds.Completely cold: on a warm cake the frosting melts and slides off.
Pin it
Pin itRecipe Card for Fresh Pumpkin Cake
Fresh Pumpkin Cake with Almonds and Cinnamon Frosting
A dense, moist pumpkin cake made with roasted fresh pumpkin and ground almonds, so it eats more like a Bakewell tart than a sponge. Topped with a brown sugar and cinnamon butter frosting and toasted chopped almonds.
Equipment I Use
Ingredients
Instructions
Roast the pumpkin wedges, skin on, on baking paper at 200C (390F) for 45 to 60 minutes, until a knife slides in easily.
Scoop the flesh off the skin, blend or mash it smooth, then leave it in a sieve over a bowl for 20 minutes. Weigh out 250 g.
Heat the oven to 170C (340F), no fan. Line the base of a 23 cm (9 inch) springform tin and butter the sides. Beat the butter and brown sugar for 3 to 4 minutes until pale and fluffy.
Beat in the eggs one at a time, adding a spoonful of the ground almonds if it starts to curdle. Fold in the pumpkin purée.
Mix the ground almonds, flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt, and fold them in until there are no dry streaks. The batter should be thick.
Spread the batter into the tin and bake for 60 to 70 minutes, until a skewer in the middle comes out with moist crumbs but no wet batter. Cover loosely with foil after 40 minutes if the top browns too fast.
Cool the cake completely in the tin. Beat the butter, both sugars and the cinnamon for about 5 minutes until creamy, spread it over the cold cake and cover with the toasted almonds.
Chef’s notes
- Drain the purée for the full 20 minutes and weigh it after draining. Extra water ends up as a wet middle.
- The cake is moist inside even when it is baked, so look for moist crumbs on the skewer, not a clean one.
- Cool it completely before frosting. On a warm cake the frosting melts and slides off.
- The pumpkin can be roasted and puréed a day ahead and kept in the fridge.
- Keeps 2 to 3 days in a tin in a cool room, or up to 5 days in the fridge. Unfrosted, it freezes for up to 3 months.
- Contains nuts.
Nutrition per serving
Check out my other Recipes:
Pin itStoring
In a tin in a cool room the cake keeps for 2 to 3 days, and in the fridge for up to 5. Take it out half an hour before serving so the frosting softens. Unfrosted, it freezes for up to 3 months. The roasted purée keeps in the fridge for 3 days, and it freezes well too.
FAQ for Fresh Pumpkin Cake
How do I know the cake is baked in the middle?
Push a skewer into the very middle. It should come out with moist crumbs stuck to it, but no wet batter. The cake is meant to be moist inside, so do not wait for a clean skewer or it will be dry. The top should be golden and spring back when you press it gently. In my oven it takes 60 to 70 minutes at 170C (340F). Then let it cool completely in the tin, because it is fragile while it is warm.
Can I use canned pumpkin purée?
I make it with roasted fresh pumpkin, and I have not baked it with canned, so I cannot promise the same result. Canned purée is wetter and smoother than roasted. If you try it, use the same 250 g and drain it in a sieve first.
Do I really need to drain the purée?
Yes. Fresh pumpkin holds a lot of water, and any that goes into the batter ends up in the middle of the cake as a wet, heavy layer. Twenty minutes in a sieve is enough. Weigh the purée after draining, not before.
Is the frosting very sweet?
Less than most. It is 120 g of sugar to 100 g of butter, where many pumpkin cake frostings use twice that or more. If you want it less sweet, cut the icing sugar down and keep the brown sugar, which carries the caramel taste. Beat it for the full five minutes so the brown sugar is not gritty.
Is this cake gluten free?
No, it has 75 g of plain flour in it. Most of the dry weight is ground almonds, though, so it is a small amount. I have not made it with a gluten free flour, so I cannot tell you how it turns out.
Can I bake it in a different tin?
The recipe is written for a 23 cm (9 inch) springform. A bigger tin gives a thinner cake that bakes faster, and a smaller one a deeper cake that needs longer, so check it early and test the middle the same way.
Should I keep it in the fridge?
In a tin in a cool room it keeps for 2 to 3 days. If your kitchen is warm, keep it in the fridge, where it keeps for up to 5 days, and take it out half an hour before serving so the frosting softens.
Can I freeze it?
Yes, but it is best frozen without the frosting. Wrap the cold cake well, freeze it for up to 3 months, thaw it overnight in the fridge and frost it once it has thawed.
Pin itA Few Words from the Chef
I first made this cake in 2023, and what I remember most is the texture, closer to a Bakewell tart than a sponge, because of all the ground almonds. Roast the pumpkin properly, drain it, and let the cake cool completely before the frosting goes on. If you bake it, tell me in the comments how yours came out.
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