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Pumpkin Toffee Crunch Cake

Pumpkin toffee crunch cake with golden pumpkin layers, toffee bits folded into the batter, and brown butter toffee frosting swirled over. Baked until set, then cooled and stacked for a crunchy, toffee-speckled finish.
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Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 5 minutes
Servings: 12 servings
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Calories: 520
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

For cake
  • 2.5 cup flour
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 0.5 tsp baking soda
  • 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 0.5 tsp salt
  • 1 cup butter
  • 1.5 cup brown sugar
  • 4 eggs
  • 1 can (15 oz) pumpkin
  • 0.5 cup sour cream
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1.5 cup toffee bits fold in
For brown butter toffee frosting
  • 1 cup unsalted butter browned and cooled
  • 3.5 cup powdered sugar
  • 3 tbsp heavy cream
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 0.25 cup toffee bits for decoration

Equipment

  • 1 sheet pan

Method
 

Make and bake the cake layers
  1. Brown 1 cup butter and refrigerate until solid.
  2. Preheat oven to 350F, then grease two 9-inch pans.
  3. Beat softened butter with brown sugar.
  4. Beat in eggs, pumpkin, sour cream, and vanilla until smooth.
  5. Fold in flour, baking powder, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, and salt.
  6. Fold in toffee bits to distribute them through the batter.
  7. Bake for 35-40 minutes, until a toothpick in the center comes out clean.
  8. Cool completely before frosting.
Brown butter toffee frosting and assemble
  1. Beat solidified brown butter with powdered sugar, heavy cream, and vanilla until very fluffy.
  2. Frost and stack the cooled layers, then press extra toffee bits onto the sides.

Notes

Pro tip: make sure the baked layers are completely cool before frosting so the brown butter frosting stays thick and swirls cleanly. Store covered in the refrigerator up to 4 days; bring to room temperature for 20-30 minutes before slicing. Freezing is not recommended for best texture. For a dairy-light option, use lactose-free sour cream and lactose-free heavy cream (texture will remain close).