Trader Joe’s New Bakery Item Is So Good, Fans Are Running to the Store

Pumpkin spice (and all the hoopla that comes with it) should be reserved for late September at the earliest. I resist all things pumpkin spice when fall isn’t even officially here, and I don’t typically crave fall-flavored treats until the weather cools down.

So it’s safe to say that I was resistant to try Trader Joe’s newest bakery item, the pumpkin spice mini sheet cake. It’s just too early! But I was persuaded by Redditors, who are so very excited about this new flavor. Luckily, the sheet cake hit stores where I live over the weekend.

This isn’t Trader Joe’s first foray into mini sheet cakes—if you caught its carrot mini sheet cake this summer, the pumpkin version will look familiar. (Other flavors you may have tried include double chocolate, lemon, and vanilla bean.) Packaged in a little cardboard tray with a neat covering of cream cheese frosting, the cake is self-described as a “moist, flavorful pumpkin spice cake with cream cheese frosting.” 

Is TJ’s pumpkin spice sheet cake worth the hype? Even though it’s still 80°F outside, I loved it!

The cake is perfectly light and fluffy with a mild mix of spices. If you love a moist, dense, and deeply spiced pumpkin cake, this might not be for you–the cake itself isn’t that sweet or very deeply spiced. But with the sweet, tangy cream cheese frosting, the cake feels well-balanced with a light kiss of pumpkin spice.

Frosting lovers will love this cake—it’s frosting-heavy. If you’re not, the frosting is easy to scrape off to your liking.

If you don’t have time or aren’t inclined to bake your pumpkin spice creations from scratch, this is the perfect dessert for a party or a just-because treat. The label technically says this serves six (not a bad deal for $5.49), but I have trouble envisioning how to share this. 

As a limited-availability bakery item, there’s no telling when this will leave the shelves, so don’t wait to try it!