Pumpkin Bundt Cake (with cream cheese frosting)
Bundt cakes are one of our most popular categories, so it was about time I introduced you to this fabulous pumpkin-flavored cake. The crumb is moist thanks to the oil in the batter, and the flavor is spiced, sweet, and just plain wonderful. Oh, and the cream cheese glaze! The perfect combination.
Servings 10 servings
Ingredients
- You can use homemade pumpkin pie spice or store-bought instead of the spices below.
- 2 tablespoons shortening soft, to grease the pan
For a 10-cup bundt pan:
- 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- ⅛ teaspoon ground allspice or nutmeg or a mix of both
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 3 eggs at room temperature
- ¾ cup sugar
- ¾ cup light brown sugar packed
- 1 ½ cups pumpkin puree 12 ounces
- ¾ cup vegetable oil
- ½ teaspoon orange zest optional
For a 12-cup bundt pan:
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 tablespoon baking soda
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon ground allspice or nutmeg or a mix of both
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 4 eggs at room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup light brown sugar packed
- 2 cups pumpkin puree 16 ounces
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon orange zest optional
For the cream cheese frosting:
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature
- 4 tablespoons cream cheese at room temperature
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 to 2 teaspoons milk if needed
Instructions
For the cake:
- Preheat oven to 350ºF (180°C).
- Grease a 10 or 12-inch bundt cake pan (26cm) with 2 tablespoons shortening, making sure every nook, cranny and angle is covered. Dust with flour, shaking off excess. Reserve.
- Sift together 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour, 2 teaspoons baking powder, 2 teaspoons baking soda, 3 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice and ½ teaspoon salt in a bowl.
- Beat 3 eggs for a minute with an electric mixer in a large bowl (or the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment), until frothy.
- Add ¾ cup sugar and ¾ cup light brown sugar and beat for 1 or 2 minutes, until thick and pale-colored.
- Gradually add ¾ cup vegetable oil and beat for a minute more, until well incorporated.
- Add 1 ½ cups pumpkin pureeand mix well. If using ½ teaspoon orange zest add it now.
- Add flour mixture in two additions beating only until well mixed. It's important that you don't overbeat the pumpkin mixture at this point.
- Pour batter into prepared pan and smooth the top.
- Bake for about 50 minutes, or until a cake tester or toothpick inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean. If the top is browning too quickly before it's done, loosely cover the cake with a large piece of aluminum foil so the top doesn't continue to brown while the inside bakes fully.
- Let cool for 15-20 minutes in the pan on a wire rack. Grab the pan with kitchen towels and starts shaking it a little, until the cake moves and you make sure the bottom and sides are not stuck.
- Invert onto a wire rack, and cool completely before frosting.
- Add the cream cheese frosting and decorate with some orange zest and ground cinnamon.
For the cream cheese frosting:
- Beat soft 4 tablespoons cream cheese in a bowl with the soft 2 tablespoons unsalted butter until very creamy and no lumps remain.
- Gradually add 2 cups powdered sugar and beat until you have a thick, very creamy consistency. If needed, thin it with 1 to 2 teaspoons milk until you have a good enough spreadable consistency.
- Store it in the refrigerator, covered, for a few weeks. Beat again before using it to attain a creamy consistency.
Notes
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 an oven thermometer to check that your oven is at the right temperature. I recommend keeping track of how your oven works and what tiny details you might need to adjust.
Pan size: when you pour the cake batter into a pan, it should not fill it higher than ¾ of its capacity. If you only have a 10-cup bundt pan, the cake will take over an hour to bake and the sides be a little thicker and drier.
Flavorings: adapt the amount and type of spices to your personal palate. Use a homemade or store-bought mix that 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 very well, always well wrapped. I use plastic wrap first and then aluminum foil. It keeps for a month for sure. Defrost in the refrigerator (it takes a while so I recommend doing it the day before) or at room temperature.
