Pumpkin Spice Mascarpone Layer Cake

A Slice of Autumn Elegance

Four layers of tender vanilla–cinnamon cake cradle a silky mascarpone pumpkin spice filling that’s just the right amount of tart. Each bite balances warmth and brightness — the cozy hum of cinnamon and nutmeg against the cool, creamy tang of mascarpone. The whole cake is wrapped in a luxurious vanilla buttercream that’s light yet indulgent, kissed with a whisper of spice. A crown of toasted pecans and sparkling shards of candied ginger adds crunch, heat, and a little magic. Finished with a dusting of pumpkin spice sugar, it’s a cake that tastes like fall — refined, nostalgic, and impossible to forget.

Because this cake is for fall at its most generous — comforting, aromatic, and full of contrast. It’s a project worth slowing down for: the scent of cinnamon warming your kitchen, the silkiness of mascarpone melting into pumpkin spice, the quiet joy of layering something beautiful just because you can.

It’s not just dessert — it’s a ritual. The kind that gathers people around a table, makes them pause mid-bite, and smile like they’ve remembered something good. The kind that reminds you how deeply satisfying it is to create something by hand, from scratch, with care.

Bake it because it turns ordinary ingredients into something that feels like a celebration — of flavor, of season, of the simple luxury of feeding people you love (yourself included).

Pumpkin Spice Mascarpone Layer Cake

Vanilla Layer Cake (FOUR layers):
4 cups all-purpose flour
5 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. sea salt
8 large eggs
3 cups white sugar
1 cup butter, melted
2 cups whole milk
2 Tbs. vanilla extract
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp. freshly ground cinnamon

Whisk together the dry ingredients and set aside.

Whip the eggs until slightly fluffy.

Next, whip in the sugar and melted butter until well combined. Drizzle in the milk, vanilla, oil, and cinnamon..

Fold in the flour, 1/2 cup at a time.

Divide the mixture into quarters, preparing four pans with Bakers Joy spray to prevent sticking.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Pour the batter evenly among the prepared cake pans.

Bake for 35-40 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

 

Cool in the pans for several hours.

 

Invert and transfer to plastic wrap, tightly wrapping – and then freeze overnight or for several days to prep for frosting.

Pumpkin Mascarpone Layer Filling:

8 oz. mascarpone cheese

1 cup Bonne Maman Limited Edition Pumpkin Spread

 

Vanilla Buttercream Frosting:
8 Tbs. butter, room temperature

8 Tbs. shortening
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup heavy whipping cream

3 Tbs. dried milk
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. sea salt

 

Whip the butter and shortening until soft and fluffy. 

 

Slowly add the sugar, cream, vanilla, dried milk, and salt. Whip together until glossy and creamy, scraping down the sides of the mixing bowl as needed.

Garnish:

1 Tbs. crystallized ginger

2 Tbs. chopped pecans

1 Tbs. mixed pumpkin pie spice and granulated sugar.

To assemble, place one cake layer on a cake spinning tray lined with parchment paper. Secure the layer of cake with a dab of the Pumpkin Mascarpone Filling.

Slather the first layer with the filling. Top with the second cake layer and slather, again, with the second 3rd of the filling. Again, top with the third cake layer and finish the top with the remaining pumpkin mascarpone filling.

Top with the final cake layer.

Refrigerate for several hours.

Meanwhile, prepare the buttercream frosting.

Once the cake layers are cold, slather with buttercream and even all surfaces with spatulas and cake decorating tools.

Once satisfied with the frosting layer, top with a mound of crystallized ginger, chopped ginger, and pumpkin pie spice sugar.

Chill overnight before slicing and serving.