Pumpkin Bars With Cream Cheese Frosting & Candied Pecans
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Wait until you try these pumpkin bars with cream cheese frosting! We have moist pumpkin cake bars made from scratch with pumpkin puree and topped with homemade cream cheese frosting, homemade candied pecans, and cinnamon. Have you ever seen a more perfect fall treat?
Yep, I said it! These easy pumpkin bars with cream cheese frosting are the perfect pumpkin dessert to indulge in this fall. I mean the only way to make a pumpkin cake with cream cheese frosting combination better is to add crushed candied pecans on top.
The pumpkin cake bars are made from scratch, but I promise they don’t take long to make. All you need to do is mix the wet ingredients together, mix the dry ingredients together, and combine the two. What ingredients do you need? Kitchen essentials, like flour, baking powder, baking salt, oil, sugar, salt, and cinnamon. But you also need a can of pumpkin puree for the pumpkin flavor and to ensure the pumpkin cake is extra moist.
Bake the cake on a baking sheet and while it cools, prepare the homemade cream cheese frosting recipe. You only need 4 ingredients for the icing: cream cheese, butter, sugar, and vanilla. Spread the cream cheese frosting over the cooled pumpkin bars and add the finishing touches: crushed candied pecans and cinnamon.
The combination of the soft and tender pumpkin cake bars with the sweet and creamy frosting and candied pecans is just to die for. Plus, did I mention that this pumpkin bar recipe makes 18 to 24 bars, so it’s the perfect fall dessert to feed a crowd? Let’s get baking!
Recipe Ingredients
Cake
- Eggs
- White sugar
- Vegetable oil
- Canned pumpkin puree
- All-purpose flour
- Baking powder
- Ground cinnamon
- Baking soda
- Salt
Cream Cheese Frosting
- Cream cheese, softened (here’s my easy homemade cream cheese recipe)
- Unsalted butter, softened
- Vanilla extract
- Confectioners’ sugar
- Ground cinnamon
How to Make Pumpkin Bars With Cream Cheese Frosting
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a jelly roll pan with parchment paper and grease the paper.
I add some grease to the pan as well so the parchment stays in place.
Beat eggs in a large bowl with a mixer until foamy.
Add sugar, vegetable oil, and pumpkin puree. Beat these ingredients until mixed well (about 1-2 minutes).
Mix flour, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt in a separate bowl.
Combine wet ingredients and dry ingredients into one mixing bowl and beat on low speed until just combined (30 seconds to a minute).
Pour cake batter into the prepared pan with parchment paper and spread it to the edges.
Bake in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes.
Keep an eye on it as ovens vary. It’s done when a toothpick poked into the center comes out clean.
Cool completely.
Cream Cheese Frosting
While the cake layer is cooling, make the frosting: combine cream cheese, butter, and vanilla together in a mixing bowl and beat with a hand mixer until creamy.
Gradually fold in confectioners’ sugar.
Beat cream cheese frosting until smooth.
Spread frosting evenly over the cooled cake layer.
Sprinkle cinnamon and crushed candied pecans over the top.
Cut into 18-24 bars.
Enjoy my delicious spiced pumpkin bars recipe!
Storage
Store pumpkin bars in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Recipe Notes
- Feel free to omit the pecans or use toasted or regular chopped pecans or chopped walnuts instead.
- If you like, use 1 cup of granulated sugar and 1 cup of brown sugar in the cake batter.
- You can also substitute the ground cinnamon in the cake for pumpkin pie spice (or apple pie spice if that’s all you have on hand). To make a homemade pumpkin pie spice, just add 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon of ground nutmeg, and 1/4 teaspoon each of ground ginger and cloves.
- For added texture, you can fold 1/2 cup of chopped walnuts or pecans, 1/2 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips, or 1 cup of golden raisins into the cake batter.
- Make sure both your cream cheese and butter are softened at room temperature before making the frosting.
- You can use any oil in the cake batter, such as avocado, coconut, or canola oil.
- Powdered sugar or confectioners’ sugar both work in the frosting.
- If you want to use a 9×13 pan you can but the cooking time will need to increase and they will be thicker, more like cake.
Check out these other tasty pumpkin recipes:
Easy Pumpkin Pie Recipe From Scratch
Pumpkin Praline Cake With Cream Cheese Icing
Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Icing
Ingredients
Cake
- 4 large eggs
- 2 cups white sugar
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 1 15-ounce can pumpkin puree
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 3/4 tsp salt
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 1 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened
- 1 cup butter, softened
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 cups confectioners' sugar
- 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon or to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a jelly roll pan with parchment paper and grease the paper. I add some grease to the pan as well so the parchment stays in place.
- Beat eggs in a large bowl with a mixer until foamy. Add sugar, vegetable oil, and pumpkin. Beat these ingredients until mixed well (about 1-2 minutes).4 large eggs, 2 cups white sugar, 1 cup vegetable oil, 1 15-ounce can pumpkin puree
- Mix flour, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt in a separate bowl. Add flour mixture into pumpkin mixture and beat on low speed until just combined (30 seconds to a minute).2 cups all-purpose flour, 2 tsp baking powder, 2 tsp ground cinnamon, 1 tsp baking soda, 3/4 tsp salt
- Pour batter into the pan with parchment paper and spread it to the edges. Bake in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes. Keep an eye on it as ovens vary. It’s done when a toothpick poked into the center comes out clean. Cool completely.
- While the cake layer is cooling, make the frosting: combine cream cheese, butter, and vanilla together in a mixing bowl and beat with a hand mixer until creamy. Gradually fold in confectioners' sugar until smooth.1 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened, 1 cup butter, softened, 2 tsp vanilla extract, 2 cups confectioners' sugar
- Spread frosting evenly over the cooled cake layer and sprinkle with cinnamon and crushed candied pecans. Cut into 18-24 bars.1/4 tsp ground cinnamon or to taste
What size Pan is this? Is it a Jelly Roll pan? The instructions call it a baking dish and a pan. It looks like a metal pan and the cake looks too thin to be baked in a 13×9.
Hi Barbara, great question…I used a jelly roll pan for these
You could make them in a 9×13 but would need to check the cooking time as it will increase and they will be thicker more like cake.
Hope that helps