Pumpkin Bundt Cake with Cream Cheese Glaze

Deliciously moist Pumpkin Bundt Cake, lightly spiced with luxurious cream cheese glaze on top - the perfect dessert (or even breakfast) for fall time! 

Pumpkin is such a versatile flavor and is the base of so many of my fall dessert recipes.  It can make creamy pumpkin desserts, like my Pumpkin Creme Brulee, chewy snacks, like my Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies, or wonderfully soft cakes and breads, like this pumpkin bundt cake recipe.  The pumpkin flavor works so beautifully with the warm fall spices, and the texture is just perfection.  

This is the best pumpkin bundt cake you will ever make.  It's super easy and is a huge hit in the fall months.  If pumpkin spice is your favorite thing, give this a try right away! 

Pumpkin spice and cream cheese are a match made in heaven. If you love this combo as much as i do, you might also like my Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins recipe, or my Pumpkin Layer Cake with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting.

Jump to:

• Ingredients
• Make the Pumpkin Bundt Cake
• Make the Cream Cheese Glaze
• Variations
• Equipment
• Storage
• More Pumpkin Dessert Recipes
• Recipe

Ingredients

• ​Butter - Use unsalted butter so you can control the amount of salt in the pumpkin cake. 
  
• Sugar - We'll use two kinds of sugar in this recipe, the first is regular white sugar (superfine sugar, or caster sugar in the UK). 
  
• Light Brown Sugar - The second kind of sugar is light brown sugar, this will add some depth to the flavor as well as contribute to making a nice moist cake. 
  
• Eggs - Use large eggs and always free-range if you can. 
  
• Pumpkin Purée - Make sure you buy canned pumpkin puree and NOT pumpkin pie filling.  The cans look very similar but the contents are very different. Look for 100% pure pumpkin puree, the pumpkin pie mix contains all kinds of extra ingredients and sweeteners and we just want that lovely pumpkin! 
  
• Flour - Use All-purpose flour in this bundt cake, we want it to have a nice structure, and cake flour could make it too soft and breakable. Don't worry, this recipe will still be plenty soft! 
  
• Milk - The milk adds to the texture of the cake.  Whole milk is best but you can use whatever milk you have. 
  
• Warm Spices - I used ground cinnamon and ground ginger in my pumpkin cake, but really you can use any combination of individual spices you like, or you can use a premade pumpkin pie spice instead.  
  
• Vanilla - Vanilla is used in the cake and in the glaze for a nice base that ties everything together.  You can use vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste. 
  
• Cream Cheese - This will be used for the cream cheese frosting on top of the cake.  I use Philadelphia, but any kind of soft cream cheese will do the trick. 
  
• Powdered Sugar - Also known as confectioners sugar or icing sugar - this is the powder-like sugar that will go into the glaze. 

Make sure all your chilled ingredients are at room temperature before beginning. 

See recipe card for quantities. 

Make the Pumpkin Bundt Cake

1. Preheat your oven to 350°F / 180°C and generously grease your bundt pan.  I like to use bake spray, but you can use cooking spray, butter, or cake goop - the important thing is that you get into every little corner of the pan so there is nowhere for the cake to get stuck and break. 
2. Cream together the butter and both sugars.  I did this in the bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, but you can use an electric mixer or even just a large bowl, a wooden spoon, and a bit of elbow grease. 
3. Add the room temperature eggs one at a time, beating in between each addition at medium speed.

4. Add the wet ingredients including the pumpkin puree, milk, and vanilla.  Mix just until combined.  Don't worry if the cake batter looks a little curdled at this stage, it will even out once the flour is added. 

5. In a medium bowl, sift together the dry ingredients including the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices.  Mix until combined and then add the flour mixture to the cake batter.  Mix on a low speed until combined.  Make sure you scrape down the sides of the bowl to get any unmixed flour.  

6. Pour the pumpkin cake batter into the prepared bundt pan and bake for 40-45 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.  This is a very moist cake so if it comes out with some moist crumbs on the skewer that's okay too. 

7. Remove the cake from the oven and let it sit on the worktop for exactly 10 minutes, then flip it out onto a wire rack - it should come out easily.  Let the bundt cake cool completely before adding the cream cheese glaze. 

Note: I always advise measuring ingredients with a kitchen scale for the best results.  It's very hard to get an accurate measurement with a measuring cup, and mis-measured ingredients is the most common thing I see go wrong for people making my recipes.  All my recipes have the measurements listed in both cups and grams so you can choose which method is best for you.  

Make the Cream Cheese Glaze

This cream cheese glaze recipe is an adaptation of the Maple Cream Cheese Glaze I use in my Pumpkin Donut Recipe and my Maple Pecan Bundt Cake Recipes.  It's thicker, more tangy, and less sweet, which I feel complements the pumpkin cake well.  

1. Cream together the butter and cream cheese until smooth. 
2. Add the powdered sugar and vanilla and beat until there are no more lumps. 

3. Check the consistency of the glaze, if you would like it to be more runny, add 1-2 tablespoons of milk and mix (or add as much as it takes to reach the right consistency you are looking for).  If you want it thick, leave it as is. 
4. Spread, spoon, or pipe the glaze over the top of the cooled pumpkin bundt cake.  I like to use a piping bag for ultimate control over where the drips fall, but you can also just pour it over. 

Variations

• Pumpkin Nut Bundt Cake - For some extra crunch, try adding some chopped pecans or walnuts to the cake batter before pouring it into the bundt pan.  
  
• Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Cake - Add some chocolate chips to the mixture for some extra luxury in every bite. 
  
• Different forms - You can use this easy pumpkin bundt cake recipe in other forms - use a regular cake pan to make a regular round cake, use a mini bundt cake pan for mini pumpkin bundt cakes, or even just as a sheet cake for soft pumpkin bars.  

Equipment

• Bundt Pan - I used a standard size which is a 10-inch bundt pan.  You can use other sizes but the thickness and bake time will vary slightly.  
  
• Stand Mixer - or hand mixer, or a large mixing bowl with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula.
  
• Cooling Rack - this is essential for flipping the bundt cake out while it's still warm - it must be big enough to fit the entire cake on it without hanging over the edge.

Storage

Before you frost your delicious pumpkin bundt cake, it's best to store it at room temperature.  Once it has the glaze on however it will need to be kept in the fridge because we use cream cheese in the glaze.  Either way, keep it in an airtight container to keep it soft and moist. It should last for about 5 days like this. 

More Pumpkin Dessert Recipes

If you love baking with pumpkin in the fall season (or any season, really), check out some of my favorite pumpkin recipes - from pumpkin cupcakes to pumpkin cookies - there's bound to be something you love. 

Recipe