My Pumpkin Bundt Cake recipe features a moist, spiced pumpkin cake topped with a thick cream cheese glaze. It’s simple to make (just 25 minutes of prep!) and perfect for fall! Recipe includes a how-to video!
An Impressive Pumpkin Cake
My pumpkin bundt cake has all the cozy seasonal flavors of fall wrapped into a moist, dense bundt cake. It’s buttery, vibrantly spiced, and crowned with a stunning, thick cream cheese glaze. The dense crumb (similar to my other bundt cake or pound cake) means this cake is sturdy, but it still melts in your mouth. It’s perfection!
Once cooled, I love topping this cake with a thick cream cheese glaze (it’s essentially a melted version of my cream cheese frosting), but I do provide some alternative toppings in the FAQ section below if you’re not a fan of cream cheese.
If bundt cakes are new to you, definitely check out the video below where I show you exactly how I prepare my pan so my cake slides out perfectly. A bundt cake that sticks will totally ruin your day 🙁
Save this recipe for your next harvest party, halloween soiree, or add it to your Thanksgiving dessert table!
What You Need
There’s quite a few ingredients up there, so I’ll highlight the important ones:
- Spices. The spices used in this recipe are the same spices that go into my pumpkin spice; if you don’t happen to have all of these spices but do have pumpkin pie spice, you can substitute 1 Tbsp + ¾ teaspoon of that instead.
- Unsalted butter. By creaming the spices with the butter and sugar (rather than adding later with the flour), we will bring out their flavors a bit more.
- Eggs. Add these one at a time and stir really well after each addition.
- Pumpkin. Make sure you grab 100% pure pumpkin and not pumpkin pie filling. They are sold right next to each other in the store and look so similar!
- Sour Cream. Sour cream (or full-fat plain greek yogurt) encourages our cake to be tender, moist, and perfectly dense. It’s also the secret ingredient in my pumpkin coffee cake.
SAM’S TIP: To keep the cake from being too heavy and dense (which is possible with a cake that uses a whole can of pumpkin plus a cup of full-fat sour cream) we put a lot of work into creaming and aerating the batter. The butter and sugar (and spices) must be well-creamed until light and fluffy, and we’ll also thoroughly beat the batter after each egg addition. Don’t skimp out on either step!
Remember, this is just an overview of the ingredients I used and why. For the full recipe please scroll down to the bottom of the post!
How to Make Pumpkin Bundt Cake
- Cream together the butter, sugar, and spices until light and fluffy.
- Add the eggs one at a time and beat well after each addition.
- Stir in the pumpkin, sour cream, and vanilla.
- Combine the dry ingredients in a separate bowl, then gradually add them to the wet ingredients.
- Spread the batter into a greased and floured pan (smooth the surface after adding it) and bake for 60 minutes.
- Test for doneness with a wooden skewer, then let cool in pan for 30 minutes before removing to a cooling rack.
- Stir together cream cheese and butter, then add the powdered sugar and vanilla.
- Microwave the glaze until pourable and drizzle over the cooled cake.
SAM’S TIP: Be gentle but thorough when combining your wet and dry ingredients; you want the batter to be uniform, but you don’t want to over-mix it! An over-mixed batter will lead to an overly dense and dry pumpkin bundt cake.
Frequently Asked Questions
I feel comfortable leaving mine at room temperature for a few days, but if you don’t, you can refrigerate yours in an airtight container. The fridge does dry out cakes, so keep that in mind if you do this.
Yes! I haven’t personally baked this recipe in a mini bundt pan (and all the sizes vary so much), so I can’t recommend baking times though. If you try this, please let me know how they turn out!
This cake is great with or without the glaze. I personally think the cream cheese glaze complements the pumpkin flavors beautifully, but if you don’t care for cream cheese or need to store the cake a while and don’t feel comfortable leaving it out, you can substitute my vanilla glaze instead. A dusting of powdered sugar would be a pretty topping if you want to go glaze-less, or add chocolate ganache for an incredible and slightly unexpected pumpkin/chocolate flavor collision!
If you’re looking for an equally moist but less dense pumpkin cake, try my pumpkin layer cake!
Enjoy!
Let’s bake together! I’ll be walking you through all the steps in my written recipe and video below! If you try this recipe, be sure to tag me on Instagram, and you can also find me on YouTube and Facebook
Pumpkin Bundt Cake
Ingredients
Pumpkin Bundt Cake
- 1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter softened
- 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
- 1 cup (200 g) light brown sugar firmly packed
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ¾ teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon allspice
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 4 large eggs room temperature preferred
- 15 oz (425 g) canned pumpkin puree
- 1 cup (226 g) sour cream
- 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
- 3 cups (375 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon table salt
Cream Cheese Glaze
- 2 oz (56 g) cream cheese softened
- 2 Tablespoons (28 g) butter salted or unsalted, softened
- 1 cup (125 g) powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Recommended Equipment
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F (175C) and thoroughly grease and flour a 12-cup bundt pan (tap out excess flour). Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine butter, sugars, and spices (cinnamon, ginger, allspice, nutmeg) and use an electric mixer to cream together until light and fluffy and well-combined (about 2-3 minutes on high speed).1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter, 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar, 1 cup (200 g) light brown sugar, 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, ¾ teaspoon ground ginger, ½ teaspoon allspice, ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- Add eggs, one at a time, stirring very well after each addition (about 30 seconds after each addition on high speed).4 large eggs
- Stir in pumpkin, sour cream, and vanilla extract.15 oz (425 g) canned pumpkin puree, 1 cup (226 g) sour cream, 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
- In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.3 cups (375 g) all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon table salt
- With mixer on low-speed or, stirring with a spatula, gradually stir dry ingredients into wet (I do this in 3-4 parts).
- Pour batter into greased bundt pan and bake for 60 minutes or until a wooden skewer inserted into the thickest part comes out clean or with moist crumbs.
- Allow to cool in pan for 30 minutes then carefully invert onto cooling rack and allow to cool completely before icing.
Cream Cheese Glaze
- In a microwave-safe bowl, stir together cream cheese and butter until smooth and creamy.2 oz (56 g) cream cheese, 2 Tablespoons (28 g) butter
- Gradually stir in powdered sugar until combined, then stir in vanilla extract.1 cup (125 g) powdered sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Transfer bowl to the microwave and microwave in 5-10 second intervals, stirring in-between, until mixture is melty and pourable.
- Drizzle or pour over bundt cake. Allow glaze to firm before slicing and serving.
Notes
Storing
Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4-5 days.Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.
Robin
I had asked about baking your Pumpkin Bundt Cake with the Cream Cheese in it as is in your Pumpkin Cream Cheese muffins. You asked me to let you know how it came out. It came out perfectly. It was delicious. My customer had me make her one as well. Her whole family loved it. I used the same amount of cream cheese in your muffin recipe. Thank you very much Sam.
Sam
That is so great to hear! Thank you so much for the feedback. I’m so glad it turned out and everyone enjoyed it. 🙂
Robin
I made this cake for a church event but couldn’t taste it. I know it was good from the face of the kid that won it. Is there anyway that a layer of cream cheese could be put in the middle of it? I bake out of my home and was asked if I could do that. I like your recipes. They’ve never failed me. Tried and True. I know I’m putting you in the spot. I have confidence in you though. 😉Thank you.
Sam
Hi Robin! I’m so glad the kid got to enjoy it! I haven’t tried putting a cream cheese layer in the middle of it. You could try putting the cream cheese from my pumpkin cream cheese muffins in the middle, but without having tried it I can’t say for sure how it would go.
Robin
I’m going to try that then. I’ll let you know how it turns out. Thank you so much for answering my continuous questions. I’m going to buy you some butter very soon. Thanks again.
Sam
I hope it turns out! 🙂
Robin
So, since I’m using this in a bundt cake do you think that the cream cheese filling in your pumpkin cream cheese muffins will be enough or do you think I should add about a half more of this cream cheese filling recipe?
Sam
Honestly I am not sure. The muffin recipe makes 12 muffins and each one has a heaping tablespoon of the cream cheese filling so I guess it depends on how much of a cream cheese layer you want in there. Since it’s relatively easy to whip up, you could try with just a single batch but if you need more make a second, but if you go that route you will want to soften 2 bricks of cream cheese in case the first batch isn’t enough. 🙂
Robin
Thanks Sam! I’ll do that!
Pat Ellis
I don’t normally look for pumpkin recipes, but decided to try this for an October group gathering. So glad I did! The cake was moist, deliciously spiced, and a hit at the party. I came home without leftovers, so now I’m ready to make another closer to Thanksgiving. Your recipes are consistently the best!
Sam
Thank you so much, Pat! I’m so glad you enjoyed it so much! 🙂
Mary Salyer
This is the best recipe ever! I love pound cakes and this will now be one I make often. I made this twice over the holidays and everyone loved it.
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
So glad you love it, Mary! Thanks so much for commenting 😍