Pumpkin Spice Bundt Cake (with Two Glaze Options)

This pumpkin spice bundt cake is soft, cozy, and fragrant with warm spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and cloves.  Made with butter, olive oil, and Greek yogurt for a close textured crumb, this easy pumpkin bundt cake has TWO options for the glaze: brown butter maple glaze or cream cheese icing.

If you’re looking for pumpkin desserts to bake this fall season, make sure to try my single layer pumpkin cake with cream cheese frosting (aka Midwestern pumpkin bars), pumpkin chocolate chip bread, pumpkin muffins, and baked pumpkin donuts with maple glaze!

Why you’ll love this cake

Super soft texture: I have fond memories of a pumpkin bundt cake my mom used to make with a can of pumpkin, cake mix, and butterscotch pudding mix, and it always came out incredibly soft textured and radiant with fall smells and flavors.  She served it simply with whipped cream on top, and it was the greatest. This super moist cake has that soft, pillowy texture too but it’s entirely made from scratch (no easy feat!).

Thoroughly tested: This is my homemade recreation of my mom’s cake mix recipe, but with more spices and slightly healthier ingredients. The recipe was tested four different times and in various iterations before it became the cake you see today – I tried different spice levels and different icings and glazes trying to get the flavor profile just right.

Two icing options: Turns out, in the end, this is a choose your own adventure cake because I couldn’t decide which glaze was best! So you have a brown butter maple glaze option AND a cream cheese icing option. The brown butter glaze is rich and maple-y, while the cream cheese icing is smooth and tangy to offset the strong pumpkin spice flavor. Who am I to tell you which one to choose? You’ll have to make it twice and tell me which one you like better.

Assertively spiced: There is a strong, but not overpowering mix of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves in this cake. You CAN use pumpkin pie spice instead if you like, but I prefer to control the spice mixture and this cake does not shy away from the spices!

Ingredients

The ingredients for this pumpkin bundt cake are pretty simple, just like most of my recipes! Nothing weird or hard to find here. See the recipe card at the end of the post for full measurements and instructions.

For the cake

• Pumpkin puree – an entire 15 ounce can! Yes! I’m always annoyed when I have leftover pumpkin puree from a recipe (but if you ever find yourself in that situation, you can always make my small batch pumpkin muffins). Make sure to use unsweetened, unflavored pumpkin puree and NOT pumpkin pie filling or pumpkin pie mix.
• Brown sugar
• Olive oil (or canola oil, vegetable oil, or melted coconut oil) – or use applesauce to reduce
• Unsalted butter
• Eggs
• Yogurt – I use 2% Greek yogurt, but you can use whatever you have on hand. Sour cream will also work here.
• Baking soda and baking powder
• All-purpose flour – can substitute a gluten-free all-purpose flour mix if you need to. I highly recommend measuring out your flour by weight using a kitchen scale. I cannot stress enough how important it is to accurately measure your flour for consistent, excellent results, and weight is the most accurate way!
• Cozy fall spices: cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves (or you can use pumpkin pie spice instead, measurements below)

For the brown butter maple glaze option

• Unsalted butter
• Maple syrup
• Powdered (confectioner’s) sugar
• Salt

For the cream cheese icing option

• Cream cheese, at room temperature (use full fat for best texture)
• Unsalted butter, at room temperature
• Powdered (confectioner’s) sugar
• Salt
• Vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste

How to make pumpkin spice bundt cake

See the recipe card at the end of the post for full measurements and instructions.

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.  Generously grease a 12-cup bundt pan (and I mean, really generously spread softened butter all over and make sure you get in all the crevices of the bundt pan!)
2. In a large bowl, whisk together dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves.  Set aside.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, or another large bowl with a hand mixer, cream the butter, olive oil, and brown sugar together beginning on medium speed, then increasing to medium-high speed for about 3 minutes, until the mixture is pale and fluffy.
4. Add the eggs one at a time, beating on medium speed each time until combined.  Beat in the pumpkin puree and yogurt on low speed until fully combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl so everything gets incorporated.
5. Fold flour mixture into the wet ingredients with a spatula until fully combined.  You can also mix on low speed with the mixer, but be careful not to over-mix or the cake won’t be as tender.  Just get to the point where it’s all combined and smooth.
6. Pour batter into the greased bundt pan, smooth it out evenly, and tap pan on the on counter a few times to eliminate air bubbles. Bake the cake until a toothpick comes out with just a few moist crumbs attached, about 50 minutes. 
7. Cool cake COMPLETELY in pan on a wire rack. I’ve always found this is the key to success in getting the cake to fully release from the bundt pan with no chunks missing. Once the cake is cool, run a butter knife or spatula along the outer and inner edges of the cake, and turn out onto a plate.  Top with powdered sugar or the glaze of your choice!

How to make the brown butter maple glaze option

• Brown the butter: In a small saucepan, melt butter over medium heat.  Watch carefully, whisking it occasionally, until brown flecks begin appearing on the bottom of the pan and the butter starts to smell nutty.  Immediately remove from heat and transfer to a medium bowl.
• Whisk in maple syrup, confectioners’ sugar, and salt until a smooth and pourable glaze is formed.  If it seems too thick, add a little extra maple syrup.  Pour over the cooled cake.

How to make the cream cheese icing option

• Whisk together room temperature cream cheese and butter in a medium bowl until completely combined and smooth.  Add vanilla and salt and whisk again.  Whisk in powdered sugar until fully blended.  
• Add milk, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the mixture reaches a pourable, but still thick, consistency.  
• Pour slowly and evenly over the cooled cake.

Additions and Substitutions

• Make it gluten-free: you can use a gluten-free all-purpose flour mix in place of the all-purpose flour, but make sure it’s a blend that has xanthan gum included (like the Bob’s Red Mill blue bag).
• Make it dairy-free: use coconut oil or vegan butter in place of the dairy butter, plant-based yogurt in place of the dairy yogurt, and use a vegan cream cheese like Miyokos if you’re making the cream cheese icing.
• Use pumpkin pie spice instead of the individual spices: 3 teaspoons will do it.
• Make it into two loaf cakes: split the batter between two loaf pans and bake at 350 degrees for 45-50 minutes.
• Add-ins: add a cup of chocolate chips or chopped nuts to the cake batter!

Storage

Room temperature: The unfrosted pumpkin bundt cake (or the cake glazed with the brown butter glaze) can be stored at room temperature for up to 3 days in an airtight container or covered in foil or plastic wrap. If you want to keep the icing as intact as possible, I recommend putting a few toothpicks on top so the wrap doesn’t touch the icing. I actually like this cake best on the second day – the cozy fall spices become more pronounced!

If using the cream cheese icing, keep cake in the refrigerator or freeze per the below.

Refrigerator: You can refrigerate the frosted cake for up to a week, tightly covered so it doesn’t dry out.

Freezer: Cake can be frozen, tightly wrapped, for up to 3 months. Leave on the counter to thaw for at least 2-3 hours, or thaw in the fridge overnight before serving.

More Pumpkin Recipes

• Pumpkin Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting
• Pumpkin Pancakes
• Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread
• Baked Pumpkin Donuts with Maple Glaze

Recipe

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