Pumpkin Spice Bundt Cake
This Pumpkin Spice Bundt Cake features pumpkin puree and warm fall spices like cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg. Delicious served plain or glazed.
As far as desserts go, cake beats pie every time, as far as I’m concerned. So if I can find a way to turn a favorite pastry-based dessert into a cake-based one, I will. Which is exactly why I decided to make this Pumpkin Spice Bundt Cake for a recent family gathering.That and the fact that I didn’t want the leftover pumpkin puree from another recent recipe taking up valuable real estate in my freezer for too long.
Now I realize there’s no shortage of pumpkin-based recipes at this time of the year. But there’s just something special about a bundt cake. The shape of it feels nostalgic, and just a little more special – it looks beautiful on a platter, and it’s easy to cut and serve.
Plus, you have the flexibility to serve it with a simple glaze, drizzle it with something like caramel, or simply dust it with powdered sugar. If you want to learn how to make this simple, but special, fall-inspired dessert, keep reading.
How to Make Pumpkin Spice Bundt Cake
To make this cake (and all bundt cakes), start by making a DIY cake release mixture. This is simply equal parts flour and oil stirred together and brushed on the inside of your bundt pan. I highly recommend this because bundt pans are known to be a bit sticky, and this reduces the risk of your cake getting stuck and possibly broken.
Next, mix the dry ingredients (flour, cornstarch, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, and nutmeg) together in a medium bowl, and the wet ingredients (pumpkin puree, oil, ginger, and eggs) together in a small bowl or large measuring cup.
Place the butter in the bowl of your stand mixer (or a large bowl) and beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy. Scrape down the sides and add the sugar, beating again until it appears granular and fluffy. Scrape down the sides and add an egg, beating again until fluffy. Scrape the sides, add the second egg, and beat again.
Add half of the flour mixture and mix on low speed until it’s incorporated. Add half of the pumpkin mixture, and mix on medium speed until mixed. Scrape the sides of the bowl and repeat this process with the remainder of the flour mixture and the pumpkin mixture.
Before adding the batter to the prepared pan, check to make sure that none of the cake release mixture has pooled in the bottom of the pan, brushing it back up the sides if needed. Pour the batter into the pan.
Bake for 45-55 minutes, until a skewer inserted into the center of the cake comes out with crumbs clinging to it. Place the cake on a wire rack to cool for at least 20 minutes. To remove the cake from the pan, carefully invert the pan over a cake board, platter, or large plate.
Cool the cake completely before glazing (if desired). You can serve this cake with a simple vanilla glaze (a mixture of water/milk/cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla), any frosting of your choice, caramel sauce, or simply with powdered sugar.
Pumpkin Spice Bundt Cake Ingredients
- Canola oil or any other neutral-flavored cooking oil – you will be using this both in the cake (using all/some oil in cakes helps to add moisture vs. using only butter) and to make a DIY cake release mixture to ensure that the cake doesn’t stick to the pan.
- All-purpose flour – you will be using flour both in the cake batter and with canola oil to make a DIY cake release mixture.
- Cornstarch – using cornstarch with all-purpose flour is like making DIY cake flour. This helps to ensure a more tender cake.
- Baking powder
- Cinnamon
- Baking soda
- Table salt
- Freshly grated nutmeg – using a microplane to freshly grate nutmeg results in a much stronger flavor than using ground nutmeg. However, you can use ground nutmeg if that’s all you have.
- Pumpkin puree – If you’re using canned pumpkin, make sure you purchase pumpkin puree, not pumpkin pie filling, which is already sweetened and seasoned. This could result in a cake that’s too sweet and/or overseasoned.
- Fresh ginger – I prefer the flavor of fresh ginger in my spiced baked goods to ground ginger in most cases. Simply use a microplane to grate it. Pro-tip: keep your ginger in the freezer for long-term storage, and grate it straight from frozen for maximum convenience.
- Softened unsalted butter – or use a dairy-free butter alternative to make this cake dairy-free.
- Granulated sugar
- Large eggs
Want more pumpkin spice recipes?
Pumpkin Spice Bundt Cake Nutrition Notes
The nutrition information in the recipe below is for one slice of cake if you cut it into 12 pieces. If your slices are larger (or smaller) than this, the nutrition information will vary accordingly. The nutrition information does not include an optional glaze/frosting or any other toppings.
To make this cake dairy-free, replace the butter in the recipe with a dairy-free butter alternative.
Pumpkin Spice Bundt Cake
Equipment
Ingredients
Instructions
- Stir together 1 Tablespoon canola oil and 1 Tablespoon all-purpose flour in a small bowl. Brush this mixture all over the inside of a 12-cup bundt pan, being careful not to let it pool in the bottom. Set the pan aside.
- Move an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 350°F.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together 2 ½ cups (313 g) all-purpose flour, ¼ cup (32 g) cornstarch, 1 ½ teaspoons (6 g) baking powder, 1 teaspoon (2 g) cinnamon, ½ teaspoon (2 g) baking soda, ½ teaspoon (3 g) table salt, and ¼ teaspoon (0.5 g) freshly grated nutmeg. Set this aside.
- In a medium bowl or large measuring cup, stir together 1 ½ cups (368 g) pumpkin puree, ¼ cup (56 g) canola oil, and 1 ½ Tablespoons (11 g) grated fresh ginger. Set aside.
- Add ½ cup (114 g) softened unsalted butter to the bowl of a stand mixer (or to a large bowl). Mix on medium-high speed until fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula and add 1 ½ cups (300 g) granulated sugar to the bowl. Mix on medium-high speed until the mixture is well-mixed, about 2 minutes.
- Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add one of the large eggs. Turn the mixer on to high speed and mix until the mixture is fluffy. Repeat this process again with the second large egg.
- Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add half of the flour mixture. Turn the mixer on low speed, and mix until the flour is mostly mixed in, then slowly increase the speed to medium until the mixture is fully mixed. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add half of the pumpkin mixture. Mix on medium-high speed until fully mixed. Repeat this procedure with the remaining halves of the flour and pumpkin mixtures.
- Pour the mixture into the prepared bundt pan, and spread it evenly into the pan. Bake for 45-55 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out with a few crumbs clinging to it.
- Place the cake on a wire rack to cool for at least 20 minutes before attempting to remove the cake from the pan. To remove the cake from the pan, place a large plate or platter over the pan, and quickly and carefully flip both the plate and the pan so that the plate is on the bottom. The cake should come out easily. Allow the cake to cool completely before adding an optional glaze.
Nutrition
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