Pumpkin Olive Oil Cake with Cinnamon Mascarpone Cream

This Pumpkin Olive Oil Cake is reason enough to look forward to fall.  It has a moist, tender crumb and the sweet, warm flavors of pumpkin pie.  Served with a light and creamy Cinnamon Mascarpone Cream, it is the perfect end to a cozy meal.

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Creamy pumpkin puree and olive oil keep it moist, while brown sugar, pumpkin pie spice, and cinnamon give it a spice cake vibe. I added a little cinnamon to the whipped mascarpone cream to complement the cake’s delicious flavors. Whether you’re baking for your family or a dinner party, it’s the perfect fall dessert.  

I’ve wanted to try making a pumpkin cake for a while.  After all, I love the flavors in my no-bake pumpkin pie.  But my granddaughter is a cake lover, and I wanted to make a fall dessert she would love.  So, I decided on a cake with all the flavors of pumpkin pie and a cool, refreshing topping. 

I baked quite a few pumpkin cakes before I finally landed on the perfect texture and just the right pumpkin flavor. The secret? Olive oil! Just like in my Lemon Olive Oil Cake, it keeps the crumb moist and tender, while allowing the warm pumpkin and spice flavors to really shine through.

What you’ll love about the whipped mascarpone topping is that it’s light and refreshing, perfectly complementing the moist cake. 

If you like traditional pumpkin cake recipes, you will love this one!  In fact, don’t be surprised if this becomes one of your favorite pumpkin recipes.

My final version of the recipe got rave reviews from my family and neighbors!  Best of all, this pumpkin olive oil cake is especially easy to make with simple ingredients, just like my Italian Almond Cake. 

Ingredient Notes

For the Cake

• Pumpkin Puree: This recipe calls for pumpkin puree, which differs from pumpkin pie filling.  The puree is simply pumpkin with no added ingredients, which is what you want.  The puree will provide moisture and all of the pumpkin flavor you need.  Pumpkin Pie filling will have other ingredients, including sugar, and will change the flavor of the cake.
• ​All-Purpose Flour: Measure the flour by spooning it into the measuring cup and leveling it off.  This will ensure you don’t use more flour than you need for the cake.
• Baking Powder and Baking Soda: Both are needed to help the cake rise.
• Salt: A pinch of table salt balances the cake’s sweetness and helps bring out the pumpkin’s flavor. Don’t use Kosher salt.
• Pumpkin Pie Spice: This blend is easily found in the grocery store, especially during the fall baking season. It typically includes warm spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves, which give the cake its fall flavor!
• Large Eggs:  Let the eggs come to room temperature so they blend easily with the sugar.  
• Brown Sugar: The molasses in the brown sugar adds an additional hit of warmth to the recipe.
• Granulated Sugar
• Vanilla
• Olive Oil: I recommend using regular olive oil in this recipe as it is less expensive than extra virgin olive oil. With so many strong ingredients, the essence of EVOO would be lost, so save it for when you can really enjoy its flavor, like drizzling it on your vegetables or dipping your bread.   If you need to make a substitute, you can use vegetable oil.

For the Cinnamon Mascarpone Cream

Mascarpone Cheese: The mascarpone should be cold.  If the mascarpone is too warm, it may not hold its shape when whipped.

Heavy Cream:  You want this to be as cold as possible, too. 

Confectioner’s Sugar:  Just enough to lightly sweeten the topping without making it too sweet.

Vanilla Extract and Cinnamon

How to Make Pumpkin Olive Oil Cake

Start by greasing and flouring a bundt pan and set it aside.

1. Mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and pumpkin pie spice in a medium bowl and set it aside.  
2.  Using an electric or stand mixer, beat the eggs, brown sugar, and granulated sugar in a large mixing bowl until well combined and creamy, about 2 minutes.  Add the pumpkin puree, vanilla, and olive oil to the bowl and mix until thoroughly combined.   
3.  Mix the dry ingredients into the bowl of wet ingredients using a whisk or an electric mixer until completely combined, but don’t over-mix.
4. ​Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake in a 350-degree F oven for 40-50 minutes, or until it turns golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Cool the cake in the pan for 15 minutes before inverting it onto a wire rack to finish cooling.  Dust the cooled cake with confectioners’ sugar.

How to Make the Mascarpone Topping

1. Beat the mascarpone in a large bowl with a handheld electric mixer or a stand mixer with a whisk attachment until smooth and creamy.  
2. ​Add the heavy cream, confectioners sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla and beat on high speed until soft peaks form.

Serve the pumpkin cake with a generous spoonful of the cinnamon mascarpone.  I think you will agree that this really is the best cake!

Tips and Variations

• Make your own pumpkin spice mixture: Use this easy recipe from Sally’s Baking Addiction. She uses cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, ginger, allspice, and black pepper!  
• Add chocolate chips,
• Nuts or 
• Raisins to the cake batter
• Try a couple teaspoons of honey or maple syrup in the mascarpone cream.

The cake can be wrapped tightly in plastic wrap and frozen for up to 2 months. However, I do not recommend freezing the whipped mascarpone cream.