This Pumpkin Bundt Cake Recipe is for anyone who loves pumpkin spice! Pumpkin pound cake is laced with warm fall spices and topped with decadent brown sugar icing. Baked in a Bundt pan, it looks ornate but is easy to make!
You Will Love This Pumpkin Spice Bundt Cake
As the weather turns chilly, you’ll love warming up with a hot chocolate and a slice of Pumpkin Spice Pound Cake. Doesn’t that sound cozy?
If you’re already a fan of Pumpkin Bread, this cake has similar flavors plus a sugary icing drizzle. Even better, you only need about 20 minutes to prep it!
With its good looks and delicious taste, this Pumpkin Bundt Cake is guaranteed to impress. Whether for brunch or dessert, consider making it to share at your fall and holiday gatherings!
Spice Pumpkin Bundt Cake Ingredients
This pumpkin pound cake recipe consists primarily of pantry staples, so other than the pumpkin puree; you probably have everything you already need to make this!
- All-purpose flour – The base of this cake. Be sure to use all-purpose flour as opposed to cake, pastry, etc.
- Baking powder & baking soda – These are the leaveners that react differently to liquid and acid ingredients. A mixture of the two helps this cake rise just right.
- Salt – This complements the sweetness for a more balanced flavor.
- Spices – Ground cinnamon, nutmeg, and pumpkin pie spice offer a warm, aromatic flavor. (Ps. Try my homemade Pumpkin Pie Spice recipe for your fall baking!)
- Unsalted butter – Salt is added separately, so make sure your butter is unsalted. Also, let it warm to room temperature before adding it to the batter.
- Sugar – A mix of granulated sugar and brown sugar tastes comforting without being too heavy.
- Eggs – This dense cake calls for 5 eggs that bind everything together.
- Pumpkin puree – A key ingredient for real pumpkin flavor! Make sure to use puree and not pumpkin pie filling.
- Vanilla extract – A baking staple that adds smooth mellowness.
- Icing – A blend of salted butter, heavy cream, brown sugar, vanilla extract, and confectioners sugar creates a simple but decadent icing.
Spice Pumpkin Bundt Cake Substitutions and Variations
- Top with powdered sugar: You can forgo the icing for a sprinkle of powdered sugar instead. Or, go crazy and do both!
- Use loaf pans: No Bundt pan? Divide the batter between two loaf pans (used for quick bread) to make a couple of pumpkin loaf cakes instead.
How to make Spice Pumpkin Bundt Cake
- Mix: Make the cake batter by creaming together the butter and sugars with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Next, add the eggs one at a time, and mix in the pumpkin and vanilla on medium speed. Add the dry ingredients to a medium bowl, whisking to combine, then slowly beat them into the wet ingredients until fully combined.
2. Bake: Pour the batter into a prepared 12-cup bundt pan and bake at 325 degrees F for about 1 hour or until a toothpick comes clean from the center of the cake. Let the cake cool for about 15 minutes in the pan before inverting it onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Be sure to use plenty of cooking spray so the cake doesn’t stick and the lovely pattern is preserved!
3. Icing: Lastly, make the icing by melting the butter in a small saucepan, adding the light brown sugar, and bringing it to a boil. Remove from heat and whisk in the vanilla, heavy cream, and powdered sugar until smooth. Spread over the top of the cake. Feel free to top it with toasted pecan pieces.
How To Store Pumpkin Spice Bundt Cake
Store this cake at room temperature in an airtight container for 3 to 5 days.
This cake can also be made ahead and wrapped in a double layer of plastic wrap and then a layer of aluminum foil and frozen for up to 3 months. You will want to frost it after thawing for best results.
Spiced Pumpkin Bundt Cake FAQs
The name is derived from the German cake Bundkuchen. Since Bund means “bunch” (and kuchen is “cake”), it may refer to the way the cake appears “bunched” in a circle.
The short answer? Because it’s pretty! Bundt cakes refer to the shape of the cake (baked in a Bundt pan) as opposed to the flavor itself. Pound cakes and coffee cakes are often baked in Bundt pans.
Yes, you can. However, layer cake recipes will become denser when baked in a Bundt pan (as opposed to two lighter, fluffier sheet cakes).
This cake should stay fairly moist for a few days, covered at room temperature. However, if you want to ensure that your cake stays very moist, you can brush the bottom with simple syrup after it comes out of the oven then brush the top of the cake once it comes out of the pan.
Quality, full-fat ingredients. I recommend using King Arthur unbleached all-purpose flour and Domino sugar. Quality eggs like Vital Farms, Nellie’s, Happy Eggs are all great choices. And if you can splurge a bit, European butter will lead to a more flavorful and tender cake.
More Bundt Cake Recipes:
- Apple Fritter Monkey Bread – Baked in a Bundt pan, this is technically a sticky pull-apart bread — no utensils required!
- Cream Cheese Pound Cake – A classic dessert that can be enjoyed with fresh fruit, Strawberry Sauce, Whipped Cream, or plain!
- Chocolate Yogurt Cake – Rich, chocolatey, and moist, it’s actually lower in fat thanks to a not-so-secret ingredient!
- Lemon Butter Cake – A dense pound cake with a citrusy twist.
- Mini Chocolate Peppermint Bundt Cakes – These festive treats are small in size and big in taste!
Let’s Connect!
If you’ve tried this recipe, please let me know how you liked it in the comments below and leave a review. I love hearing from you!
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Best Recipe for Pumpkin Pound Cake
Ingredients
Cake
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
- 1 cup unsalted butter softened
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ¾ cup light brown sugar packed
- 5 large eggs
- 15 ounces pumpkin puree
- 1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
Icing
- 4 tablespoons salted butter
- ½ cup light brown sugar packed
- ¼ cup heavy cream
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup powdered sugar
Instructions
Cake
- Preheat the oven to 325°F and grease and flour a 12-cup bundt cake pan; set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, soda, salt, and spices; set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl with a hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugars until light and fluffy.
- Beat in the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
- Mix in the pumpkin puree and vanilla extract.
- Slowly mix in the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients then increase the speed and beat until smooth, scraping down the sides as needed.
- Pour the batter into the prepared bundt pan and bake for 55 to 60 minutes or until a toothpick or cake tester comes clean from the center of the cake.
- Cool for 15 minutes in the pan on a rack. Loosen up the edges with a paring knife, if needed. Then invert a serving plate or wire rack on top of the bundt pan and flip to release the cake and cool completely.
Icing
- While the cake is cooling, melt the butter in a small saucepan.
- Once melted, add the brown sugar and bring to a boil over medium heat and boil for 2 minutes, stirring constantly.
- Remove from heat and add in the heavy cream, vanilla, and powdered sugar. Whisk until smooth and immediately spread over the top of the cooling cake.
Video
Notes
- If you don’t want the icing to drip over the edges of the cake but want a thicker presentation like in the photos, allow the cake to cool out of the pan for 1 hour before preparing the icing.
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Substitutions & Variations:
- Top with powdered sugar: You can forgo the icing for a sprinkle of powdered sugar instead.
- Use loaf pans: No Bundt pan? Pour the batter in two loaf pans (used for quick bread) to make a couple of pumpkin cakes, instead. They will still need to bake for about 45 to 55 minutes.
Nutrition
Did You Make This Recipe?
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Comments & Reviews
Nancy says
Easy to make. The cake is delicious. You may suggest to your readers to cool the brown sugar butter mixture a bit before add the cream, vanilla extract and powdered sugar otherwise you will have chewy caramel pieces.
AB says
This is a delicious, moist pumpkin pound cake with a balanced spice blend that doesn’t overwhelm. And the caramel frosting is a perfect complement, garnished with toasted pecans.
Becky Clarke says
This cake not only looks beautiful, but was delicious. My family loved it.
Jessica says
This is about to become my new fall staple! I added more pumpkin pie spice and cinnamon just because I really like the extra flavor – but overall, a must bake!
Kelvin says
What is the capacity/size of the Bundt Pan for this recipe? 6 inch? 8 inch?10 inch?
TQ,
Rebecca Hubbell says
This is made in a 12-up bundt pan.
Olga says
Made this recipe and everyone loved it! I added more pumpkin spice and it turned out great!
Rebecca Hubbell says
So glad you all enjoyed it!
Micah says
Simple recipe with easy to follow directions. Cake turned out beautifully and tastes wonderful! I love that it isn’t overly sweet but the brown sugar icing makes brings the sweetness for those with a sweet tooth. This will be in my list of favorite recipes!
Rebecca Hubbell says
So glad you enjoyed it!
Beka says
Has anyone made this ahead and froze it by chance? Curious if it would do alright?
Rebecca Hubbell says
The cake should be fine to freeze, however, I would make the icing fresh.
Vicki says
In the info at the beginning it says preheat oven to 350. In the actual recipe it says 325. Which is it?
Rebecca Hubbell says
The 325 in the recipe card is correct. Thank you for letting me know about the typo in the post, I’ve fixed it 🙂
Lori says
Just made this today, delicious 😋family LOVED it!
Mandi says
I love this recipe! It is my favorite pound cake recipe. It turned our delicious and beautiful! It was a big hit at our event. I did add an extra tsp of pumpkin pie spice just because I love it and it was great.
Rebecca Hubbell says
So glad everyone enjoyed it!
Connie Kupfer says
Not impressed with cake expected more flavor,would definitely add more spices if I would choose to make again. The icing was the best part of this recipe!!
Chasity says
This looks AMAZING! Could I use mini Bundt pans? How long do you think they would need to cook.
Rebecca Hubbell says
I have never made this recipe in mini bundt pans but it should work fine. I would imagine they would take between 15 and 20 minutes to bake.
Karli says
Just made this for the first time and it turned out great! So good will definitely make again. Thank you!
Rebecca Hubbell says
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Bruce D says
We all over it. I will definitely make it again. Next time I will add pecan s for so,e crunch. I might candle them fist.
Thanks for sharing, this is a new fall tradition.