While I love most sweets and treats, I think my favorite dessert is one that combines a few elements. I like to start with a base such as a cake, brownie or cookie, sometimes served warm, topped with ice cream and finished off with a glaze or topping. It creates a combination full of flavors and textures that are hard to beat. I used all those elements when I made this Pumpkin Snack Cake With Maple Cream Cheese Glaze.
This cake is very simple to make, and the flavors are fabulous, especially for fall. You can certainly enjoy the cake alone, but I think it really shines when topped with ice cream and the delicious maple cream cheese glaze. If you’ve never had a warm cream cheese based glaze or topping on a dessert, do yourself a favor, try it! I think this dessert might be my husband’s favorite so far this year!
I’ve recently partnered up with Safeway to share a few of my favorite recipes, as part of their Summer of Savings Sweepstakes, where you can enter to win a $100 store gift card daily, winners are chosen five times a day! The Safeway chain also includes VONS, Randalls, Tom Thumb, Pavilions and CARRS Safeway. Safeway is our go to grocery store. We’ve been shopping there for so many years that I think my husband (who is fabulous at making late night grocery runs for his food blogger wife!) is on a first name basis with the store manager. It’s nice that even in a big city, you can still have that personal feeling at your grocery store.
This snack cake is a bit of a mix between blondie and a cake in it’s texture and appearance. You could frost it like a cake with a cream cheese frosting, leave it plain, like a brownie, or enjoy it with ice cream and the maple cream cheese glaze made with PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese. I love a dessert like this that can be simple and versatile, yet also impressive and decadent. With our youngest daughter four, with a very early bedtime since giving up naps, we don’t get to go out for dinner very often. It’s nice to sometimes make a dessert like this to make dinner and dessert something special, we can all enjoy together.
PUMPKIN SNACK CAKE WITH
MAPLE CREAM CHEESE FROSTING
Pumpkin Snack Cake
Ingredients
Cake
- • 2 cups all purpose flour
- • 1 tsp cinnamon
- • 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
- • 1 tsp baking soda
- • 1/2 tsp salt
- • 1 cup butter softened but not melted (room temp is great)
- • 1 cup sugar
- • 1/4 cup brown sugar
- • 1 egg
- • 1 cup canned pumpkin
- • 2 tsp vanilla extract
- • 1 cup white chocolate chips optional
- • 1 cup walnuts or pecans optional
Maple Cream Cheese Glaze
- • 1/2 cup butter softened but not melted
- • 4 ounces PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese softened
- • 1 cup powdered sugar
- • 1-2 TBSP maple syrup
- • 1 tsp vanilla extract
- • 1-2 TBSP milk
Instructions
Cake
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Prepare a 9x13" pan with non-stick cooking spray, or line pan with foil and spray foil lightly.
- In a large bowl combine flour, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda and salt.
- In a separate bowl, use an electric mixer to combine the butter and sugars until smooth and creamy.
- Mix in egg and vanilla until combined, followed with pumpkin. Mix until just combined. Slowly add in dry ingredients, mixing until just combined, do not over mix. If adding white chocolate chips or nuts, fold into mixture.
- Pour into prepared pan and bake for approximately 32-38 minutes or until toothpick inserted into center comes out almost completely clean.
- Remove from oven and allow to cool slightly.
Glaze
- With an electric mixer, combine butter and cream cheese, mixing until well combined and creamy. Add in powdered sugar and mix until well combined. Stir in maple syrup (you can use 1 tablespoon for a hint of maple flavor, or two tablespoons for a more prominent flavor) and vanilla. Mix well. Add in milk until desired consistency is reached. For a runnier glaze, add more milk, for a thicker more frosting like glaze, add in less milk.
To Serve
- Place a warm slice of pumpkin snack cake on a plate. Heat desired amount of maple cream cheese glaze in a microwave safe container for approximately ten seconds. If warmer temperature is desired, heat for an additional ten seconds. Place a scoop of ice cream (vanilla or cinnamon ice cream are great choices) onto snack cake, then drizzle with glaze and serve.
- Alternate serving method - drizzle glaze over entire snack cake, slice and serve.
Disclaimer
Nutrition information is estimated as a courtesy. If using for medical purposes, please verify information using your own nutritional calculator. Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Make sure to try my other tasty recipe I made with ingredient from Safeway, my one pot stove top macaroni and cheese. It’s an easy recipe that is always a hit with my daughters!
Don’t forget to enter the Safeway Summer Of Savings Sweepstakes! This sweepstakes runs from August 5th-September 5th. You can enter to win a $100 store gift card daily! Winners are chosen during each of the 30 days, five times a day! Click here to be taken to their site to enter.
Disclosure: I received compensation for my post and recipe. All opinions and ingredient choices are mine and mine alone. Safeway is our main grocery store, so it was fun to have a chance to work with them, as we already shop there every week!
Graham @ Glazed & Confused says
This is so great! I’m trying to hold off on the pumpkin until cooler temps replace the hell that is New Orleans summer buuuuttttt….. these look too good to pass up! Going to grab some pumpkin from the store soon! These look so delicious.
Christi says
Graham, I pull out the pumpkin so that I can pretend fall is near – but given I’m in Phoenix, we’ve probably got a good two months! 🙂
kARLY says
Oh my goodness. This is exactly the kind of thing I need for dessert tonight!
Amanda says
Love the maple cream cheese! I need to make this now!
Christi says
Thanks Amanda! The maple cream cheese glaze can pretty much be eaten with a spoon. I may know that from experience. 🙂