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Pumpkin cake bars are made with a spiced cake and topped with a nutty brown butter frosting. These fall-inspired treats are perfect for Halloween festivities and beyond.

A closeup of a pumpkin cake bar.

Hey there, and welcome back, friends.

You are in for a fall treat!

This post was originally published on October 30, 2015, and has been updated with new photos.

A picture of the pumpkin cake bars sliced.

Pumpkin Cake Bars

To be honest, I only get into pumpkin eating after most of my apples are gone. I figure we have till Thanksgiving to enjoy pumpkin so why rush it? I know I am a minority in that line of thinking.

But these pumpkin cake bars with brown butter frosting started the pumpkin kick in my house again. A simple (and favorite) spiced pumpkin cake recipe is made in a brownie pan and topped with sweet nutty brown butter frosting.

A picture of the pumpkin cake bars sliced.

I cut these into bars and sprinkled them with some fall-inspired colors. These delicious treats are perfect for Halloween festivities and beyond.

Should I really say more to convince you?

I didn’t think so. I am sure I got you at pumpkin anyway. But while I still have you here, I want to tell you about one of my favorite charities, Cookies for Kids.

An image of pumpkin cake bars cut into slices.

Every year, OXO supports Cookies for Kids’ Cancer through their #OXOGoodCookies program where they encourage everyone to bake a difference with OXO for Cookies for Kids’ Cancer. 

Cookies for Kids’ Cancer was founded by two OXOnians (OXO employees) who were inspired by their son Liam’s battle with pediatric cancer; a disease which claims the lives of more children in the US than any other disease.

A slice of pumpkin cake being removed from the cake pan.

Cookies for Kids’ Cancer provides inspiration and support to allow anyone to easily get involved in fundraising to find a cure for pediatric cancer. This year, OXO will donate up to $100,000 to support Cookies for Kids’ Cancer, through their specially marked bakeware (the green sticker in my brownie pan above!). 

An overview of the pumpkin cake with slices being removed.

25 cents for each specially marked product will go towards supporting pediatric cancer research up to our $100,000 commitment.

In addition, as part of their campaign, they will be donating $100 to Cookies for Kids’ Cancer for each blog post dedicated to this campaign in October.

Amazing right?

A pumpkin cake bar with a bite taken out of it.

These pumpkin cake bars are helping a little toward pediatric cancer research (and I am all about organizations that give research as we are struggling to get funds to understand these diseases).

Head out there and buy some green sticker OXO bakeware!!

For more information, follow OXO on social media: Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

Pumpkin Cake Bar Ingredients

Pumpkin cake bar ingredients in bowls.
  • all-purpose flour
  • baking powder
  • baking soda
  • salt
  • ground cinnamon
  • ground ginger
  • ground cloves
  • brown sugar
  • a few eggs
  • vegetable oil
  • pumpkin puree
  • vanilla extract
  • milk
  • unsalted butter
  • powdered sugar
A closeup of a pumpkin cake bar.

How to Make Pumpkin Cake Bars

For Cake:

A large cake pan that has been greased.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour a rectangular 9 x 13-inch pan.

Dry ingredients mixed in a bowl.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves.

Dry ingredients mixed with wet ingredients.
The batter mixed.

In the bowl of your Stand Mixer, beat the brown sugar and eggs until light and fluffy.

Adding vegetable oil to the batter.

Gradually add in vegetable oil and mix until just combined. Beat in pumpkin puree and vanilla extract.

Adding dry ingredients to the batter.
Adding milk to the batter.

Alternate the dry ingredients and milk, in three batches, and beat until combined between each addition.

The batter fully mixed.
A cake pan with cake batter.

Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan.

Bake cake for 20 to 25 minutes, until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean.

Baked pumpkin cake.

Let cake cool in pan completely before frosting.

For frosting:

Frosting in a mixing bowl.

In a large bowl, beat all the ingredients together on low speed until combined. Increase speed to medium and beat until fluffy.

Cooled pumpkin cake with frosting.
Frosted cake with orange and white sprinkles.

Spread frosting over cooled cake and cut into bars.

Pumpkin cake cut into bars.

How to Store Pumpkin Cake Bars

Store pumpkin cake bars in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days or in your fridge for up to 5 days. You can also freeze these bars for up to 3 months. Unthaw the cake bars at room temperature.

Three white plates with pumpkin cake bars and a glass of milk.

More Pumpkin Dessert Recipes

What do you think of this tasty pumpkin bar recipe? What would you serve with these cake bars? Let me know in the comment section below. 

If you share across social media, make sure to tag #aclassictwist, so I can see your beautiful creation come to life!

Happy baking, friends!

A picture of two pumpkin cake bars on top of each other.

Pumpkin Cake Bar Recipe

A closeup of a pumpkin cake bar.
Yield: ~18-20 bars

Pumpkin Cake Bars

Pumpkin cake bars are made with a spiced cake and topped with a nutty brown butter frosting. These fall-inspired treats are perfect for Halloween festivities and beyond.

Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 55 minutes

Ingredients

For Cake:

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
  • 1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
  • 4 large eggs, room temperature
  • 3/4 cup vegetable oil
  • 1 1/2 cups pumpkin puree
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup milk, room temperature
  • For brown butter cinnamon buttercream
  • 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and browned
  • 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 3-4 cups powdered sugar

Instructions

For Cake:

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour a rectangular 9 x 13-inch pan.
  2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves.
  3. In the bowl of your Stand Mixer, beat the brown sugar and eggs until light and fluffy. Gradually add in vegetable oil and mix until just combined. Beat in pumpkin puree and vanilla extract. Alternate the dry ingredients and milk, in three batches, and beat until combined between each addition.
  4. Divide batter equally into prepared pans. Bake cake 20 to 25 minutes, until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Let cake cool in pan completely before frosting.

For frosting:

  1. In a large bowl, beat all the ingredients together on low speed until combined. Increase speed to medium and beat until fluffy.
  2. Spread frosting over cooled cake and cut into bars.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

20

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 471Total Fat: 11gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 8gCholesterol: 42mgSodium: 235mgCarbohydrates: 92gFiber: 1gSugar: 80gProtein: 3g

Making this Recipe?

Share it with us on Instagram using #aclassictwist so we can see what you are baking up in your kitchen!

© A Classic Twist
Cuisine: American / Category: Brownies & Bars
Disclaimer: This is not a sponsored post. I was selected to be part of OXO’s Blogger Outreach program, for which I received a brownie baking set to use to make these pumpkin cake bars. All opinions are 100% mine.