Meet Your New Favorite Fall Dessert
If you love the warm, nostalgic flavors of pumpkin spice season, this pumpkin bundt cake is about to become your new favorite treat. ♡
It’s wonderfully pumpkin-y, buttery, and spiced with cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and cloves — perfectly balanced for that classic fall flavor we all love. The texture is tender and moist thanks to a blend of real pumpkin purée and buttermilk, and that tangy cream cheese glaze drizzled on top makes every slice absolutely irresistible.
Whether you’re baking it for a dinner party, Friendsgiving, or a cozy weekend coffee date, this cake is always such a crowd-pleaser. I’ve been making it for over a decade now and it always receives rave reviews!
Tips For Success
A few simple tricks make all the difference when baking this pumpkin spice bundt cake:
- Grease every nook and cranny: Bundt pans can be tricky! Be sure to generously butter and flour (or sugar) the pan so the cake releases easily. Or you can save a step and use Baker’s Joy spray (which already includes flour).
- Don’t overmix: Once you add the dry ingredients, mix only until just combined to keep the crumb soft and tender.
- Check for doneness early: Start testing with a toothpick at the 45-minute mark — it should come out clean or with a few moist crumbs.
- Cool completely before glazing: If the cake is even slightly warm, the glaze will melt right off.
- Adjust the glaze thickness: Add more powdered sugar for a thicker drizzle or a touch more milk for a pourable glaze.
Variations
Make this cozy cake your own with a few easy swaps or add-ins:
- Add chocolate chips: Stir in 1 cup of semisweet or dark chocolate chips for extra decadence.
- Add nuts: Fold in 1 cup of chopped pecans or walnuts for added crunch.
- Add orange zest: A teaspoon of orange zest brightens the spice and pumpkin beautifully.
- Make it dairy-free: Use plant-based butter, dairy-free milk, and vegan cream cheese in the glaze.
FAQ
Yes! This cake actually tastes even better the next day once the spices have settled. Just store it tightly covered at room temperature or in the fridge.
You can bake this in two 9-inch round pans or a 9×13-inch pan instead. Just reduce the baking time to around 30–35 minutes.
Yes, just wrap the cooled, unglazed cake tightly in plastic wrap and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge and add glaze before serving.
Sure! Add a splash of maple syrup, a pinch of cinnamon, or a drizzle of browned butter for extra flavor.
More Favorite Pumpkin Desserts
Pumpkin Spice Cake
Equipment
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus a little extra for dusting the pan
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin purée
- 3/4 cup buttermilk, well shaken
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs
For the cream cheese glaze:
- 4 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar (plus more if needed)
- 1 –2 tablespoons milk
Instructions
- Prep the pan and oven. Heat oven to 350°F. Generously grease a 10–12 cup bundt pan with butter or cooking spray. Dust lightly with flour (or sugar), tapping out any excess.
- Mix the dry ingredients. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves, and salt.
- Mix the wet ingredients. In a medium bowl, stir together the pumpkin purée, buttermilk, and vanilla.
- Cream butter and sugar. In a stand mixer (or large bowl with hand mixer), beat the butter and sugar on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
- Add eggs. Beat in the eggs one at a time until fully incorporated, scraping down the sides as needed.
- Combine everything. Reduce mixer speed to low. Add the flour mixture in three parts, alternating with the pumpkin mixture in two parts, beginning and ending with the flour. Mix just until smooth — don’t overbeat.
- Bake. Pour the batter evenly into the prepared bundt pan and smooth the top. Bake for 45–50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Cool. Let the cake cool in the pan for at least 20 minutes. Carefully invert onto a wire rack or serving plate and cool completely.
- Make the glaze. In a medium bowl, beat the cream cheese, vanilla, and powdered sugar until smooth. Add milk 1 tablespoon at a time, mixing until the glaze is thick but pourable. If it’s too thin, add more powdered sugar; if too thick, add a splash more milk.
- Finish. Drizzle the glaze over the cooled cake. (Or dust with powdered sugar for a simpler finish.) Slice and enjoy!
Did you make this?Let me know how it turned out in the comments below!
I made this yesterday for a family dinner gathering and got rave reviews on both how aesthetically appealing it was and how tasty it was! The frosting added the perfect amount of sweetness. A perfect dessert for the season :)
Well I tried this recipe. It’s great IF it was a recipe for pumpkin bread. Not nearly sweet enough for a cake. Luckily I tasted the crumbs in the pan after flipping it and discovered the problem. Tossed the cake (happy Squirrels) and using another recipe.
We’re sorry to hear you didn’t care for this!
I am making this for our Volleyball Banquet today. Very excited to share. Using fresh pumpkin. Hope it turns out. I do strain it for a while so it is not too runny. Wish me luck.
Hope it turns out well! Enjoy!
How do you make your frosting look so perfect and beautiful?! I’m impressed. I am making a bundt cake tonight and trying to figure out how to frost it with the cream cheese icing recipe I have, or if I even should ice it at all.
I honestly just use a kitchen spoon to spread it around! But you can also buy all sorts of cake decorating spatulas to help. :)
Hi Ali – I’m working on a Thanksgiving dessert recipe roundup for my blog and I’d love to include your Pumpkin Spice Cake. (You can see an example of one of my roundups here:https://www.leavesandstitches.com/weekend-pinspiration-shade-garden/). Would you mind if I include your recipe? I’d include your photo and a link back to your post.
Thanks so much!
Pam
www.leavesandstitches.com
Made this for dessert tonight, and it was wonderful! I’m not a huge fan of cream cheese frosting, so I did a spice glaze instead, but the cake itself was fluffy, soft, and delicious! I will definitely be making it again.
Thinking of making this for Thanksgiving. It seems like it can be prepared the day before, right? What’s the best way to store it so it stays fresh? Thanks!!!
Just made this- now waiting in agony until family geta home to share!! I samples the icing and it’s DELICIOUS! Thank you for the great recipe :-)
I have been making pumpkin stuff for a few weeks now!! I love it!! I have made several loaves of the pumpkin beer bread (with pumpkin ale). This cake is next!! I give a lot of stuff away to friends — they always love it when I am cooking!!
Love your website!!!
I made this for my son’s party and it totally disappeared