Denise's Delicious Pumpkin Bars
Equipment
- 1 baking sheet
- 1 hand mixer
Ingredients
Pumpkin Batter
- 4 eggs large
- 2 Cups sugar
- 1 Cup canola, vegetable, or other neutral flavored oil
- 1 15 oz can pumpkin puree
- 2 Cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon Plus more for dusting
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 1 8 oz block of cream cheese softened
- 1 Cup butter softened
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 4 Cups powdered sugar AKA confectioner's sugar
Instructions
Pumpkin Batter
- Preheat the oven to 350℉. Grease a baking sheet with nonstick spray.
- In a large bowl, beat the eggs on medium to high speed until foamy, about 1 minute.
- Add sugar, canola oil, and pumpkin puree to the eggs. Beat on medium speed for 2 minutes to incorporate air.
- Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, and salt to the pumpkin mixture. Beat on low until combined, about 1 minute.
Bake & Cool
- Pour the batter into the greased baking sheet and spread until you have an even(ish) layer. Then bake for 22-27 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
- Once baked through, cool the cake completely before frosting (at least 30 minutes). See notes for tips on cooling times.
Frosting
- In a large or medium bowl, add cream cheese, butter, and vanilla and beat until creamy.
- Add the powdered sugar 1 cup at a time and beat until smooth.
- Use an icing knife or a butter knife (whatever you have on hand) to spread the frosting in an even layer on the cake. Careful not to be too rough, or you will pull crumbs up from the cake!
- If desired, sprinkle with a light layer of cinnamon and serve
Notes
Cooling
There are a number of ways to make the cooling time fit your schedule. Make Ahead: If you want, you can bake the bars hours before (I have often done it the night before) and cover them in a clean kitchen towel. Be sure NOT to use tin foil or plastic wrap. The bars are MOIST and need to be able to release steam while they cool. Speeding Things Up: To make cooling go faster, you may want to use a wire rack, your fridge, or even your freezer if you're in a super hurry. If you do end up chilling the bars, just make sure to use a wire rack in addition to the pan so that it can vent underneath, and you don't have a bunch of residual heat coming from the pan.Icing
In my experience, the best tool for this job is an icing knife. However, a regular butter knife works fine. I understand the desire to use a rubber scraper, but in my experience, it ends up pulling up the icing and taking cake crumbs with it. So stick to the rounded-edge knives for this one!Storage
In the Fridge: Store these in the fridge tightly wrapped in tin foil or plastic wrap for up to 5 days. In the Freezer: Pop these into the fridge for a few hours to let the frosting stiffen. Then, cut up and wrap individually in tin foil and freeze for up to 1 month.