Pumpkin Butterscotch Cakes are delicious and beautiful right out of the pan without any decorating needed. The warm, spiced flavors of these mini pumpkin cakes match the fall themed molds perfectly.
Why you'll love this recipe
Pumpkin loaf cake is a moist, delicious treat. Melted butterscotch chips are added to the batter to give these mini pumpkin loaves a warm depth of flavor.
Using a Nordicware Harvest Mini Loaf Pan , made the mini pumpkin cakes come out of the oven too cute to cover up. The variety of molded shapes on top (leaves, turkey, squirrel, and acorns) are fun for all fall cake eating occasions.
However, you don't need a special pan to enjoy these loaves. The recipe can be used in a regular full size or mini loaf pans.
If you prefer a pumpkin loaf without butterscotch, try Downeast Maine Pumpkin Bread which has lots of pumpkin and spice flavor.
The little cakes are so flavorful that additional topping isn’t needed, though you can sprinkle the little loaves with confectioner’s sugar or drizzle a bit of spiced icing if you prefer.
If eating these at home, drizzle with icing right before serving. If mailing, package the pre-measured icing ingredients in a small ziplock bag. Add water right to the bag to mix up the icing when ready to eat.
These loaf cakes are quick and easy to make, two bowls and no electric mixer! In addition to sending the cakes in care packages, make them as gifts and keeping a few for a treat with your coffee or tea.
Ingredients
- Be sure to use plain, canned pumpkin puree, not pumpkin pie filling which has added spices and sweeteners.
- Find butterscotch chips in the baking aisle of most supermarkets where the chocolate chips are displayed. My favorite brand is Guittard, but the chips are made by numerous brands.
Instructions
This is an overview of the instructions. The full instructions are in the recipe card below.
- In a medium bowl, combine flour, white sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Set aside.
- In a separate bowl, microwave butterscotch chips at 50% for one minute. Stir. If not completely melted, return to microwave for an additional 20 seconds or until melted.
- Mix the pumpkin puree into the melted butterscotch. Then stir in the oil, eggs, and vanilla. Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients and stir to combine.
- Divide batter into a mini loaf pan coated with non-stick spray. Fill no higher than ¾” from the top of each mold.
- Bake for 18-23 minutes.
- Cool the cakes in the pan for 30 minutes before inverting to unmold onto a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
Tips
- If using icing, I recommend adding it to the individual Pumpkin Butterscotch Cakes right before eating. Package the cakes and the icing ingredients separately for shipping.
- A super easy way to package the icing for shipping is to pre-measure the dry ingredients into a small ziplock bag. Include directions to add 1- 1 ½ teaspoons of water, massage the bag to mix the contents, cut a tiny bit off one bottom corner of the bag, and drizzle onto the cake.
- Don't ship pumpkin loaf cake in hot weather(moist cake is more prone to molding in warm weather), in cooler temperatures these cakes will stay fresh for at least 5 days.
Storage
Wrap each cake individually in plastic wrap. Then, store at room temperature (or refrigerate) in an airtight container for about 5 days.
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Frequently asked questions
In addition to adding delicious flavor, pumpkin adds moisture, sweetness and can substitute for some fats in baking recipes.
The main difference is that puree contains only pumpkin. Pie filling is puree with sweetener and spices added.
No. If a recipe is written for pumpkin puree and you use pie filling instead, the baked goods will come out overly sweet and overly spiced.
Related recipes
If you love baking with pumpkin, the next time try crunchy Pumpkin Biscotti.
If you love citrus, you will want to try Orange Olive Oil Loaf Cake and Lemon Loaf. Both are soft, tender and bursting with bright citrus flavor.
Oatmeal Raisin Loaf is a cozy quick bread spiced with cinnamon. It tastes like your favorite oatmeal cookie turned into a loaf cake.
Fill your kitchen with the warming aromas of cinnamon and ginger baking Gingerbread Loaf Cake. Super quick to prepare when you mix the batter in the blender!
Moist Tea Brack is a traditional Irish fruit cake made with tea. If you love raisins, you will love this loaf!
Chocolate Marble Pound Cake is a moist and delicious loaf with swirls of vanilla and chocolate dough.
Cherry Bread is a beautiful pink quick bread full of glistening maraschino cherries. Perfect for tea time or brunch!
You will love this moist and delicious Honey Cake Loaf made with applesauce. It's a year round reader favorite!
Recipe summary
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Pumpkin Butterscotch Cake
Equipment
Ingredients
For cake
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup butterscotch chips
- 1 cup canned pumpkin puree
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 3 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
For optional icing
- 4 tablespoons confectioners' sugar
- ¼ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- 1-2 teaspoons water
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350° F. Coat baking pan with non-stick vegetable oil spray.
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, microwave butterscotch chips at 50% for one minute. Stir. If not completely melted, return to microwave for an additional 20 seconds or until melted.
- To the melted butterscotch, mix in the pumpkin puree until blended. Then stir in the oil, eggs, and vanilla.
- Add the flour mixture to the pumpkin mixture and stir to combine.
- Spoon the batter into the prepared pan, no higher than ¾” from the top of each mold.
- Bake for 18-23 minutes for mini cakes. Cake is done when a toothpick or cake tester inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean. If the batter rose above the top of the molds, and the cakes are touching each other, use a knife to score the touching edges before cooling.
- Cool the cakes in the pan for 30 minutes before inverting to unmold onto a wire rack to cool completely.
- Store at room temperature (or refrigerate) in an airtight container for about 5 days.
- Optional: Pumpkin spice icing ingredients can be mixed with 1-2 teaspoons of water and drizzled on the cakes immediately before serving. If shipping the cakes, put the dry ingredients for the icing in a small ziplock bag with directions to mix with water and drizzle.
Notes
- This batter can also be used in a full sized, 12 cup bundt pan. Increase baking time to 40-50 minutes.
- If using icing, I recommend adding it to the individual Pumpkin Butterscotch Cakes right before eating. For shipping, the cakes and the icing ingredients should be packaged separately.
- A super easy way to package the icing for shipping is to pre-measure the dry ingredients into a small ziplock bag. Include directions to add 1- 1 ½ teaspoons of water, massage the bag to mix the contents, cut a tiny bit off one bottom corner of the bag, and drizzle onto the cake.
Nutrition
First published October 24, 2016. Last updated September 1, 2022. Updated for additional information and better reader experience.
Amber
I made these a couple days ago and they were just much too sweet and very dense. I did use the cheap Walmart "Great Value" butterscotch chips so maybe that was the issue. Either way, they were inedible for the six of us that tried them. If I made these again I would probably cut both the sugar and the butterscotch chip amount by half.
Wendy Sondov
Hi, Amber. Sorry to hear that these cakes weren't to your taste. They are a sweet cake that doesn't require icing or frosting so that the design of the pan can shine. Rather than cutting key ingredients in half, I would suggest finding a different recipe. Sugar contributes to moisture and texture in a cake as well as sweetness and cutting back in this case may not achieve your desired result.