Pumpkin Bundt Cake (with cream cheese frosting)

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This bundt cake is a great fall bake with a moist crumb, thanks to the oil in the batter. With the unmistakable warmth of pumpkin spice, it's sweet, flavorful and just plain wonderful. The cream cheese frosting is the perfect topping, but it's also great on its own.

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A slice of frosted pumpkin bundt cake on blue cake server, brown background, cake on stand

One of our most popular categories is bundt cakes, so it was about time I introduced you to this fabulous pumpkin-flavored version.

This is a recipe I've been making for years, and it's still in the top 3 when it comes to pumpkin recipes and cakes.

Maybe it fights for the first position with the pumpkin quick bread regarding flavor and texture, but I can't resist a good bundt cake.

Pumpkin baking is all about the spices, which are very adjustable in this recipe. Any combination of warm spices can be used. Maybe you don't like cloves like me, so you don't add them. A store-bought pumpkin pie spice mix is also a good option.

About this cake

The texture: it's very moist and rises well, so the crumb is perfectly dense but soft.
Easy to make: the fact that this pumpkin cake uses oil instead of butter makes for a much faster beating since there's no creaming involved and no waiting for the butter to be at room temperature.
Make ahead: it keeps well at room temperature for 2-3 days and can be frozen for a month (best if without frosting), always well wrapped.

Close up of frosted pumpkin bundt cake in cake stand, cut slices.

Ingredient list

Pumpkin purée: use homemade pumpkin puree or buy canned pumpkin puree. Don't use pumpkin pie filling, which is a different thing.
Vegetable oil: sunflower oil is our first choice for everyday baking because it's neutral and lets the other flavors shine. But you can use canola oil, coconut oil or other vegetable oils.
White granulated sugar.
Brown sugar: light or dark.
Eggs: fresh, large.
All-purpose flour.
Salt: I like using kosher salt or fine sea salt when baking. But regular table salt works just fine.
Baking powder and baking soda: make sure they're not expired.
Spices: a mix of ground cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and allspice is our favorite. But feel free to add a pinch of cloves, remove the ones you don't like or use pumpkin pie spice mix.
Vanilla: I use pure vanilla extract or pure vanilla paste when available, but a good vanilla essence (artificially flavored) also works and is infinitely cheaper.

Bowls on white surface with ingredients for pumpkin cake including vanilla, dry ingredients, oil, sugars, eggs.

Preparing the bundt pan

If you love making bundt cakes, you probably know the pain of not being able to remove it from the pan in one piece. It has happened to me many times!

There are several ways of dealing with this:

Shortening and flour: use soft shortening to grease the pan, every angle, every nook and cranny until it's completely covered. Using your fingers is messy but effective. You can also use a brush. Sprinkle flour and rotate the pan to cover it completely. You'll have to do it to one side and then the other. Make sure you flour the center tube. Turn the pan upside down over the kitchen sink and smack lightly it against the edge. The excess flour will fall, leaving a thin layer behind. Your pan is ready to be filled.
Cake goop or cake pan-release paste: it's one of my favorites, together with the shortening method above, because it's very effective. Mix equal parts (volume: cups or tablespoons) of shortening, flour and vegetable oil (sunflower or canola) to make a paste. Use it to coat the pan with a brush. Store it in an airtight container (I use a jar) for a month at room temperature or up to 3 months in the refrigerator.
Butter and flour: I used this method for years, but now use one of the above-mentioned ones. Good if you don't like shortening. Use soft butter (not melted) to patiently cover the whole pan, every nook and cranny, every sharp angle and space available. I use a brush or my fingers. I then flour the pan and refrigerate it while putting together the batter. I take it out at the last moment when I need to fill it, and it goes cold into the oven. Not everyone has success with this method.
Baking spray: use a spray labeled as having flour or specifically made for baking (as opposed to cooking). It has to have flour; otherwise, you have a high chance of the cake sticking when removing it. At least, that's my experience.
Recipe: whenever I find a great bundt cake recipe that can be easily removed from an intricate bundt pan, even though I didn’t follow step 1 above, I cling to it like life itself!

How to make pumpkin bundt cake

Oil-based batter: the sugar and eggs are beaten until frothy, and the oil is added in a thin stream until you have a thick batter. This takes about 3 minutes.

Flour mixture (dry ingredients): are added at the end after all the wet ingredients have been thoroughly beaten. The idea at this point is to beat as little as possible, just until the batter is well combined. Sift them as you add them, or have them sifted beforehand. This will help make the crumb lighter.

Glass bowl with pumpkin cake batter and a spatula on a white surface.

Final batter: I always finish my cake batter with a spatula to make sure there is no flour left unmixed in the bottom of the bowl, and also to scrape the sides well for the last time.

Baking the cake

How do you know when it's done? Most bundt cakes will bake to a golden brown top before they're fully baked inside. So always use a cake tester or toothpick to check: if it comes out clean (no moist crumbs or wet batter attached) when you insert it in the middle of the cake, it's done.
What if the cake is browning too quickly? This can happen with large cakes, so tent with a large piece of aluminum foil to loosely cover the top of the cake and continue baking it; the foil will prevent the top from continuing to brown while the inside fully bakes.

Pumpkin cake batter in a bundt pan on a white marbled surface.

Fill the pan to no more than ¾ of its capacity. That is my golden rule regarding cake batters in general, and especially relevant with bundt cakes that tend to be dense and large.

Baked pumpkin bundt cake in the pan on a wire rack. White marbled surface.

Let it cool down on a wire rack for 15 minutes before attempting to remove it. Use a smooth-bladed knife to check there are no stuck parts around the edges and center, and shake the pan carefully to loosen up the cake. Use a wire to flip it.

Cream cheese frosting

I use a simple cream cheese frosting because, together with pumpkin, it makes the best cake possible.

It's easy to make (mix powdered sugar with butter and cream cheese), keeps well in the refrigerator for several weeks, and there are usually leftovers that can be used to fill and frost other cakes like the Red Velvet Bundt Cake, the wonderful Hummingbird Layer Cake, or our decadent Pumpkin Whoopie Pies.

Frosting a bundt cake

The domed shape of bundt cakes sometimes makes them tricky to glaze and frost.

It's easy to do so, but the right consistency is key! Too soft and it will run down the sides; too thick and it'll be harder to spread.

How much frosting? That's up to you! I find that a thick layer is always a good idea. So allow your sweet tooth to decide.

Whole frosted pumpkin bundt cake on white cake stand, white surface, brown background.

Kitchen notes

Organization: read the recipe first and ensure you have ingredients at the correct temperature, equipment, and enough workspace. This will make the process so much easier.
Baking time: consider that all ovens and pans are different, even if they look similar. The baking time in my recipes is as accurate as it can be, but it might take you more or less time. You can use a thermometer(like the OXO oven thermometer) to check that your oven is at the right temperature. I recommend you keep track of how your oven works and what tiny details you might need to adjust.
Pan size: fill the pan to no more than ¾ of its capacity at the most. That is my golden rule regarding cake batters in general, and especially relevant with bundt cakes that tend to be dense, similar to pound cakes. I give 2 choices of pan size in the recipe card.
Flavorings: adapt the amount and type of spices to your palate. Use any homemade or store-bought mix you like, or use fewer spices than those specified in the recipe. Make this flavorful pumpkin bundt cake your own!
Add-ins: you can add ½ cup of semi sweet chocolate chips or chopped walnuts/pecans to the pumpkin batter.
Freezing: this moist pumpkin bundt cake freezes well for a month; make sure it's well wrapped. I use plastic wrap first and then aluminum foil. Defrost in the refrigerator (it takes a while, so I recommend doing it the day before) or at room temperature.
Frosting: you can use a flavored cream cheese frosting by adding ¼ teaspoon of ground cinnamon or ¼ teaspoon of pure almond extract, or add some grated orange extract or zest to the frosting itself.

Single slice of frosted pumpkin bundt cake on white cake server, white and brown background

What makes a bundt cake different?

The most defining feature of a Bundt cake is its shape. It is baked in a Bundt pan with a distinctive design featuring a round or fluted pattern and a hollow center. They're often large cakes with a moist and dense texture, and this shape allows them to bake more evenly and creates a visually appealing design on the cake's surface, depending on the pattern used.

Should you let a bundt cake cool before flipping it?

Yes, you should let it cool down, and the question is how long. I flip mine after 15 minutes or so. I use a smooth-bladed knife around the edges to make sure there are no stuck parts and then shake the pan slightly until I feel the cake has loosened up completely especially the bottom part. I place a cooling rack over it, flip it, remove the pan carefully, and let it cool completely on the wire rack. Be careful when doing this because a hot cake is very tender and can easily crumble.

Can you use regular cake mix in a Bundt cake pan?

Yes, you can! The simpler the cake mix, the better it usually is to remove from the bundt pan, which is pretty much the nemesis of bundt cake baking.

How do you keep a bundt cake moist?

Don't overbake it and keep it covered with a cake dome or plastic wrap. If the cake is in contact with air, it will dry out more quickly. Also, a good recipe with oil or sour cream is bound to be moister than some made with just butter.

Eaten slice of frosted pumpkin cake on white plate, grey background

Let me know in the comments below if you made this recipe and loved it and if you had issues so we can troubleshoot together. I love to hear what you think, always. Thanks for being here. It's much appreciated.
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