Pumpkin Bundt Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
- By Amy Dong
- Updated Oct. 25, 2024
This Pumpkin Bundt Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting is a showstopper – a moist, tender pumpkin cake encasing a cream cheese filling. Our friends and family rave over this delicious fall favorite.
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Video: watch us make this Recipe
Why This Recipe Stands Out
This Pumpkin Bundt Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting is a result of our favorite fall flavors, combined into one cake. Here’s why we can’t get enough of it:
- Big Fall Flavors: With its warm spices and pumpkin flavor, this cake is the ultimate fall dessert.
- Easy to Make: The recipe is secretly easy, though the result is a stunning cake that looks like it came from a bakery, just like our Bakery Style Blueberry Muffins with Streusel.
- Moist and Tender: The pure pumpkin puree and Greek yogurt in the recipe ensure that the cake is incredibly moist and tender, as in our Pumpkin Coffee Cake Recipe.
- Make-Ahead: The cake can be made a day in advance, making it the perfect dessert for holiday meals.
- Incredible Cream Cheese Filling: The surprise cream cheese filling takes this cake to the next level. Plus, the easy-to-make glaze adds the perfect amount of sweetness to the cake.
Key Recipe Ingredients
- Pumpkin Puree – Pumpkin puree adds a beautiful orange hue and a moist, tender crumb.
- Cream Cheese – We use this for both the filling and the glaze. It adds a tangy richness that pairs perfectly with the warm spices in the cake.
- Greek Yogurt – It’s the secret to the cake’s incredibly moist texture. Use whole yogurt, not low fat or nonfat.
- Spices – A blend of cinnamon, allspice, cloves, ginger, and nutmeg gives this cake its quintessential fall flavor.
- Brown Sugar – We use brown sugar in the cake batter for a hint of molasses flavor and a moist crumb.
Substitutions And Variations
Here are some of our favorite variations and substitution ideas for this pumpkin bundt cake with cream cheese frosting:
- Spices: Feel free to play around with the spices in the cream cheese filling. You can add a dash of nutmeg or allspice to give it a more fall-inspired flavor.
- Oil: You can use any other neutral oil, like vegetable or canola oil, as a substitute.
- Glaze: The glaze is super versatile. Try adding a splash of maple extract for a different flavor profile. Or, if you’re a fan of pumpkin spice, a dash of pumpkin pie spice or nutmeg would work well here, as it does in our Pumpkin Spice Cookies.
- Homemade Caramel Sauce is another amazing topping choice!
Step-By-Step Recipe Instructions
- Beat cream cheese with sugar until smooth. Add egg, cinnamon, and vanilla and beat until smooth. Chill the filling in the fridge.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices.
- Cream butter and sugars. Then, beat in eggs, oil, pumpkin, yogurt, and vanilla.
- Fold in previously mixed dry ingredients into this mixture.
- Pour almost half of the batter into the prepared pan. Carve a tunnel in the batter and fill it with the chilled cream cheese filling.
- Pour the remaining batter over the filling. Bake for 55-60 minutes.
- Beat the softened cream cheese and powdered sugar until smooth and fluffy. Add the rest of the glaze ingredients and stir.
- Drizzle the glaze over the cooled cake and serve.
For full list of ingredients and instructions, see recipe card below.
How To Prep Ahead
Take a look at our best prep-ahead tips for this recipe:
- Prepare the Filling: The cream cheese filling can be prepared ahead of time. Beat the cream cheese and sugar until smooth, add the egg, cinnamon, and vanilla. Store this filling in a covered container in the fridge for up to 2 days.
- Premix Dry Ingredients: Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices in a bowl, whisk together, and store in an airtight container for up to 2 days prior to using.
- Entire Cake: This pumpkin bundt cake can be made entirely in advance the day before you want to serve it. Leftovers can be stored airtight up to 5 days in the fridge.
Commonly Asked Questions
Can I use a hand mixer instead of a stand mixer?
Yes, you can use a hand mixer if you don’t have a stand mixer. It may take a little more effort, but you can still achieve a smooth and fluffy texture for the cake batter, cream cheese filling, and glaze.
Why do I need to carve out a tunnel in the cake batter for the cream cheese filling?
Carving out a tunnel in the cake batter allows you to fill it with the cream cheese mixture. This technique helps to distribute the filling evenly throughout the cake center.
How long does pumpkin bundt cake with cream cheese frosting keep?
It can be stored at room temperature for up to 2 days. If you want to make it further in advance, store it in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Did you make this?
Please give us a rating and comment below. We love hearing from you!
Pumpkin Bundt Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
This moist, tender Pumpkin Bundt Cake encases a luscious cream cheese center. The entire cake gets an extra boost of cheesecake flavor with a delicious cream cheese drizzle.
Ingredients
For the Filling
- 8 oz cream cheese, softened and cubed
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg, room temp
- ¼ tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
For the Cake
- 3 cups all purpose flour
- 1 ½ tsp baking powder
- 1 ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- 3 tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp ground all spice
- ½ tsp ground cloves
- ½ tsp ground ginger
- ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
- ¼ cup unsalted butter, softened
- ⅔ cup brown sugar, packed
- ½ cup white sugar
- 2 large eggs, room temp
- ½ cup olive oil
- 15 oz pure pumpkin puree
- ½ cup Greek yogurt, plain
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
For the Glaze
- 4 oz cream cheese, softened
- ¼ cup powdered sugar
- pinch salt
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 ½ TB milk, plus more as needed
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F, with rack on lower middle or middle position. Generously grease Bundt pan and set aside.
- Make the Filling: Beat cream cheese cubes with sugar on medium high, until completely smooth. Add egg, cinnamon, and vanilla, beating until smooth. Transfer to a covered container and chill in fridge.
- Make the Cake: In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, all spice, cloves, ginger, and nutmeg. Whisk together and set aside.
- In the bowl of stand mixer, using paddle attachment, cream butter and both sugars until fully mixed and fluffy. Beat in eggs, oil, pumpkin, yogurt, and vanilla, until mixture is smooth.
- Fold dry ingredients into the wet ingredients by hand, using rubber spatula.
- Pour almost half of batter into grease Bundt pan, filling the grooves. Using wooden spoon, try to carve out a generous tunnel in the batter, and fill the tunnel with cream cheese filling. Filling will probably overflow the tunnel, but this helps to keep the filling together. Gently pour in remaining cake batter.
- Bake 55-60 minutes or just until toothpick inserted in the center comes out almost clean, with few tender crumbs attached. Cool cake in pan 15-20 minutes; transfer to wire rack to finish cooling.
- Make the Glaze: Beat softened cream cheese and powdered sugar until smooth and fluffy, about 4 minutes on medium high. Add rest of glaze ingredients, stirring by hand. Add 1 tsp of milk at a time, as needed, to reach your desired glaze consistency.
- Note: I scrape the glaze into a small ziploc baggie, cut a tiny tip off a corner, and drizzle happily onto cake!
Notes
- Make sure your cream cheese is softened for the filling. This will help it blend smoothly and easily with the other ingredients, giving you a creamy and lump-free filling.
- When adding the cream cheese filling to your bundt cake, don’t skip the step of carving out a generous tunnel in the batter. This will help prevent the filling from spilling out and also ensure that every slice of your cake has a delicious, creamy center.
- After adding the dry ingredients to your wet ingredients, fold them in gently. Over mixing your cake may result in less tenderness.
- Also try serving this cake with 4-Ingredient Salted Caramel Sauce or Hot Fudge Sauce.
- This recipe is part of our Cake and Cupcake Recipe collection.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 575kcal | Carbohydrates: 73g | Protein: 10g | Fat: 29g | Saturated Fat: 12g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 13g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 103mg | Sodium: 542mg | Potassium: 276mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 38g | Vitamin A: 778IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 134mg | Iron: 3mg
More to BAKE And Eat
- Chocolate Bundt Cake – This Chocolate Bundt Cake is deliciously fuss-free. It’s made simply in a Bundt pan and requires no special equipment.
- Lemon Blueberry Bundt Cake – This Lemon Blueberry Bundt Cake is tender, moist, and luscious with ripe berries – perfect for summers when blueberries abound.
- Fresh Orange Bundt Cake – This orange bundt cake gifts eaters with a huge burst of fresh orange flavor, and is the perfect brunch addition.
- 5-Ingredient Banana Pudding Cake – This extra moist banana pudding cake boasts giant banana flavor and a tender crumb. Unbelievably easy, a crowd-pleaser, and fail proof.