Pumpkin Cream Cheese Bundt Cake combines a moist, perfectly spiced pumpkin cake with cream cheese filling and a thick maple-rum glaze. This is truly the perfect fall dessert!
Table of Contents
This Is the Ultimate Fall Bundt Cake Recipe
Everyone needs an easy dessert to bust out when company comes calling and this pumpkin cream cheese bundt cake is that dessert. You don’t need any fancy equipment, just a hand mixer and a mixing bowl.
Pumpkin desserts are one of the things I look forward to when fall comes around. And as much as I love a slice of perfect pumpkin bread, there’s something so special about this cream cheese-swirled pumpkin bundt cake with maple glaze.
It’s visually gorgeous and the taste is even more spectacular. If you still need a show-stopping holiday dessert that’s not pie, this cake is perfect. It’s the perfect Thanksgiving bundt cake or holiday morning breakfast! A slice of pumpkin cake and hot cup of coffee is the perfect way to kickstart chilly mornings.
Tools You’ll Need
The Main Ingredients
You can find the full list of ingredients, quantities & method in the recipe card at the end of the page.
- Pumpkin puree. I always use Libby’s brand pumpkin puree for the flavor and texture. Don’t use pumpkin pie filling, which contains sugar and spices.
- Sugar. We use both brown and granulated sugar in the cake batter to give it a more nuanced sweetness.
- Flour. All-purpose flour is best here.
- Leaveners. You’ll need baking powder and baking soda for this recipe.
- Spices. Cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, and ground ginger add lots of warmth.
- Eggs. Make sure your eggs are room temperature so they mix more easily.
- Cream cheese. Full-fat brick cream cheese is the play here. Don’t use low fat or tub cream cheese, which will make the filling runny.
- Oil + butter. A neutral oil like canola or vegetable oil adds tons of moisture while melted butter adds richness and flavor.
- Butter. Melted butter adds great flavor.
- Pure maple syrup. Go for the good stuff here! If you can find the bourbon barrel aged maple syrup from Trader Joe’s, I am OBSESSED.
How to Make a Pumpkin Bundt Cake with Cream Cheese Filling
- Prepare your pan. Grease the pan really well with melted butter and then dust it with flour. This is really the key to making sure your bundt cake doesn’t stick to the pan!
- Whisk together the cake batter. When making cakes, it’s best to mix together the dry ingredients in one bowl and the wet in another. Then, you’ll fold the dry ingredients into the wet. Doing things in this order ensures the leavening agents and spices get evenly incorporated throughout the batter without having to over-work the flour.
- Mix the cream cheese filling. Using a hand mixer, beat together the cream cheese and sugar. Then, beat in the egg and vanilla until smooth.
- Layer, then bake. To create a ribbon of cream cheese throughout the cake, you’ll add half of the cake batter to the bundt pan and then spread the cream cheese mixture over top. Turn the rest of the cake batter over the cream cheese filling and then bake until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
- Cool for 1 hour before inverting. This gives the edges of the cake time to firm up and release from the bundt pan so that nothing sticks when it’s flipped over.
- Top with maple glaze. Pour the glaze onto the cooled cake and let it set for 20 minutes before serving.
Jenny’s Tips and Tricks for Making This Recipe
Use room temperature ingredients. When at room temperature, eggs, butter, and other dairy ingredients form an emulsion which traps air. While baking in the oven, that trapped air expands and produces a fluffy baked good. Fluffy baked goods = tender crumbs and a much better texture. Cold ingredients do not incorporate together as easily.
Don’t overmix the batter. Instead of using the hand mixer to mix the dry ingredients into the wet, use a rubber spatula and fold the ingredients together by hand. This ensures that you have a tender cake that’s never tough or dense.
Grease and flour your bundt cake really well. There’s nothing worse than having your cake stick to your bundt pan! To avoid that, use a high-quality nonstick bundt pan. I also spray my bundt pan liberally with non-stick spray or brush with melted butter and then dust the pan with flour. This ensures that the cake releases from the pan perfectly every time.
Cool the cake before removing it from the pan. Let the cake cool for an hour in the bundt pan before releasing it. The cake will still be warm, but this gives the cake some time to solidify so that pieces of it don’t end up sticking to the pan.
If you do give this recipe a try, be sure to let me know! Leave a comment with a star rating below. Be sure to subscribe to my weekly newsletter and never miss a new recipe! You can also snap a photo & tag @JENNYGOYCOCHEA on Instagram. I LOVE hearing about & seeing your SMF creations!
More Fall Cake Recipes You’ll Love
- Apple Cider Donut Cake
- Sour Cream Coffee Cake Loaf
- Cranberry Ricotta Cake
- Apple Crumb Cake
- Chocolate Whiskey Cake
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Pumpkin Cream Cheese Bundt Cake Recipe
Ingredients
Pumpkin Cake
- 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 15 oz Libby's canned pumpkin puree
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup neutral oil, like canola
- 1/2 cup (4 oz, 1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
- 4 eggs, room temperature
Cream Cheese Filling
- 12 oz brick-style cream cheese, room temperature
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1 egg yolk, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons heavy cream
Maple-Rum Glaze
- 1 1/4 cups powdered sugar
- 3 tablespoons pure maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon dark rum
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon maple extract
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
Instructions
- Preheat an oven to 350ºF. Grease a 12-cup bundt pan really well with melted butter and dust with flour. This is really the key to making sure your cake doesn't stick to the pan.
- Mix the dry ingredients. In a mixing bowl whisk together the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, and ground ginger until well-mixed.
- Mix the wet ingredients. In a larger mixing bowl, whisk together the pumpkin, eggs, vanilla, sugars, oil, and melted butter until very smooth.
- Fold in the dry ingredients. Use a rubber spatula to fold in the dry ingredients until well-mixed and no streaks of flour remain. Set aside.
- Mix the cream cheese filling. Using a hand mixer, beat together the cream cheese and sugar. Then, beat in the egg yolk, cream, and vanilla until smooth.
- Layer, then bake. Pour half of the pumpkin cake batter into the prepared bundt pan. Spread the cream cheese layer evenly over the batter, then pour the rest of the pumpkin cake batter on top. Bake for 50-55 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Cool completely. Let the cake cool in the pan for 1 hour before inverting onto a plate. Refrigerate the cake for 1 hour.
- Make the glaze. Whisk together the glaze ingredients until smooth and very thick, but still drizzle-able. Pour the glaze onto the cake and let it set for 20 minutes before serving.
Make Ahead & Storage Instructions
- Make ahead instructions: To make this cake in advance, follow the instructions on baking. Once the cake is cool and out of the pan, wrap it well in plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 3 days. Then, glaze the cake about 30 minutes before serving.To store:Â Wrap the cake in parchment and plastic wrap and keep it at room temperature for 3 days.To freeze:Â Wrap before slicing in plastic wrap really well and transfer to a freezer-safe Ziploc bag. This helps prevent freezer burn. Freeze for up to 3 months. Defrost in the fridge and then microwave for 20 seconds before serving.
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