Pumpkin Spice Latte Cake

The PSL we can all rally behind.

Hey Bakers!

Unpopular opinion: I do not like pumpkin in my coffee. But coffee in my pumpkin desserts? Yes, please!

Consider this your 2023 Pumpkin Cake Recipe. At some point we will exhaust ourselves of new ways to bake a pumpkin cake. Thankfully, we aren’t there yet! And this one - she’s a keeper.

Over the years, my homemade pantry has grown. Whether out of convenience, frugality, or nutritional reasons, I have a short list of things I’ll always make from scratch. Topping this chart is salad dressing, pie dough, granola, and coffee syrups. But while I was making my own pumpkin syrup this season, I had to question: 

Is putting pumpkin puree in coffee even a good idea? Does anyone really like pumpkin in coffee or are we just here for the fall feels? Is there a better way to get our cozy on this season?  

Yes, and the answer is this Pumpkin Latte Marble Cake. It is all vibes and full of good pumpkin flavor with a spiced coffee swirl.

All-in-all, it’s a dang good cake. A solid addition to your autumn baking repertoire. One that will still illicit ooh’s and ahh’s when sliced to reveal the two-tone swirls. It’s cute. It’s doable. And I guarantee it tastes better than any after-thought, coffee shop muffin. As perfect for celebrating as it is an afternoon snacking. 

And if you now asked me while eating a slice out of hand, hovering over my sink, if I think pumpkin and coffee go well together, my obvious answer would be yes, even for us non PSL enthusiasts.

Bake Club+ : Salted Brown Butter Pumpkin Cake

What I love about this recipe is that the marble cake is made from one batter. In fact, I would likely pass on any recipe that asks me to make two different batters at the same time. That being said, be cautious about over-mixing. 

We start with a pumpkin spice cake batter base. This stir-together recipe combines all of the wet and dry ingredients separately, then they are folded together until just combined. From there, a third of the batter is removed and turned into the pumpkin latte part.

Over-mixing cake batter may result in a dense cake. However, stirring the coffee and cocoa slurry into this smaller portion of the batter isn’t enough to toughen the whole recipe, leaving us with a moist and tender marble cake.