This pumpkin spice bundt cake is basically fall in dessert form! It’s perfectly spiced, super moist, and comes together with little effort—exactly what you want this time of year. It's easy enough for a Sunday night dessert, but impressive for large gatherings over the holidays.
A few months ago, I posted a recipe for pumpkin streusel muffins and fell in love with the base—it was so soft and cake-like, I knew I had to turn it into a bundt. After a few trial runs (especially with the cream cheese frosting), I finally landed on a version I love. The frosting isn’t too runny like a glaze, but also doesn’t need to be piped—it’s right in that sweet spot.
I’m not the biggest pumpkin pie person, so this cake is officially taking its place at my Thanksgiving table. Honestly, the cake and frosting are great on their own, but together they're perfect!
Ingredient Notes
- Canned pumpkin puree: Canned pumpkin will work better than fresh in this recipe (plus, it's easier). Make sure to use 100% pumpkin, like Libby's, without any additional spices added.
- Plain Greek yogurt: Use either full-fat or low-fat Greek yogurt, they both work great in this recipe. Just make sure to use plain, not flavored yogurt.
- Pumpkin pie spice: Also called pumpkin spice. Just make sure not to use allspice, that's a different spice blend.
- Cream cheese: Use full-fat cream cheese for the right texture.
- Salted butter (frosting): If you only have unsalted butter, that works well here too--just make sure to add a small pinch of salt to the frosting as well.
- Heavy cream: Regular whole milk will work as well, but I recommend heavy cream because it adds richness that normal milk can't add. Also keep in mind that milk is thinner, so you may need less milk than heavy cream to get the right frosting texture.
How to Make a Pumpkin Spice Bundt Cake
Oil the Bundt Pan
Use a cooking spray (like PAM) to oil the bundt pan. Coat it completely, but don't overdo it--the oil shouldn't pool at the bottom of the pan. Use too much oil, and the flour will mix with the oil into a paste-like coating on the cake. Use too little oil, and the cake will stick to the pan--don't worry, using some flour will help to keep this from happening.
Next, dust flour over every crevice of the oiled pan until covered completely. Then flip the pan upside down over the sink or trash can, and tap it to get rid of any excess flour. Try to remove as much as possible to avoid excess residue on the cake. Set the pan aside for later.
Make the Cake
Preheat your oven to 350° Fahrenheit.
Add the melted butter, cane sugar, and brown sugar to a large bowl. Make sure the butter has cooled to keep the sugar from dissolving. Using a handheld mixer, mix on medium speed until the butter is well-incorporated into the sugar and there aren't any clumps of brown sugar left. The texture should be crumbly, not smooth.
Next, add the eggs and mix on medium speed until smooth. Then add the pumpkin puree, Greek yogurt, and vanilla extract. Mix on medium speed until the ingredients are fully combined and the texture is smooth.
In a separate medium-sized bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, pumpkin spice, and cinnamon. Add the whisked dry ingredients to the bowl of wet ingredients, and stir by hand with a rubber spatula until there aren't any pockets of flour left.
Spoon the cake batter into the oiled bundt cake pan. Smooth the top with a rubber spatula. Bake for about 40-50 minutes. Check it at 40 minutes--you'll know it's done if you can poke a toothpick into the thickest part of the cake and it comes out clean or with only a few crumbs.
Leave the cake to cool in the pan for about 10 minutes. Invert the cake over a cooling rack and gently lift off the pan. Then allow the cake to cool completely (at least an hour) before frosting.
Cream Cheese Frosting
In a medium-sized bowl, combine the softened cream cheese, softened butter, and vanilla extract. Mix with a hand mixer on medium/medium high speed until creamy (2-3 minutes). Gradually add in the powdered sugar, mixing on medium speed until creamy and smooth (no powdered sugar pockets remaining).
Add a tablespoon of heavy cream, and stir with a spoon until combined. Continue to add more heavy cream until you reach the desired frosting consistency. If piping it on, you'll like it to be fairly stiff. If you'd like it to be a thick glaze (as pictured), add just enough cream for it to be barely pourable (NOT runny). This picture shows the correct consistency:
Decorate the Pumpkin Cake
Spoon the frosting on the top portion of the cooled cake, and allow it to naturally start falling down the sides. Continue to spread it with the spoon to encourage it as needed. If the frosting is not sliding as far down as you'd like, pick up the cake stand and gently tap it on a hard surface to help out gravity a bit.
If you'd like, add some cinnamon to a fine strainer or sugar shaker and lightly dust it on top of the cake. Allow the frosting to set for at least half an hour before slicing. Then dig in!
Frequently Asked Questions
The word "bundt" comes from the German word, "bund" which means a gathering of people. The bundt cake was modeled after a traditional ring-shaped German cake (bundkuchen) that was served at parties.
In this recipe, I like to use both oil and flour to ensure that the cake won't stick to the pan (see instructions above). You could also use white sugar in the place of flour for a nice sugary coating, especially if you don't plan to frost the cake. If making a chocolate bundt cake, I'd opt for cocoa powder instead of flour.
Only fill a bundt pan ⅔ or ¾ full so that it doesn't spill over as it rises. For that reason, make sure to use a 10 cup or 12 cup bundt pan for this recipe.
Other Fall Recipes
Here are a few other similar fall recipes you'll want to be baking this season:
If you try out this pumpkin spice bundt cake or any of my other recipes, I’d LOVE to hear about it. You can leave a comment below the recipe, or if you post a picture on Instagram, be sure to tag me! Getting any feedback on my recipes is both rewarding AND helpful as I write and edit recipes in the future.
Now get baking, and enjoy!
Pumpkin Spice Bundt Cake
Print Pin RateIngredients
Pumpkin Cake Batter
- ⅔ cup unsalted butter melted and cooled
- ⅔ cup cane sugar
- 1 ¼ cup light brown sugar packed
- 3 large eggs room temperature
- 2 ¼ cup canned pure pumpkin puree* (NOT pumpkin pie filling)
- ½ cup plain Greek yogurt** room temperature
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 2 ½ cup all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 2 ½ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice***
- 1 ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon plus extra for decoration (optional)
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 4 oz cream cheese softened
- 2 tablespoon salted butter room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cup powdered sugar
- 3-4 tablespoon heavy cream
- cinnamon for topping optional
Instructions
Oil the Bundt Pan
- Use a cooking spray (like PAM) to oil the bundt pan. Coat it completely, but don't overdo it--the oil shouldn't pool at the bottom of the pan.
- Dust flour over every crevice of the oiled pan until covered completely. Then flip the pan upside down over the sink or trash can, and tap it to get rid of any excess flour. (I try to remove as much as possible--flouring the pan keeps the cake from sticking, but too much flour can leave behind a residue.)
- Set aside the pan for later.
Make the Cake
- Preheat oven to 350° F.
- Add the melted butter (COOLED to keep sugar from dissolving), cane sugar, and brown sugar to a large bowl. Using a handheld mixer, mix on medium speed until the butter is well-incorporated into the sugar and there aren't any clumps of brown sugar left. The texture should be crumbly, not smooth.⅔ cup unsalted butter, ⅔ cup cane sugar, 1 ¼ cup light brown sugar
- Add the eggs and mix on medium speed until smooth. Add the pumpkin puree, Greek yogurt, and vanilla extract to the butter-sugar mix. Mix on medium speed until the ingredients are fully combined and the texture is smooth.2 ¼ cup canned pure pumpkin puree*, 3 large eggs, ½ cup plain Greek yogurt**, 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- In a separate medium-sized bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, pumpkin spice, and cinnamon. Add the whisked dry ingredients to the bowl of wet ingredients, and stir with a rubber spatula until there aren't any pockets of flour left.2 ½ cup all purpose flour, 2 teaspoon baking powder, 1 teaspoon baking soda, ¾ teaspoon fine sea salt, 2 ½ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice***, 1 ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- Spoon the cake batter into the oiled bundt cake pan. Smooth the top with a rubber spatula.
- Bake for about 40-50 minutes. Check it at 40 minutes--you'll know it's done if you can poke a toothpick into the thickest part of the cake and it comes out clean or with only a few crumbs. Leave the cake to cool in the pan for about 10 minutes.
- Invert the cake over a cooling rack and gently lift off the pan. Then allow the cake to cool completely (at least an hour) before frosting.
Cream Cheese Frosting
- In a medium-sized bowl, combine the softened cream cheese, softened butter, and vanilla extract. Mix with a hand mixer on medium/medium high speed until creamy (2-3 minutes).4 oz cream cheese, 2 tablespoon salted butter, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Gradually add in the powdered sugar, mixing on medium speed until creamy and smooth (no powdered sugar pockets remaining).2 cup powdered sugar
- Add a tablespoon of heavy cream, and stir with a spoon until combined. Continue to add more heavy cream until you reach the desired frosting consistency.If piping it on, you'll like it to be fairly stiff. If you'd like it to be a thicker glaze (as pictured), add just enough cream for it to be barely pourable (NOT runny). This picture shows the correct consistency:3-4 tablespoon heavy cream
Decorate the Pumpkin Cake
- Spoon the frosting on the top portion of the cooled cake, and allow it to naturally start falling down the sides. Continue to spread it with the spoon to encourage it as needed.If the frosting is not sliding as far down as you'd like, pick up the cake stand and gently tap it on a hard surface to help out gravity a bit.
- If you'd like, add some cinnamon to a fine strainer or a sugar shaker and lightly dust it on top of the cake. (optional)Allow the frosting to set for at least half an hour before slicing. Enjoy!cinnamon for topping
Notes
Equipment
- large bowl
- 2 medium-sized bowls
- measuring cups
- measuring spoons
- hand mixer
- whisk
- rubber/silicone spatula
- Bundt cake pan (10-12 cup)
- toothpicks
- cooling rack
- fine strainer or sugar shaker optional
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