Pumpkin Sugar Cookie Cake – pumpkin cake layers, ermine frosting (boiled milk frosting, pumpkin sugar cookie layers, and pumpkin buttercream.

New Week, New Recipe
Happy Monday, friends! I’m especially excited for today’s recipe because I skipped last week’s new Monday recipe due to extra recipe testing. It honestly felt strange not having a new recipe for you. I love this tradition of sharing new recipes every Monday. Kinda makes Monday less “Monday,” ya know? 😉
Inspiration
The inspiration for my Pumpkin Sugar Cookie Cake comes from my Santa’s Milk and Cookie Cake. I created the Milk and Cookies Cake for an appearance on Hallmark Home and Family, and it quickly became one of my favorite cakes. I love how well the soft sugar cookie layers paired with the boiled milk frosting, vanilla cake layers and vanilla buttercream. Eating the Santa’s Milk and Cookie Cake was like taking a bite of sugar cookies and milk at Christmastime.
Pumpkin Sugar Cookie Cake
For my new version of this sugar cookie cake, I decided to use pumpkin as the base. Just perfect for this time of year!
Cake Layers
For the cake layers, I used my tried and true pumpkin cake layers you’ve seen here before. Some of my favorite cakes with the pumpkin layers include:

You really can’t go wrong with these pumpkin cake layers. They turn out moist and fluffy every time!
Boiled Milk Frosting (Ermine Frosting)
For the “milk” component of our sugar cookie and milk cake, I’ve used a boiled milk frosting, also known as Ermine frosting. I love this buttercream because it reminds me of a Swiss Meringue Buttercream with its silky-smooth texture and less sweet flavor.

Tip: for the boiled milk frosting, be sure not to overcook the flour and milk mixture at the beginning (see instructions below). This should get thick but you don’t want to cook it before adding the remaining milk, otherwise you’ll get clumps.
Pumpkin Sugar Cookies
Just like my Santa’s Milk and Cookie Cake, we’ll be making two giant sugar cookies to go in this cake. The recipe is very similar to the one I use in the original recipe, except that I’ve added pumpkin puree and spices.

Tip: to ensure an easy cut when you slice the cake, don’t over bake the cookie layers. We want these to be soft and chewy.
Pumpkin Buttercream
The pumpkin buttercream might be my favorite element of this cake. Can you believe I’ve never made a pumpkin buttercream before? I clearly haven’t been living my best life, because this is buttercream required in one’s optimal living 😉
But seriously… it’s dang good!

Assembly
To assemble this cake, make sure the cake layers and sugar cookie layers are chilled prior to stacking. Working with chilled layers makes it easier to handle as you stack and decorate.
This quick video will also give you a good idea of how to stack this cake.
I obviously knew what all the layers looked like before I stacked this cake, but when I cut into it, I was truly blown away. I love how these colors and textures look together!

Make Ahead Tips
- All of the elements of this cake can be made ahead of time.
- For the cake layers and cookie layers, let them cool completely and then wrap with plastic wrap. Freeze the layers until about 30 to 60 minutes before you’re ready to use.
- For the buttercreams, once you’ve made the buttercream, store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator until you’re ready to use. Bring back to room temperature before using.
- You can even stack and decorate the entire cake ahead of time. Make sure to check out THIS post for more tips on how to do that.
Tools
The acrylic disks, spatulas and scraper can be found over on my shop page: Shop.CakebyCourtney.com.
For the ceramics tool I used for the design, CLICK HERE.
How much salt should be in the sugar cookie? It’s not listed in the ingredients but included in the instructions.
1/4 tsp. Thanks for catching! I’ll add that now!
How much salt for the buttercream? Not in the ingredients list, but in the directions.
Just a pinch!
Absolutely divine!! If you took all the fall flavors and packed them into a cake, it would be this one. I loved all the textures and the two frosting really added more flavor and dimension to the cake.
Quick note: I made my ermine frosting a day before and wasn’t patient enough to let it come to room temp before assembling. I started beating it with my mixer and it was super wet and looked curdled. I ended up putting it over a double boiler to just barely melt the butter before whipping it some more. That fixed it and it came together beautifully!
I will definitely make this cake next year!
Thank you so much!
Do you have a hard time with the boiled milk frosting separating if you make it ahead of time and refrigerate it? Mine turned soupy.
It’s not a great one to make ahead of time. You want to do day of assemble.
That cake slice looks amazing. I love the sugar cookie idea. This cake is definitely a winner!