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    Home

    Pumpkin Mini Cakes: 3 Ways

    November 18, 2020 by Style Sweet 8 Comments

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    Jump to Recipe - Print Recipe

    Chocolaty, nutty, streusel, or swirled - why choose one when you can have them all? The base recipe makes three different Pumpkin Mini Cakes. Fold in your favorite add-in and top them with crumbles, crunchies, or caramel sauce!

    Pumpkin mini cakes with three different toppings

    Why You Will Love These Pumpkin Mini Cakes

    Moist, comforting, festive, and perfect morning, noon, and night - a really great pumpkin loaf is hard to beat. You will love a slice with coffee in the morning or slathered in cream cheesing icing after the kids have gone to bed.

    It’s the perfect snacking cake for sneaking sliver after sliver until only the crumbs are left.

    This recipe is great for curing all different types of cravings. My kids will always pick chocolate chip while I love streusel on just about everything.

    Some things just aren’t meant to be shared. So go ahead - dive into your own personal mini cake!

    This post was created in collaboration with Silpat. Recipes, words, and opinions are my own.

    A mini pumpkin cake with caramel cream cheese swirl on top

    What I love about baking a great pumpkin cake in mini loaf pans is that instead of having to share a large loaf, everyone gets their own.

    Who doesn’t love their own personalized little cake? Using my Silpat Mini Loaf Mold makes the whole process such a breeze too - no need to grease or flour all the little pans and they pop out so easily!

    Edible Gifts

    Want to know what makes mini loaf cakes even better? They are perfect for gifting!

    With options for different add-ins and toppings that all utilize the same batter, you can customize these mini cakes according to each person’s taste.

    Wrap ‘em up this season to give to your neighbors, nurses, and community members.

    Pumpkin mini cake batter in their mini loaf pan before baking

    Ingredients in Pumpkin Mini Cakes

    This stir-together recipes comes together easily with mostly pantry ingredients (assuming you stock pumpkin in your home all season long, like I do).

    Spices: Warm spices boost the festive spirit of pumpkin in fall baking. I love to blend my own using cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg. You can also use pumpkin pie spice that is already mixed for you.

    Sugars: Both white and brown sugar add sweetness and help tenderize these little loaves. Brown sugar gives them more depth in flavor.

    Flour: All-purpose flour is the way to go in a simple, moist pumpkin loaf.

    Eggs: An additional egg yolk adds richness without weighing the cake down while the full egg unlocks proteins for building structure.

    Pumpkin: Of course we need pumpkin in our pumpkin mini loaf cakes! Use canned (see below) or puree your own!

    Butter: Melted butter works the same way as oil in this stir-together recipe but with all the added flavor.

    Milk: Use whole milk, when possible, to bring the batter together. Thinned sour cream or even plain Greek yogurt could work too.

    Optional Add-ins: Chocolate chips, toasted pecans/walnuts or chopped hazelnuts.

    Three different pumpkin mini cakes on a marble serving board

    Customize It!

    What I love about using my Silpat Mini Loaf Pan is that I can use the same batter as a standard loaf cake but split it into different flavors.

    Can’t decide between wholesome nuts or decadent chocolate? Love cream cheese icing but also the oaty, sugar bits in a crumb topping? Now you can make them all!

    Mini pumpkin loaves with different toppings

    Let’s break it down into two parts: the add-ins and the toppings. Add-ins are the bits of goodness that are folded into the finished batter.

    I am always down for added chocolate chips, but these may also include toasted nuts and seeds as well. Dried fruit are examples of an add-in, but probably not for this recipe.

    Toppings may be added before or after baking. For a crunchy, sugary crumble top, cover the top of raw batter in streusel. You can even mix and match here - like pecans in the batter and a oaty streusel topping, yum!

    For further customizations, let’s look a icing and glazes. These are easily prepared while the cakes bake and are drizzled or frosted onto the cooled cakes. I took it a step further and swirled some caramel sauce on top of the cream cheese icing.

    A close up of the different toppings on these pumpkin mini cakes

    How to Make Pumpkin Mini Cakes

    The base recipe comes together in just two bowls. Since we use melted butter, there is no need to cream it together with the sugar. To make the different flavors, divide the finished batter into three bowls and gently fold in the chocolate chips and nuts.

    1. Whisk together the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl.
    2. Stir together the melted butter, eggs, milk, and pumpkin in a separate bowl.
    3. Combine the wet and dry ingredients together and mix until smooth.
    4. Divide the batter into three different bowls. Use a kitchen scale, if you’d like.
    5. With a rubber spatula, gently fold in the chocolate chips and nuts into two of the bowls.
    6. Make the streusel.
    7. Fill the Mini Loaf Mold with the different batters, about ¾ of the way full. Cover the plain cakes with streusel.
    8. Bake!
    9. Meanwhile, prepare the icing and glaze.
    10. Frost and serve!

    Recipe FAQ

    Can I Freeze Pumpkin Mini Cakes?

    Yes. Freeze baked, cooled, and unfrosted cakes. Wrap them well in plastic then another layer of foil or pop them in a zip-top bag for up to 3 months. Thaw I the refrigerator.

    Can I Use Pumpkin Pie Filling?

    No. Pumpkin pie filling already has sugar and spices added to it.

    What Other Pan Can I Use?

    You can bake this batter in muffin tins, filled ¾ of the way full. Reduce the baking time to 20 to 22 minutes.

    Top Tip

    Because it is such a small amount, it is best to make the cream cheese frosting with a hand mixer instead of a stand mixer (a wooden spoon also works!). Mix together the butter and cream cheese until smooth. Add the sugar and mix on low to combine. Add the milk and mix on medium-low until fluffy.

    Serving and Storage

    Serve the mini cakes at room temperature. The ones with cream cheese frosting should be served within about 30 minutes of adding the icing.

    Store unfrosted mini cakes in an air-tight container or zip-top bag at room temperature for up to 2 days.

    Pumpkin Coffee Cream Cheese Cake

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    More Pumpkin Recipes to Make

    Pumpkin Cake with Coffee Cream Cheese Frosting

    S'mores Pumpkin Pie 

    Pumpkin S'mores Cupcakes

    Ice Cream Sandwiches with Pumpkin Snickerdoodles

    Easy Pumpkin Chiffon Pie

    Pumpkin Cake with Maple Cream Cheese

    Please leave a star review if you loved this recipe! Make sure to share your recipes and tag me on Instagram @stylesweetdaily. 

    Recipe

    Print Recipe
    5 from 3 votes

    Pumpkin Mini Cakes

    Chocolaty, nutty, streusel, or swirled - why choose one when you can have them all? The base recipe makes three different Pumpkin Mini Cakes.
    Prep Time20 minutes mins
    Cook Time25 minutes mins
    Total Time1 hour hr 15 minutes mins
    Course: Dessert
    Cuisine: American
    Keyword: autumn, fall, holidays, mini cakes, pumpkin, pumpkin cake, thanksgiving
    Servings: 9

    Ingredients

    Pumpkin Mini Loaf Cakes

    • 1 ½ cup all-purpose flour
    • ⅔ cup granulated white sugar
    • ½ cup brown sugar
    • 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
    • ¼ teaspoon baking soda
    • ¼ teaspoon salt
    • 1 ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
    • ½ teaspoon ground ginger
    • ⅛ teaspoon grated nutmeg
    • 1 cup pumpkin puree
    • ½ cup unsalted butter
    • 3 tablespoon milk
    • 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
    • 1 large egg
    • 1 egg yolk
    • ⅓ cup chocolate chips
    • ⅓ cup chopped pecans

    Streusel

    • ¼ cup rolled oats
    • 2 tablespoon all-purpose flour
    • 2 tablespoon brown sugar
    • ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
    • 1 pinch salt
    • 2 tablespoon unsalted butter diced and cold

    Vanilla Glaze

    • 1 cup confectioners' sugar
    • 1 to 2 tablespoon milk
    • ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract

    Cream Cheese Icing

    • 3 tablespoon unsalted butter softened
    • 3 tablespoon cream cheese softened
    • 1 ½ cup confectioners' sugar
    • 2 teaspoon milk
    • caramel sauce optional

    Instructions

    Pumpkin Mini Loaf Cakes

    • Preheat the oven to 350°F. Place mini loaf pan on top of a baking sheet and set aside.
    • In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, granulated sugar, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg.
    • In a separate bowl, stir together the pumpkin puree, melted butter, milk, and vanilla until smooth. Add the egg and egg yolk and mix until combined.
    • Add the wet mixture into the dry mixture and stir until combined with a large rubber spatula.
    • Evenly divide the batter into three bowls (use a kitchen scale for accuracy). To two of the bowls, fold in the chocolate chips and pecans until evenly distributed.
    • In a small bowl, mix together the oats, flour, brown sugar, salt, and cinnamon for the streusel. Add the cold butter and cut it into the butter with your fingertips or the tines of a fork until the mixture resembles shaggy clumps.
    • Fill mini loaf pans with the batter - 3 plain, 3 chocolate chip, and 3 pecan. Fill the pans about ¾ of the way full and smooth out the tops with a spatula or the back of a spoon. Top the plain batter with the streusel topping until completely covered.
    • Bake for 23 to 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cakes comes out clean. Allow the mini cakes to cool in the Silpat mold for about 20 minutes before removing the cakes. Cool completely before frosting.
    • Before serving, make the vanilla glaze and cream cheese frosting. For the glaze, whisk everything together in a small bowl until smooth. Add more milk as needed. The glaze should be thick enough to cling to the streusel topping but thin enough to be drizzled off a spoon.
    • Because it is such a small amount, it is best to make the cream cheese frosting with a hand mixer instead of a stand mixer (a wooden spoon also works!). Mix together the butter and cream cheese until smooth. Add the sugar and mix on low to combine. Add the milk and mix on medium-low until fluffy.
    • Frost the pecan cakes with the cream cheese frosting. If using, drizzle on the caramel sauce then gently swirl together with the back of a spoon.
    « Ice Cream Sandwiches with Pumpkin Snickerdoodles
    3 Festive Pumpkin Pie Decorations »

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Therese Lopez

      August 23, 2022 at 2:43 pm

      They look amazing!! Can’t wait to try them.

      Reply
    2. Ellie Borkowski

      October 12, 2022 at 3:26 am

      5 stars
      These are such a good idea and simple! My guests loved having different options to choose from.

      Reply
    3. Renee

      October 12, 2022 at 3:40 am

      5 stars
      The streusel was my fav! all combos were delicious

      Reply
    4. paige

      October 12, 2022 at 4:15 am

      5 stars
      omg this was so fun and so many tasty options

      Reply

    Trackbacks

    1. Small-Batch Pumpkin Cake - Style Sweet says:
      September 24, 2022 at 3:01 am

      […] Pumpkin Mini Cakes […]

      Reply
    2. Pumpkin S'mores Cupcakes - Style Sweet says:
      October 7, 2022 at 6:41 pm

      […] Pumpkin Mini Cakes […]

      Reply
    3. Pumpkin Cake Recipe with Maple Frosting - Style Sweet says:
      October 14, 2022 at 3:30 am

      […] Pumpkin Mini Cakes […]

      Reply
    4. Top 10+ Mini Loaves Of Pumpkin Bread says:
      October 27, 2022 at 11:01 pm

      […] Source: 🔗 […]

      Reply

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    Tessa Huff

    Hi, I'm Tessa Huff! I am the cookbook author of Layered and Icing on the Cake. I bake, develop recipes, and photograph food from my home studio in North Vancouver, BC.

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