Moist Pumpkin Bundt Cake
This delicious and moist pumpkin bundt cake is easily one of my top three favorite cakes! If you like pumpkin even a little bit, you have to make this cake. The light and tender cake is topped with a brown butter glaze that complements the pumpkin flavor and warm fall spices without being overpowering. It’s a perfect fall dessert!
For more yummy cakes that give you cozy fall feelings, try my Pumpkin Roll, Pumpkin Pecan Coffee Cake, and Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Coffee Cake. For my apple lovers, there’s Apple Cider Bundt Cake and Apple Fritter Cake as well!
Why This Recipe Works
- Easy pumpkin bundt cake. This pumpkin bundt recipe is all made in one bowl. No separating eggs or even mixing the dry ingredients in a different bowl—mix your wet ingredients, then add your dry ingredients. Who knew the best pumpkin cake could be this simple?
- Beautiful presentation. Although this moist cake is simple to make, it looks like it took you hours! Bundt pans are an easy way to elevate any cake you make. Making this a glazed bundt cake adds another stylish element, as well as delicious flavor.
- Perfect for the holidays. While you can enjoy this pumpkin bundt cake recipe any time you’d like, pumpkin desserts are most commonly found during the fall season. This pumpkin spice bundt cake is sure to be a huge hit, whether it’s for a Halloween party, Thanksgiving, or during any cozy fall weekend.
Ingredient Notes
- Eggs: This cake uses four large eggs which help create structure and stability for our cake. They also add moisture and richness.
- Vegetable oil: This dairy-free pumpkin bundt cake gets a moist texture from vegetable oil, eggs, and pumpkin puree. And before you ask, eggs are not considered to be a dairy product.
- Pumpkin puree: You will use an entire 15 oz can of pumpkin puree in this pumpkin spice bundt cake recipe. After all, it’s not just a bundt cake with pumpkin—it’s a pumpkin bundt cake!
- Light brown sugar: Brown sugar enhances the browning and caramelization process that occurs in baking, giving this pumpkin cake a more complex and delicious flavor. The molasses in brown sugar also adds to the cake’s moisture.
- Granulated sugar: White sugar, or granulated sugar, inhibits the development of gluten so baked goods like cakes stay soft and tender.
- All-purpose flour: Many cake recipes call for cake flour (including some of mine) for a lighter and more tender texture. This cake, however, gets tons of texture help from the other ingredients, so all-purpose flour works great.
- Spices: We add pumpkin spice to this pumpkin bundt cake recipe, as well as additional cinnamon and cloves for just the right amount of warm spices. If you don’t have pumpkin pie spice, you can make your own with cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, allspice, and cloves. There are lots of recipes online, or you can experiment to find the right blend for your own tastes.
How to Make Pumpkin Bundt Cake
- Prep oven and pan. Preheat your oven to 325°F. Grease and flour a 12-cup bundt cake pan, then set it aside. Get out a wire cooling rack to use later as well.
- Combine wet ingredients. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large bowl and using an electric hand mixer, add 4 large room temperature eggs, 1 cup vegetable oil, one 15 oz. can of pumpkin puree, ½ a teaspoon of vanilla extract, 1 cup light brown sugar, and ½ a cup of granulated sugar. Mix until thoroughly combined and smooth.
- Add dry ingredients. To the bowl of wet ingredients, add 2 cups of all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon baking powder, ¾ teaspoon salt, 1¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1½ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice, and ¼ teaspoon ground cloves. Mix until just combined and no flour streaks remain.
- Bake. Pour pumpkin spice bundt cake batter into your greased and floured bundt pan. Bake for 45-55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the batter (between the edge of the pan and the center of the bundt pan) comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs attached.
- Remove cake. Pull the cake out of the oven once it’s done baking, then let it cool in the pan for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes have passed, turn the cake out onto a wire rack to let the cake cool until it’s room temperature or just slightly warm.
- Brown butter for icing. Add 6 tablespoons of unsalted butter to a light-colored saucepan or small skillet. Cook the butter over medium heat. The butter will melt, then start to foam and sizzle. Stir the butter continuously, until the foam subsides and you start to see milk solids collect at the bottom of the pan. Cook and stir butter until the milk solids are golden brown or amber in color, and the butter smells nutty. Once you’ve reached this point, remove the butter from heat immediately.
- Make brown butter glaze. Pour the browned butter into a heat-proof bowl to stop the cooking process. Measure 2 cups of powdered sugar (aka icing sugar) and sift it into the butter, followed by ½ teaspoon of vanilla extract and a pinch of salt. Whisk all these ingredients together. Then add milk, a tablespoon at a time, until your glaze reaches a pourable consistency. Don’t add more than 2 tablespoons of milk.
- Drizzle glaze over cake. As evenly as you can, pour the glaze over the top of the cooled cake. Allow the glaze to drip down the sides of the cake.
- Enjoy. Slice your glazed pumpkin bundt cake, serve, and enjoy!
Recipe Tips
Sifting your powdered sugar ensures the brown butter glaze has no lumps, so make sure to do it!
To bring eggs to room temperature quickly, warm up a bowl of water in the microwave and let the eggs sit in the warm water for 5 minutes.
If you don’t have pumpkin pie spice, you can make your own with a combination of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, allspice, and cloves. Find a recipe online or make your own blend (hint: go easy on the allspice and cloves).
No bundt pan? No sweat! A 9×13 pan can hold 14 cups of batter. Since this recipe is made in a 12-cup bundt pan, a 9×13 pan will work great. You may need to increase the bake time, however, so check it around 50 minutes and use your best judgment.
Add in 1¼ of chocolate chips or chopped pecans for a yummy twist.If you love the combination of cream cheese and pumpkin, the cream cheese glaze from my Carrot Coffee Cake would be delicious here, but you will need to double it.
Make Ahead, Storing, and Freezing
Make Ahead: Make this moist pumpkin bundt cake up to a day in advance and store it in a room-temperature container or cover it thoroughly in plastic wrap without icing. Glaze the cake just before serving. I do think this cake is best the day it’s made, and definitely within the first 2-3 days.
Storing: Store the cake covered in plastic wrap or an airtight container at room temperature for up to three days. You can store it with or without icing, but if it’s possible to store it without icing, even better.
Freezing: This cake freezes beautifully. To freeze a glazed pumpkin bundt cake, flash freeze the cake until the icing is solid, then wrap it in plastic wrap and a layer of foil. Or, freeze the cake without the glaze using the same method. Freeze for up to three months. Let the cake thaw in the fridge, then glaze it before serving (if frozen unglazed).
For more information on storing and freezing cakes, check out my How to Store and Freeze Cakes guide!
Recipe FAQs
I love the look of a bundt cake, but you can also use a 9×13 baking pan if you don’t have a bundt pan. It may need to cook a little longer.
This is a dairy-free bundt cake. All the moisture for this cake comes from oil, eggs, and the pumpkin puree.
No. It’s important to wait until a bundt cake is mostly cooled or entirely cooled, otherwise the warm cake with cause the glaze to melt and drip right off.
Flipping a bundt cake is the hardest part! If you are new to making bundt cakes, start with a pan that has a simple design (or no design). Grease and flour it very thoroughly. Once the cake is baked, let it sit in the pan for 10 minutes before attempting to flip it out
More Perfect Pumpkin Recipes
- Pumpkin Pecan Pancakes
- No Bake Mini Pumpkin Cheesecakes
- Starbucks Pumpkin Scones
- Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Biscoff Pumpkin Pie
Moist Pumpkin Bundt Cake
Ingredients
- 4 large eggs - at room temperature
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 15 oz pumpkin puree
- 1 cup light brown sugar - packed
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- 1 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
Brown Butter Icing
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 cups powdered sugar - measured then sifted
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons milk - more or less as needed
- pinch salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325°F. Grease and flour a 12 cup bundt pan and set aside.
- Using an electric mixer (with paddle attachment) or hand beaters, mix the eggs, oil, vanilla, pumpkin puree, brown sugar, and granulated sugar.
- Add the 2 cups of flour, 1 tsp baking soda, 1 tsp baking powder, 3/4 tsp salt, 1 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon, 1 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice, 1/4 tsp ground cloves. Mix until just combined and no flour streaks remain.
- Pour the batter into the prepared bundt pan. Bake for 45-55 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs. Remove from the oven and let cool in the pan for 10 minutes before turning the cake out onto a wire rack to cool until room temperature or just slightly warm.
- Make the brown butter icing: Add the butter to a light colored saucepan or small skillet. Cook over medium heat. Once the butter melts, and after several minutes, it will begin to foam and sizzle. Continue stirring, eventually the foam will subside and the milk solids at the bottom of the pan will turn a very light golden color. Continue stirring until the milk solids are golden brown and almost amber colored. The smell will be nutty and very buttery. Butter can burn in a matter of seconds so don't overcook the butter.
- Immediately remove the pan from the heat and pour the butter into a heat proof bowl or container. This will stop the cooking process. Whisk in the powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and salt. Add milk, a tablespoon at a time, to thin the glaze until it reaches your desired consistency.
- Drizzle the glaze overtop of the pumpkin bundt cake. Slice and serve!
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