This easy Pumpkin Bundt Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting is the perfect fall dessert. It’s moist, rich, packed with pumpkin flavor, and the frosting takes it over the top!
Hello, fall! This Easy Pumpkin Bundt Cake recipe is a delightfully tasty way to celebrate the season.
It has a whole can of pumpkin, warm spices like cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves, and a truly decadent cream cheese frosting.
And it’s truly easy—just stir everything together and bake. You’ll need just one bowl for the batter, one bowl for the frosting, and a bundt cake pan.
The recipe is from a 1970s church cookbook. The original recipe was in need of some tweaking—it called for 4 teaspoons of cinnamon which was a little too much for my taste. And, it was topped with an ermine frosting (cooked flour frosting).
As much as I wanted to like the frosting, it did very little to complement the cake. So, I replaced it with a cream cheese frosting, and that was a VERY good decision. The tanginess of the cream cheese is the perfect pairing with the sweet pumpkin spiced cake. And, the cream cheese frosting is much easier, too!
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Tips for the BEST easy pumpkin bundt cake
- This cake can be made in a bundt pan OR a 13×9 inch pan with good results.
- The cream cheese and butter MUST be at room temperature for a perfectly creamy frosting.
- Want to use pumpkin pie spice instead of individual spices? You can substitute 1 teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice in place of the ginger, nutmeg, and cloves.
- Use an offset spatula to create pretty swirls on the top of the cake before topping with nuts.
Ingredients
- You’ll need a whole can (15 oz) of pumpkin purée.
- Warm spices including cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves enhance the pumpkin flavor.
- The rest of the ingredients are pretty typical cake ingredients: oil, eggs, sugar, flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. The oil helps keep the cake super moist and tender!
How to make an easy pumpkin bundt cake
Start by whisking together the eggs, oil, sugar, and pumpkin purée in a large bowl.
Then comes the dry ingredients: flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves.
I’ve made this cake by whisking the dry ingredients together first, and also by just dumping them into the batter without mixing first, and there was no difference!
Gently fold the dry ingredients into the pumpkin mixture. You want to mix it JUST until it’s combined. If you over mix it, it can result in a tough cake.
Pour the mixture into a greased bundt pan (I just used cooking spray to grease it). You can also use a 13×9 inch pan.
Bake the bundt cake for 55–60 minutes at 350°F, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
Let the cake cool for 15 minutes before inverting the cake onto a wire rack. Let cool completely.
If you’re using a 13×9 inch pan, bake it for 30–35 minutes.
How to make cream cheese frosting
The key to a super creamy frosting is to make sure that the butter and cream cheese are both at room temperature. This takes about 2 hours of sitting on the countertop.
If you’re short on time, cut both the butter and cream cheese into small pieces, and let it sit at room temperature for at least 45 minutes.
In addition to the cream cheese and butter, you’ll also need vanilla extract and powdered sugar. The chopped walnuts (or pecans) are for the top!
In a large bowl, beat the butter and cream cheese together until soft and fluffy. Add the powdered sugar and vanilla, and beat until smooth.
Topping the cake
Use an offset spatula to distribute the frosting evenly over the pumpkin bundt cake, then sprinkle with walnuts.
Here are a few more easy ideas for toppings:
- Swap chopped pecans for the walnuts
- Ditch the nuts altogether and use fall-colored sprinkles instead
- For a less decadent option, omit the frosting and dust the cake with powdered sugar instead.
Can I make pumpkin bundt cake ahead of time?
The cake can be made and frosted up to 3 days in advance of serving it. Keep it in the refrigerator under a cake dome or in a covered container. Bring it to room temperature before serving the cake.
Can pumpkin cake be frozen?
This easy Pumpkin Bundt Cake can be frozen with or without the frosting. It’s a little easier to freeze it without the frosting (especially if it’s whole). Wrap the unfrosted cake tightly in plastic wrap, then in two layers of aluminum foil before freezing for up to one month.
You can also freeze slices of the cake with the frosting. Wrap the slices in plastic wrap and place in a resealable freezer bag. The slices will last several months in the freezer as long as they’re in the airtight freezer bag.
More old fashioned cakes
- Homemade Hawaiian Cake
- Easy Ding Dong Cake (a reader favorite)
- Easy Chocolate Mayonnaise Cake
- Old Fashioned Orange Cake
- Jell-O Poke Cake
- Coconut Poke Cake
- Sock it to Me Cake
And one old fashioned pie!
Have you tried this recipe? Please leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating and/or comment below!
📖 Recipe
Easy Pumpkin Bundt Cake
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 1½ cups vegetable oil
- 2 cups sugar
- 4 eggs
- 1 (15 oz) can pumpkin purée
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- Pinch of cloves
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
For the frosting:
- 8 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
- ½ cup (1 stick) butter, at room temperature
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- Pinch of salt
- ¼ cup chopped walnuts
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a bundt pan OR 13×9 inch pan with cooking spray.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the oil and sugar. Add the eggs, and whisk to combine.
- Whisk in the pumpkin, then fold in the remaining cake ingredients (cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt) with a spatula. Stir just until combined.
- Pour the mixture into the prepared pan. Bake for 30–35 minutes for the 13×9 inch pan, or 55–60 minutes for the bundt pan.
- Let cool completely before frosting.
- Once the cake is cool, place the cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar, vanilla, and pinch of salt in a large bowl. Mix with a handheld electric mixer until soft and creamy.
- For the bundt cake, invert the cake onto a cake pedestal or serving platter. For the 13×9 inch cake, just leave it in the pan.
- Frost the cooled cake, and top with the chopped walnuts.
Maggie says
Full disclosure I didn’t make this recipe but I did eat it and it was delicious! Perfect fall cake that was moist and full of pumpkin flavor, plus cream cheese frosting makes everything better!
Kate Shungu says
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