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    Home » Best Thanksgiving Dessert

    Brown Butter Pumpkin Layer Cake

    by Mary Neumann · 9 Comments

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    If you are looking for a special dessert this Thanksgiving and holiday season, look no further! This tried and true, Brown Butter Pumpkin Layer Cake, by Jeanne Kelly, featured in Fine Cooking magazine (Issue 107), is simply amazing. This is the BEST cake for Fall and Thanksgiving!

    This is not a sponsored post –  I have no affiliation with Fine Cooking or Jeanne Kelly – I’m just a fan of this amazing recipe!

    Read rave reviews from people who tried this recipe on Pinetrest!

    Another review – someone loved this cake so much, they made a 3 tier wedding cake with the recipe!

     

     

    While visiting my sister in Alaska, this is one of the many things we baked during my trip. This cake takes a little work, but is so worth the effort. My sister has made this many times, and it always gets rave reviews from family and friends.
    This cake is featured on FineCooking.com and has over 100 reviews with a 5 star rating.

     

    This is a slice of sweet autumn on a plate.  It’s perfect. Such a pretty dessert, too.

     

    Pinnable Image

    The BEST Pumpkin Layer Cake - Tried and True by Sweet Little Bluebird

    PLEASE NOTE: This is not a sponsored post, I have no affiliation with Fine Cooking or Jeanne Kelly – I’m just a fan of this amazing recipe! When I share a tried & true recipe, I always credit the source and will often send you to the site for the directions. All you need to do is click on “Print Recipe” below, and it will take you to the full recipe. One extra step for an awesome recipe, that’s it! It’s important to me to share the love and send you to the original source.

    UPDATE  9/14/2023 – Since sharing this tried and true cake back in Oct 2015, Fine Cooking site was updated and no longer has the cake. You can print the recipe over at Deanna’s Daughter.

     

    Brown Butter Pumpkin Layer Cake

    Jeanne Kelley from Fine Cooking, Issue 107
    Print Recipe
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    Ingredients

     

    For the Cake 
    • 6 oz. (3/4 cup) unsalted butter; more for the pans
    • 9 oz. (2 cups) unbleached all­-purpose flour; more for the pans
    • 1 ­1/2 teaspoon baking soda
    • 1­ 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
    • 1 teaspoon ground ginger
    • 3/4 teaspoon table salt
    • 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
    • 1 ­1/2 cups granulated sugar
    • 2/3 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
    • 2 large eggs
    • 1/3 cup buttermilk
    • *1 1/2 cups pumpkin purée

    *Included with this recipe is how to make pumpkin purée for the cake. We opted to use canned.



    For the Topping
    • 1­ 1/2 Tablespoons unsalted butter
    • 2/3 cup pecans
    • 1/2 cup unsalted, raw, hulled pepitas
    • 2 Tablespoons, firmly packed light brown sugar
    • 1/4 teaspoon table salt
    • 1­ 1/2 Tablespoon chopped crystallized ginger


    For the Frosting
    • 4 oz. (1/2 cup) unsalted butter
    • 8 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature
    • 1/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
    • 5 oz. (1­ 1/4 cups) confectioners’ sugar


    Directions

    For the directions for this wonderful cake recipe, please head to Deanna’s Daughter.

     

    Thanks so much for stopping by!
    Cheers!

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. susan

      September 23, 2020 at 7:30 pm

      So I have gone to where it says to get directions and can not find anything about the cake!

      Reply
      • Mary Neumann

        September 24, 2020 at 1:06 pm

        Hi Susan, Thanks so much for letting me know – you are right, it’s not showing up on their website. Please head here to print the recipe, there are a few sites that have the original recipe: https://deannasdaughter.com/?p=6842

        Reply
      • Mary Neumann

        September 14, 2023 at 10:15 am

        You can print the recipe here: https://deannasdaughter.com/?p=6842

        Reply
    2. C Connell

      December 23, 2019 at 12:40 am

      We made this for my daughter’s tenth
      birthday with fresh made pumpkin puree. It was delicious. We changed the decorative topping because of time (there’s a lot of steps and we ran out of time.) Will make again.

      Reply
    3. Sue Richardson

      August 08, 2018 at 3:17 pm

      Do you have a recipe for a graham cracker cake?

      Reply
    4. Elana Brown

      July 26, 2018 at 4:49 pm

      Could I use sweet potato instead??? Not a fan of pumpkin.

      Reply
    5. Anonymous

      October 01, 2017 at 8:14 pm

      I'm going to make this cake, it looks so good. I'm in the fall mood and this will compltet the mood, only problem is….I can't make it fast enough to meet the hunger I'm feeling.

      Reply
    6. Jens C. Kruse

      February 13, 2017 at 5:53 am

      Thank you

      Reply
    7. Marsha Baker

      November 18, 2016 at 1:06 pm

      Absolutely beautiful! And no doubt, it tastes as good as it looks. Yehaw!

      Reply

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    Hi, I’m Mary, the face behind the food blog Sweet Little Bluebird. I am a Michigan girl, born and raised in Flint, and currently living outside of Atlanta, Georgia. I am married to a great guy from Northern California, together we have two sweet girls.

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