Gluten free pumpkin butter cake is a light, buttery, almost flaky vanilla cake that bakes all along the bottom of the pan and up the sides. And it's filled with the nicest, lightest most lightly sweet pumpkin cheesecake you've ever had.
Other than apple pie and pumpkin pie, I wouldn't say that it's so obvious what to serve for dessert on Thanksgiving. I mean, everyone knows about turkey, gravy, stuffing, green bean casserole, and definitely some lovely dinner rolls, but after that it's not such a slam dunk. First of all, everyone is stuffed from the meal. Even when you have a family like mine that absolutely plans ahead that they're going to overeat on Thanksgiving, there are limits. And of course there's always the matter of what, exactly, to serve.
You definitely want something with pumpkin on the dessert table. It's a must. But pumpkin pie isn't necessarily everyone's favorite (what? it isn't! Is it?). And since a proper apple pie isn't overly sweet at all, it's nice to have a pumpkin dessert option to match. All of this is to say that I believe I've found essentially the perfect pumpkin dessert for Thanksgiving: gluten free pumpkin butter cake.
It's the crust that'll knock your socks off, really. Okay and the pumpkin cheesecake filling doesn't hurt either. It slices nice and clean, but it's still light and fluffy.
As you can see, to get that beautiful sugary crust all around your butter cake, a springform pan really works best. Generally I try to avoid springform pans, but for any sort of cheesecake, it really is best to use one. You could also try baking this in separate pans like our original California Pizza Kitchen-Style Gluten Free Butter Cake (just reduce the baking time), as it's easier to get a small cake cleanly out of a baking ramekin than it would be to get a whole 9-inch cake out of a baking pan without inverting it.
This cake also keeps really beautifully in the refrigerator for up to 2 days, so it's a great make-ahead option for Thanksgiving. I haven't tried freezing it, though, since cheesecake doesn't generally freeze very well. But just look at that velvety pumpkin cheesecake inside the gorgeous butter cake with that amazing sugar crust. This will be the Thanksgiving to remember. I can feel it!
Gluten Free Pumpkin Butter Cake
Ingredients
For prepping the pans
2 tablespoons (28 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/4 cup (50 g) sugar
For the cake layer
1 cup (140 g) all purpose gluten free flour (I used my mock Better Batter)
1/4 cup (36 g) cornstarch (or another starch if you can’t have corn)
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 1/4 cups (250 g) sugar
8 tablespoons (112 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 eggs (120 g, weighed out of shell) at room temperature, beaten
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup (4 fluid ounces) milk, at room temperature
For the cheesecake layer
16 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
7 1/2 ounces (half of a 15-ounce can) pure pumpkin puree
2 eggs (120 g, weighed out of shell), at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3/4 cup (150 g) sugar
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice*
1 tablespoon (9 g) cornstarch (or another starch)
*To make your own pumpkin pie spice, combine 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon + 1 teaspoon ground ginger + 1/2 teaspoon allspice, 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves + 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg.
Instructions
Preheat your oven to 375°F. Prepare a deep, 9-inch springform baking dish by greasing the bottom and sides generously with softened butter and sprinkling with an even layer of sugar. Tap the sugar around the pan to coat the entire buttered surface. Set the pans aside.
Make the cake layer. In a large bowl, place the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, salt and sugar, and whisk to combine well. Create a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add the butter, eggs, vanilla and milk, mixing to combine after each addition. The batter should be thick but relatively fluffy. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and spread it into an even layer. Set the pan aside.
Make the pumpkin cheesecake layer. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or a large bowl with a hand mixer, place the cream cheese and beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy. Add the pumpkin puree, eggs, vanilla, sugar, salt and pumpkin pie spice, beating to combine well after each addition. add the cornstarch, and beat to combine. The mixture should be light and fluffy. Scrape the cheesecake layer on top of the cake batter in the prepared pan, and spread into an even layer.
Bake the cake. Place the pan on a large rimmed baking sheet lined with a piece of parchment paper. Place in the center of the preheated oven and bake until the cake is mostly set on top, with just a little bit of jiggle in the center when shaken lightly from side to side (about 45 minutes). Remove the pan from the oven, place on a wire rack and allow to cool completely in the pan. Unmold the cooled cake by removing the sides of the springform pan. Slice and serve.
Adapted from my recipe for California Pizza Kitchen-Style Gluten Free Butter Cake, itself inspired by Homemade Cravings.
April says
Hi Nicole, I am planning to make the regular butter cake for thanksgiving(I.e nonpumpkin variety). The past recipe you posted seems to be suited for several small cakes, however I want to make a single large. Can I use this recipe and just omit the pumpkin?
Nicole Hunn says
Hi, April, no, you can’t jus leave out the pumpkin! You can never just remove an ingredient from a recipe and get good results. I recommend that you use the CPK-Style Butter Cake recipe, and follow the baking directions from this one. Good luck!
Blogger recipe regrets says
Just hit the 45-minute mark and like a couple of other commenters, have a completely undercooked cake that also looks NOTHING like the photos. Just a brown cake top. No pumpkin visible, whatsover. Thanks for nothing!
Nicole Hunn says
Hi, recipe regrets, I’m sorry you didn’t have a good experience with this cake. I know it can be frustrating when a recipe doesn’t turn out as expected, but this is a very well-tested recipe, and is in fact just a version of another well-tested recipe on the site. If you made any substitutions, I’d always look there first, and I also can’t recommend baking by weight enough. If your flour blend isn’t one I recommend, that can have a significant effect on the end result as well.
Jessy says
Hello again, Nicole! I’m excited to make this recipe with my virgin springform pan. I’m kind of nervous to lose the base of the pan because I will be travelling Would it be possible to line the base with parchment and then butter and sugar-coat the parchment so that I can transfer it to another dish for the trip? Or would this totally mess with the springform seal and how the cake sets up? Thanks again! :)
Moose Malibu says
This cake is delicious. I made it exactly as described last night. But I think my oven is not as warm as it should be. I undercooked it. Next time I’d cook it for at least an additional 10 minutes if not longer. This happens to me quite a bit. Even undercooked a bit it tastes phenomenal!
Nicole Hunn says
Sounds like you know exactly what happened, Moose Malibu. Thanks for your comment, and for keeping things so civil!
GFINNH says
Hello! Love this recipe! I made it today, but the top go very dark, very quickly. Any insight? It is still cooling so I haven’t tasted yet, but am perplexed at how dark the top is. Also, how do you incorporate the butter into the well in the step for the base, as the butter is still in solid form. Can I use a mixer for this step??
Nicole Hunn says
Hello! Love this recipe! I made it today, but the top go very dark, very quickly. Any insight? It is still cooling so I haven’t tasted yet, but am perplexed at how dark the top is. Also, how do you incorporate the butter into the well in the step for the base, as the butter is still in solid form. Can I use a mixer for this step??
gfinnh says
thanks, Nicole, I will give it another try today! My oven thermometer fell over, so I will replace it in the center and give it another try! We devoured it yesterday, and when I cut into it ALL the cake was on the top and the pumpkin on the bottom. It was delicious despite the appearance.
gfinnh says
Hello, tried for a third time. I use my own flour blend, and it must be lighter than yours, so it climbs the sides and then covers the top completely! Any suggestions? Perhaps cut back on the corn starch?
Nicole Hunn says
I’m afraid all flour blends are definitely not created equal. I really recommend you use one of my flour blends if you’d like to try again!
Cc says
If you make it ahead of time, how do you store it?
Cc says
Nevermind, I read above:) One other question, I ran out of gf flour. Can I use Betty Crocker yellow cake mix?
Nicole Hunn says
I’d wait until you have flour, Cc! This is not a recipe designed to be made with a cake mix, no.
Deb says
There is a similar non-GF recipe out there called Goey butter pumpkin cake. It uses a yellow cake mix for the bottom and it is my all time favorite, has spoiled me for never eating plain pumpkin pie again. I plan to try it with the betty Crocker GF yellow cake mix this year :)
Shineun Dehen says
Me too, I was wondering the same thing as Nancy Mclnerney. Just cake batter on bottom (not spreading the batter on to the sides of the spring form pan) and on top goes the pumpkin cheesecake batter as well. And while it is baking the cake layer will go up the sides of the pan? The silly goose that I am…. If so, how does that happen? (Baking Nerd~learning moment= scientifically-science baking
Nicole Hunn says
See below, Shineun!
Shineun Dehen says
lol
Nancy McInerney says
This looks wonderful! Am I reading the recipe correctly about assembling the cake layer? : The cake batter is just a layer on the bottom, the cheesecake is then on top, and somehow the cake layer rises up and makes the crust on the sides?
Nicole Hunn says
Yes, Nancy. The cheesecake layer is heavier and the cake layer has more rise. Trust me. :)
Nancy McInerney says
Thank you! :)
Donia Robinson says
I trust you, Nicole, but how does it do it??? How does it know how to crawl up the sides?? It’s mind boggling to me! I’m good with the pudding cakes; makes total sense. But this is magic, I think.
Celia says
I am gf and dairy free. This looks so yummy. Do you think it could be made dairy free as well with maybe a dairy free cream cheese alternative? And would coconut milk or almond milk work? Thanks so much!
Donia Robinson says
I’d say take the plunge and go for it. Or, if you can have nuts, look on the web for pumpkin “cheesecakes” made with raw cashew cream. I have made a few different recipes, and they are delicious!
Celia says
Thanks, Donia. I like the cashew cream idea. :)
Diane Stemple Swearingen says
Is canned pumpkin difference from pumpkin puree?
Nicole Hunn says
Same thing, Diane. You just want to be sure it’s pure pumpkin, not pumpkin pie filling (with added ingredients).
Diane Stemple Swearingen says
Thanks…I thought so, but wanted to be sure. This is definitely going on the dessert table this year! :)
Jennifer S. says
This looks freakin’ awesome and I love pumpkin in all shapes and forms. I always make pumpkin pie and pecan pie for thanksgiving. This year, my MIL has decided to do some wacky pumpkin thing in muffin cups (whatevs) but I’m doing a pecan pie to keep the masses happy and of course it will be with a GF crust. My kindergartener has a thanksgiving feast next week and they are serving pumpkin pie (why do they have to have so much food at school?) so I will whip us up a GF pumpkin pie so I can send a piece with him to school…. ONE PIECE and then I guess I’ll be eating the rest – good thing I like pumpkin pie! :)
Nicole Hunn says
Oh all the food at school drives me crazy, Jennifer!! I know all about making a whole cake just to be able to send your kid with a piece. Wish we could have a co-op for that sort of thing. If only we lived closer to one another. ;)
Donia Robinson says
I’m in!
Hollie says
This looks amazing. And like even the non-GFers would enjoy it.
Im going to attempt it with my larger springform for Thanksgiving. Hopefully it works!
Lucy says
This cake looks amazing! We are to bring a GF pie or dessert for Christmas dinner. I may have to bake a pie and a dessert :)