Pumpkin Cream Cheese Bundt Cake

Sweet and perfectly spiced, Pumpkin Bundt Cake is everything you love about a fall dessert!  The cake is filled with THREE layers of rich cream cheese filling. Brown sugar adds extra flavor and moisture to this cake and a creamy brown sugar glaze made with apple juice is drizzled over the top with a heavy hand! So much to love in this delicious fall pumpkin cake!

My love of pumpkin spice cake has led me to try my hand at many different kinds of pumpkin cake! This pumpkin bundt cake with layers of cream cheese filling has become an absolute favorite! Don’t be surprised to have it steal the show at your next fall event.

Why I Love THIS Pumpkin Bundt Cake

• Cream cheese filling!  I don’t know why you would ever want to make any sort of pumpkin cake without fluffy cream cheese filling slathered on as many places as possible.  This cake has THREE layers!
• Brown sugar glaze!  Oh myyyyyyy…  You gotta have a pumpkin bundt cake with glaze, right?  I reserve a little bit of the cream cheese filling and thin it down with apple juice and a brown sugar mixture for this decadent, fall flavored, creamy brown sugar glaze.  Then I drizzle a TON of it over the cake. If a bundt cake topping could be too good to be true this would be it.
• Easy! I like an easy cake.  This is simple to toss together and easy to assemble.  If you don’t cut the layers just right the filling hides it. (No need for flower pots here!)
• Perfectly Spiced! I love my pumpkin cake to be full of all the good cinnamon and spicy deliciousness.  Truly this is a pumpkin spice cake but no need to brag or anything.
• Brown Sugar IN The Cake Batter!  I use brown sugar in the actual cake batter where most people use white sugar.  This gives you more flavor and moisture – so basically pumpkin bunt cake heaven!

What is a Bundt Cake?

I LOVE this question.  It always makes me think of My Big Fat Greek Wedding when they don’t know what a bundt cake is so they put a flower pot in it to pretty it up.  A bundt cake is just a cake that is baked in a Bundt pan.  The pan is doughnut shaped – round with a hole in the middle (clue this is NOT for a flower pot!).  Bundt cakes often have patterned pans that bake the cake into a pretty design.  They are often glazed to show off the designs.

The cakes come in every conceivable flavor.  Generally they are more popular in the Southern United States (like my 7 Up Cake) but the cake shape is inspired by a traditional European cake known as Gugelhupf.

How Do You Know When a Bundt Cake is Done Baking?

It can be a little tricky to make sure a pumpkin bundt cake is fully done in the center! Follow these three tips to make sure you get it right.

1. Insert a cake tester or toothpick into the middle of one of the sides.  You are looking for a few moist crumbs but NO batter.  If there are no crumbs your cake is already getting dry and it is time to pull it right now.
2. Look at the top of the cake.  If there is no visible batter try pressing lightly on the surface.  The cake should feel firm and springy to the touch.  This is a good sign you are ready to take it out.
3. Look at the sides of the cake. When a bundt cake is done the edges will start to pull away slightly from the pan.

Can I use Pumpkin Pie Filling Instead of Pumpkin Puree?

Nope!  They are two different things entirely.  The pumpkin pie filling is a mix already – you don’t want to try to use that for a pumpkin bundt cake.  Stick with pumpkin puree for the best pumpkin cake possible!

This is true for any recipe that calls for pumpkin puree.  Never substitute pumpkin pie filling for pumpkin puree.

More Favorite Pumpkin Spice Recipes

• Easy Pumpkin Cake w/ Cream Cheese Frosting
• 15 Minute Microwave Pumpkin Butter
• How to Make Pumpkin Pie from Fresh Pumpkin
• Spiked Pumpkin Pie Milkshake

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5 from 2 votes

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Bundt Cake

Sweet and spicy Pumpkin Bundt Cake is filled with layers of rich cream cheese frosting. Brown sugar adds extra flavor and moisture to this cake and a creamy brown sugar glaze made with apple juice is drizzled over the top with a heavy hand! So much to love in this delicious fall pumpkin cake!

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword pumpkin bundt cake recipe, pumpkin spice bundt cake, pumpkin cake, pumpkin spice cake, what is a bundt cake

Prep Time 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time 45 minutes minutes

Chilling Time 2 hours hours

Total Time 3 hours hours 5 minutes minutes

Servings 12

Ingredients

For the Cake

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 Tablespoon cinnamon
• 1 Tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups light brown sugar packed
• 1 1/4 cup pumpkin puree canned or homemade
• 3 large eggs
• 2/3 cup vegetable oil can sub other canola oil but not olive oil
• 1/3 cup sour cream can sub plain or Greek yogurt
• 1 Tablespoon pure vanilla extract

For the Whipped Cream Cheese Filling

• 16 oz cream cheese very soft
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 3/4 cup salted butter very soft
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/8 teaspoon salt

For the Creamy Brown Sugar Glaze

• 1/2 cup light brown sugar packed
• 2 Tablespoons apple juice can sub apple cider or mulled apple cider
• 1/2 cup of the cream cheese filling

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Instructions

To Make The Cake

• Preheat the oven to 350F. Grease a 12 cup bundt pan with nonstick cooking spray. Be careful to spray all the crevices of the pan.
• In a medium mixing bowl combine flour, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, ginger, baking soda and salt. Stir to combine.
• In a large mixing bowl combine sugar, pumpkin, eggs, oil, sour cream and vanilla. Beat together with a spoon until mixed.
• Gently stir dry ingredients into the wet until everything is well combined.
• Pour the batter into the bundt pan. Bake in preheated oven for 50-55 minutes until top springs back to the touch and a cake tester comes back with a few damn crumbs.
• Remove the cake from the oven and cool on the counter for 15 minutes. Then carefully loosen sides with spatula if needed and then invert unto a cake plate. Refrigerate until fully chilled.

To Make the Brown Sugar Glaze:

• In a small microwave safe bowl, stir together the brown sugar and apple juice. Microwave for 30 seconds until the sugar starts to dissolve. Leave this mixture to cool on the counter while you make the filling.

To Make the Cream Cheese Filling

• In a large mixing bowl with a hand mixer or in the bowl of a stand mixer beat all cream cheese filling ingredients on medium speed until fully combined. Scrap the sides with a spatula to make sure everything is mixed in.
• Turn the mixer up to medium-high and beat for 3-4 minutes. The filling will be light and fluffy.
• Set aside 1/2 cup of the cream cheese filling for the glaze.

To Assemble The Cake

• Slice it into four layers with a sharp bread knife. Remove each layer to a plate and set aside. Tip: Holding the knife parallel to the table helps slice evenly. Remember if you don't do this perfectly the filling will make it LOOK like you did!
• Place the bottom layer on your serving platter and spread one third of the filling on top of it. Place the next layer on top of it taking care to align the pattern of each cake tier. Continue to stack layers of cake and filling until the top tier is on.
• Whisk the brown sugar mixture to melt as much of the remaining sugar crystals as possible. Then whisk in reserved 1/2 cup of cream cheese filling until smooth.
• Use a spoon to drizzle on the glaze allowing it to spill over the sides.
• Chill the cake until ready to serve. Store any leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

Notes

Plan on 10 minutes to prep the cake, 30 to bake, 1-2 hours to cool, and 15 - 20 minutes to fill and glaze the cake.

Nutrition

Calories: 709kcal | Carbohydrates: 86g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 39g | Saturated Fat: 26g | Cholesterol: 116mg | Sodium: 614mg | Potassium: 219mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 67g | Vitamin A: 4933IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 112mg | Iron: 2mg

Nutrition Disclaimer

MirlandrasKitchen.com is written to share great recipes. While we do our best to provide nutritional information as a general guideline, we are not registered dietitians and the values provided here should be considered estimates – not exact scientific data.

Calories 709kcal

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This recipe was originally shared in October of 2014.  It has been updated with new photos and content in August of 2020.