Spiced Pumpkin Yogurt Cake With Mascarpone Cream Cheese Frosting

Pumpkin yogurt cake subtly spiced with nutmeg and cinnamon, baked to perfection, and slathered in a decadent mascarpone cream cheese frosting. The perfect cake recipe for Fall using fresh and seasonal Fall ingredients! I'm on a pumpkin recipe roll at the moment and this is the latest dish to come out of the kitchen (and it might be my favorite).

Pumpkin puree is great for baking as it gives both moisture and sweetness, two essential elements. This means we can use slightly less sugar and fewer eggs, plus it has nutritional benefits being high in vitamins A, C, and E, and is also a great source of beta-carotene.

Why bake cakes with yogurt?

Yogurt is a real superhero ingredient for me. It adds moisture, creaminess, and vital acidity but doesn't make things rich or overly fattening. I often use yogurt in cakes, or in the place of heavy cream to thicken dishes like curries.

Ingredients

Here are the ingredients you will need to bake this spiced pumpkin yogurt cake.

1. Pumpkin puree: You can use canned pumpkin puree, but make sure you buy pumpkin puree with no added ingredients like spices or sugar.
2. Yogurt: Full-fat plain yogurt or Greek yogurt works for this recipe. Do not use low-fat yogurt.
3. Butter: Buy good quality butter with high-fat content.
4. Brown sugar/golden caster sugar: Using brown sugar in this yogurt pumpkin cake gives it rich and caramel undertones.
5. Eggs: Always use room temperature eggs in baking.
6. Self-raising flour: In the US and some other countries, self-raising flour (or self-rising flour) is not as readily available. Here is a handy website with the differences between US and UK baking that shows how you can make substitutions.
7. Baking powder/Baking soda: This helps to give our moist pumpkin loaf cake lift.
8. Ground cinnamon: Cinnamon adds a fragrant and earthy spice to this pumpkin yogurt cake.
9. Ground nutmeg: Nutmeg is such a delicious Fall spice that adds to the pumpkin pie spice flavor in this delicious yogurt pumpkin loaf cake.

Mascarpone cream cheese frosting

1. Mascarpone cheese: Mascarpone is a soft Italian cheese with mild acidity and a slightly sweet flavor. Its smooth texture makes it ideal for cake frosting.
2. Cream cheese: Cream cheese like Philadelphia is rich and tangy and works in both sweet and savory recipes. It makes incredibly decadent frosting!
3. Icing sugar/powdered sugar: We use a touch of extra sugar in this cream cheese pumpkin cake frosting, but not too much as the tanginess is what makes it so special against the moist pumpkin sponge.

Notes on ingredients

• Always buy pumpkin puree with no additives - just pure pumpkin!
• I use unsalted butter in all my recipes so I can always control the quality and quantity of salt.
• I always recommend buying organic cream cheese as the water content is lower and you achieve a thicker, creamier frosting.

See the recipe card for quantities.

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius/360 degrees Fahrenheit.

Mix the pumpkin puree and yogurt together and set aside. 

In a bowl or stand mixer, whisk the sugar and butter together until it is creamy and smooth. 

Slowly add the eggs, and then stir in the pumpkin puree and yogurt mixture. 

Combine the flour, cinnamon, and baking powder/soda together in a separate bowl, and then fold into the bowl of wet pumpkin yogurt cake batter. 

Pour the batter into the greased loaf tin, smooth it down and into the edges with a spatula and bake in the oven for 45 minutes. Remove to a cooling rack.

Mascarpone cream cheese frosting

Mix the mascarpone and cream cheese together until fully combined. 

Sift the icing sugar into the mascarpone cream cheese frosting and stir it through with a spatula until silky smooth. 

Slather the frosting all over the spiced pumped yogurt cake, dust with extra cinnamon, and serve.

Hint: You can mix this pumpkin loaf cake batter by hand, the only tricky part is getting the butter and sugar creamed together properly. It is best to get the butter very soft if doing it by hand and using a spatula.

What to drink?

I love this pumpkin yogurt cake with a hot cup of coffee at tea time, but if serving it as a dessert how about an espresso martini?

Variations

Here are a few ways you can adapt this spiced pumpkin yogurt cake to suit you.

• Nuts - add some chopped walnuts or pecans to the mascarpone cream cheese frosting to add some more texture and crunch.
• Citrus - add a tablespoon of orange zest to the pumpkin yogurt cake batter to give more of a citrus tang.
• Dairy-free - use oat yogurt in the pumpkin cake mix and cashew cream cheese (or even cashew ricotta) for the topping.
• Lighter - leave off the mascarpone cream cheese frosting for a lighter cake.

Love pumpkin recipes? Try these spiced pumpkin cheesecake macarons or my favorite pumpkin Nutella puff pastry croissants.

Equipment

• Mixing bowls
• An electric whisk or stand mixer (I am obsessed with the new KitchenAid Blossom)
• A 2lb loaf tin (900 gram)

Storage

Store any leftover spiced pumpkin yogurt cake in the fridge and consume it within 4-5 days.

You can freeze this Greek yogurt cake but do so before adding the frosting. Wrap it in cling film and then foil, and consume within one month. Defrost thoroughly, add your frosting and serve!

FAQ