Vintage Spiced Pumpkin Cake

Vintage Spiced Pumpkin Cake is a simple recipe to follow that is big on flavor featuring cinnamon and ground cloves. The addition of raisins gives this pumpkin spice cake a perfect moist texture. Serve with coffee for breakfast or add a cream cheese icing for an easy dessert option.

Vintage Spiced Pumpkin Cake

I found this recipe in our grandma’s wooden recipe box. She clipped it from a newspaper and the clipping stated that it is a recipe from Old-Fashioned Pumpkin Recipes (Bear Wallow Books). The original recipe called for half a can of pumpkin, but I hate having extra pumpkin sitting around. Even though I have good intentions to use it, most often, it goes to waste. So I did what Mom or Grandma would do. I doubled the recipe and turned it into a cake.

Canned pumpkin gives the cake a moist texture, and the addition of raisins compliments the texture with an added sweetness that most pumpkin breads don’t have. The flavor makes it the perfect breakfast paired with coffee or a sweet treat after lunch. This vintage recipe contains a generous amount of cinnamon and ground cloves which gives the cake the perfect spiced flavor.

Ingredient List

• Softened Butter (unsalted butter)
• White Sugar
• Canned Pumpkin Puree
• All Purpose Flour
• Baking Soda
• Ground Cloves
• Cinnamon
• Salt
• Raisins
• Chopped Nuts

How to make pumpkin spice cake from scratch?

Step by Step Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 13 x 9 inch baking dish with cooking spray.
2. In a large bowl, beat together room temperature butter and sugar with an electric mixer; add pumpkin.
3. Sift together dry ingredients; whisk in raisins and nuts.
4. Mix flour mixture into the pumpkin mixture.
5. Pour batter into prepared pan.
6. Bake at 350 degrees F for 55 to 60 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
7. Cool on a wire rack.

For the full recipe for pumpkin spice cake, scroll to the bottom of this post.

Recipe FAQs

• This is a very simple spiced pumpkin cake recipe, and the addition of raisins, nuts and cloves make it extra special.
• You could take this spiced pumpkin cake to the next level by topping with a cream cheese icing, so try our version here.
• I don’t like to only use half a can of pumpkin, but this recipe was originally for a bread that used a half a can of pumpkin. I doubled the recipe (using the entire 15 oz. can), and it turned it into the perfect pumpkin cake.
• Make this recipe as a bread or a cake. Or make it extra pretty by using a Bundt pan.
• Pumpkin is one of our weaknesses here at These Old Cookbooks. Try Pumpkin Chiffon Pie, Pumpkin Crunch Bars, Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Muffins and Frozen Pumpkin Delight for a start. Or try this traditional pumpkin pie recipe.

Recipe Variations

• Swap raisins for chocolate chips!
• Use a pumpkin pie spice blend or interchange your favorite spices including allspice, ground ginger or ground nutmeg.
• Add a cream cheese frosting on top or sprinkle with powdered sugar to fancy it up.
• This batter would make yummy pumpkin cupcakes.

How much pumpkin spice to add to cake mix?

Approximately 1 to 2 tablespoons of pumpkin spices will give you a nice spiced flavor. This includes cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, ginger and cloves, so be sure add together all those amounts to equal to 1 to 2 tablespoons.

This post is sponsored by the Glass Barn, Indiana Soybean and Corn Farmers but all thoughts and opinions are our own.