This is my go-to pumpkin Bundt cake recipe because the crumb is incredibly moist, the cake tastes perfectly spiced, and you can top it with anything from salted caramel sauce to cream cheese frosting. You can fill it with chocolate chips, a cinnamon swirl, chopped nuts, or leave it plain. I particularly love it plain with maple icing on top!
I originally published this recipe in 2017 and have since added new photos, a video tutorial, and more helpful success tips.
Moist and dense, this pumpkin Bundt cake delivers BIG. It’s not quite as heavy as a cream cheese pound cake, nor is it quite as light as my regular pumpkin cake. Instead, it meets somewhere in the middle and this place is called pumpkin euphoria.
I make this dessert recipe at least 2 or 3 times every fall season. It’s oh-so-easy, and I haven’t changed the recipe at all over many years of keeping this cake in my fall rotation. There are so many variations between add-ins and toppings, that you could make a different pumpkin Bundt cake practically every day for an entire year. (And you’ll want to… it’s *that* good.)
One reader, Janet, commented: “This was such a hit I’ve had to make it twice!! Was delicious and easy to make, my friends were very impressed! ★★★★★”
One reader, Sherri, commented: “This is the BEST pumpkin cake recipe ever. We leave out the chocolate chips and add pecans. I make the maple glaze recipe and add vanilla and pecans to it. It’s wonderful! ★★★★★“
Here’s Why I Know You’ll Love It
- I know pumpkin desserts. From the best pumpkin cupcakes to the perfect pumpkin pie, I know how to make this star ingredient shine. (And complement it with the right ingredients!)
- No mixer required, just 2 bowls and a whisk
- Conveniently uses 1 standard 15-ounce can of pumpkin
- Supremely moist—knife glides right through it
- Generously spiced with cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, and allspice
- Excellent so many ways: plain, filled, swirled, or frosted
Use These Key Ingredients
Like all of the recipes on my website and in my cookbooks, I endlessly tested various ingredients and ratios to develop a standout cake with excellent flavor and texture. Here are some key ingredients:
- Baking Soda: 2 teaspoons of baking soda seems like a lot, and it is a lot. But think about the size of a Bundt cake… they’re huge, and need to rise quite a lot in the tall cake pan. I remember trying this recipe with a mix of baking soda AND baking powder, and was never satisfied with the result. In addition to leavening, baking soda deepens a baked good’s color and neutralizes acids. (This cake is filled with acidic ingredients!)
- Spices: Generously spiced is not an understatement! On its own, pumpkin is quite bland, so you need a lot of spice to bring out its flavor. You could even swap some of the individual spices for pumpkin pie spice!
- Oil: You can use vegetable oil or olive oil here. Melted coconut oil works, too, but you’ll want to be sure that you bake the batter immediately after mixing (no standing around, please!) because the coconut oil will very quickly begin to solidify and thicken the batter.
- Eggs: Pumpkin, oil, and flour are big, heavy ingredients so you need eggs in the batter to lift and bind the ingredients together.
- Brown & White Sugars: Again, pumpkin is pretty bland without a little help, so you need plenty of sugar to help bring out its flavor. I use a mix of both brown and white.
- Pure Pumpkin: This Bundt cake conveniently uses 1 15-ounce can of pumpkin. For best results and flavor, I strongly recommend using canned pumpkin puree instead of homemade. I prefer Libby’s brand for this cake.
You also need flour, salt, and vanilla extract.
Substitution Tip
Like when making apple cake or chocolate cake, use oil in this Bundt cake recipe, so you’re guaranteed a super moist cake from the start. You can substitute unsweetened applesauce for half of the oil. (1/2 cup each.) Readers have told me they love the cake this way, and it’s just as moist.
Overview: How to Make My Pumpkin Bundt Cake
This recipe actually uses the same base batter as my pumpkin cream cheese Bundt cake. And, like I mentioned above, the process couldn’t be easier!
Combine the wet and dry ingredients separately, then whisk them together. Expect a very thick batter, almost like pumpkin pancakes batter:
And here’s the batter again, but with chocolate chips:
Instead of an add-in like chocolate chips, you could fill the pumpkin Bundt cake with the chai spice swirl from this chai spice cinnamon swirl Bundt cake, or try my cream cheese-filled pumpkin Bundt cake (same batter!).
Favorite Bundt Pan to Use
Do you make a lot of Bundt cakes? I do! You need a Bundt pan that’s 9.5 to 10.5 inches in diameter, and can hold 10 to 12 cups of batter. Let me share two favorite Bundt cake pan options with you:
- Anolon Bundt Pan: Super quality, heavy-duty, great price, never warps, awesome rubber grips. I’ve been using it for years and, honestly, it’s just as durable as day 1.
- Nordic Ware Bundt Pan: Outstanding quality, heavy-duty, and makes beautiful cakes.
Whichever Bundt pan you use, be sure to grease it very generously before adding the batter. Even if the pan is labeled nonstick, due to the size and weight of a Bundt cake, you NEED a lot of greasing so the cake easily separates from the pan when inverting it.
Pumpkin Bundt Cake Toppings
Like the best things in the kitchen life, we’ll shower this pumpkin Bundt with a glaze. There are so many options here (I love a good icing!), and I list my favorites below.
- Brown Butter Icing from my Peach Bundt Cake
- Maple Icing from Maple Brown Sugar Cookies (pictured above)
- Salted Caramel Sauce (pictured below)
- Chocolate Ganache
- Cream Cheese Frosting
- Homemade Whipped Cream
- Brown Sugar Glaze from my Apple Bundt Cake
- Orange Glaze from my Cranberry Orange Bundt Cake
Pumpkin Bundt Cake
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 65 minutes
- Total Time: 4 hours, 30 minutes
- Yield: serves 12
- Category: Cake
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
This is my go-to pumpkin Bundt cake recipe because the crumb is incredibly moist, the cake tastes perfectly spiced, and you can top it with anything from salted caramel sauce to cream cheese frosting. You can fill it with chocolate chips, a cinnamon swirl, nuts, or leave it plain. I particularly love it plain with the maple icing from these maple brown sugar cookies on top!
Ingredients
- 2 and 3/4 cups (344g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1 cup (240ml) vegetable oil (see Note)
- 4 large eggs
- 1 cup (200g) packed light or dark brown sugar
- 3/4 cup (150g) granulated sugar
- 1 15-ounce (425g) can pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)*
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- optional add-in: 1 and 1/4 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips or chopped walnuts/pecans
Optional Topping Ideas
- optional topping: salted caramel, maple icing, or any listed below
- optional garnish: sprinkle of pumpkin pie spice
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C) and grease a 10–12-cup Bundt pan. (I like this one or this one.)
- Whisk the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, nutmeg, and allspice together in a large bowl. Set aside. Whisk the oil, eggs, brown sugar, granulated sugar, pumpkin, and vanilla extract together until combined. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and use a mixer or whisk until completely combined. Fold in chocolate chips or nuts, if using. Batter is thick, and you’ll have around 5 cups total.
- Spoon/pour the batter into the prepared Bundt pan. Bake for 55–70 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean with just a couple lightly moist crumbs. This is a large, heavy cake so don’t be alarmed if it takes a little longer in your oven.
- Once done, remove from the oven and allow to cool for 2 hours in the pan set on a wire rack. Then invert the slightly cooled Bundt cake onto a wire rack or serving plate/cake stand.
- Allow to cool completely before drizzling with topping/icing and serving. On the pictured cake, I used the maple icing from these maple brown sugar cookies. I also sprinkled a homemade pumpkin pie spice blend on top of the icing before it set.
- Cover leftover cake tightly and store at room temperature for a couple days and/or in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Notes
- Make Ahead Instructions: You can make the entire cake ahead of time (before topping with icing). Cover cooled cake and refrigerate it for up to 2 days. Bring to room temperature before icing and serving. Baked cake can be frozen for up to 3 months. Allow to thaw overnight in the refrigerator and bring to room temperature before icing and serving.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Bundt Cake Pan (I like this one or this one) | Glass Mixing Bowls | Whisk | Cooling Rack
- Mini Bundt Cakes: I’ve tested this recipe with mini Bundt pans before and while the mini Bundt cakes taste wonderful, they’re quite dense. If you’d like to try it, the recipe makes 24-30 mini Bundts but that depends on the exact size of your mini Bundt cake pan. Fill them only halfway with batter. The bake time is around 20 to 25 minutes. Instead, for better results with a lighter crumb, I recommend using my pumpkin cupcakes batter for mini pumpkin Bundt cakes. You’ll get about 16.
- Spices: Instead of 1/2 teaspoon each ginger, cloves, nutmeg, and allspice, you can use 2 teaspoons of pumpkin pie spice. (You will still add the 2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon.)
- Oil: You can use vegetable oil, canola oil, avocado oil, or olive oil. Instead of 1 cup of oil, try 1/2 cup (90g) unsweetened applesauce and 1/2 (120ml) cup oil. The cake is just as moist. If you want to use coconut oil, melt it first, and be sure that all of the other ingredients are room temperature. Bake the batter right away, because as the coconut oil begins to cool and solidify, it thickens the batter and could result in an overly dense cake.
- Pumpkin: For best results and flavor, I strongly recommend using canned pumpkin puree over homemade in this recipe. I found the flavor is much better with canned. I prefer Libby’s brand for this cake.
- More Topping Options: Brown Butter Icing from my Peach Bundt Cake, Chocolate Ganache, Cream Cheese Frosting, Homemade Whipped Cream, Brown Sugar Glaze from my Apple Bundt Cake, Orange Glaze from my Cranberry Orange Bundt Cake
Reader Comments and Reviews
Has anyone tried making this with King Arthur Measure For Measure gluten free flour? I am not a gluten free baker but I do often get requests for gluten free and am thinking maybe it’s time I tried …
Hi Abbie, I see some readers have commented that they have tried that with good results.
Reporting back – made it gluten free, with dark chocolate chips and chocolate ganache and it is AMAZING! We had a little event yesterday afternoon and the cake kinda stole the show!
Would this be good just sprinkled with powdered sugar instead of any frosting?
Absolutely!
What do you think about adding expresso powder for a pumpkin spice latte flavor? Would that work?
I can’t see why not. That sounds delicious!
I have two mini Bundtlette pans (12 cakes per pan). How many mini cakes can I make with this recipe? What would be the correct baking temperature and time?
Hi Carol, I’ve tested this recipe with mini Bundt pans before and while the mini Bundt cakes taste wonderful, they’re quite dense. If you’d like to try it, the recipe makes 24-30 mini Bundts but that depends on the exact size of your mini Bundt cake pan. Fill them only halfway with batter. The bake time is around 20 to 25 minutes. Instead, for better results with a lighter crumb, I recommend using my pumpkin cupcakes batter for mini pumpkin Bundt cakes. You’ll get about 16, but again, that depends on the exact pan you are using and how much batter fits into each.
Can I use canned sweet potato instead of pumpkin??
Hi Andie, although we haven’t tested it with this particular recipe, sweet potato puree can often be used in place for pumpkin puree. Let us know if you try that here!
Could this be made in a 13X9?
Hi Lindsey, we’d recommend our pumpkin cake instead.
I’m anxious to try this recipe. However, need to know if it is a high altitude recipe.
Thank you!
Hi Rita, we wish we could help, but we have no experience baking at high altitude. Some readers have found this chart helpful: https://www.kingarthurflour.com/learn/high-altitude-baking.html Let us know if you give it a try!
This cake is absolutely incredible. I did omit the chocolate chips. The consistency is fantastic, just as described. Thank you for a keeper recipe. The family just loves it!!
I made this today and it was absolutely delicious. I didn’t put any icing on it, but it was so good it didn’t need it. I also loved how easy it was to make – just 2 bowls and I didn’t even have to use the electric mixer. Thanks for the yummy recipe!
WOW! Amazing cake. The spice of the pumpkin plus the coco chips (I used dark) is delicious. Never thought of putting the two together in a recipe. Definitely a keeper!
This was a big hit and so easy!
I am going to make this recipe today for Thanksgiving. Looks delcicious!
Two questions. First, which rack in the oven should you bake Bundt cakes and cakes in general. I hear some say the bottom rack other say the middle?
Second, should I put the Bundt cake pan on a baking sheet in the oven or just position the Bundt cake pan on the rack? Thanks and Happy Thanksgiving!
Hi Lauren, we typically bake Bundt cakes on the middle rack unless otherwise noted. You can just position the Bundt cake directly on the rack, but feel free to use a baking sheet underneath if you prefer!
PS- I just want to add THANK YOU for such complete and concise instructions! I don’t have to try to guess at my questions about doneness, substitutions, storage or especially cooling instructions, which are usually so vague! Excellent!
Thank you for the feedback and kind words, Katt!
I am traveling overnight for Thanksgiving, and want to take this. I think it will be easier if I can pack it in its pan, and then invert onto a plate and add the caramel topping after we arrive at Grandma’s house for dinner. Can I let it cool and transport in the bundt cake pan, or will it get stuck?
Hi Angie, what you could try is allowing it to cool, invert it, make sure it is completely cooled and clean out the Bundt pan, then carefully place the cooled cake back into the clean Bundt pan. Hope this helps!
First off Sooooo good! I made 2 of these to use as a pumpkin found in Preppy Kitchen’s recipe. I hadn’t tried either cake before, but this one looked better to me. I made the first one and my daughter and I tried the top, since it was being cut off to flatten it, we both agreed the chocolate chips were too overpowering. I made the second without, it has much more flavor depth, very very good. I think maybe next time I’ll use less chips, see how that works.
This was such a hit I’ve had to make it twice!! Was delicious and easy to make, my friends were very impressed!
Hi –
I am such a fan of your recipes and trying this one today. just put it in the oven but realized I forgot the white sugar. Should I keep it going or take out and mix it in?
Hi Helen! If it’s already in the oven, we wouldn’t take it out to re-mix. The cake may be less sweet and moist but let us know how it turns out!
Could I use raisins in the same amount as the chocolate chips instead?
Absolutely!
How much does this cake rise? My bundt pan is full almost to the brim! I’m a little afraid to put it in the oven.
Hi Rosie, the cake will rise a bit in the pan — you’ll want it filled about 2/3 of the way full. If it’s too high, you can scoop out some of the batter and use it for a few muffins on the side.
I read a comment about omiting the eggs and replacing with extra liquid…could you tell what liquid and how much? I can’t wait to try baking it!
We haven’t tested that but let us know if you do!
Can this be made with nuts instead of chocolate chips?
Hi Wen, yes, you can use nuts instead if you’d prefer. Enjoy!
I made this today for Canadian thanksgiving. I skipped the chocolate chips and did the maple icing/glaze. Amazing!! Very flavourful and moist.
Can I used butterscotch instead of the chocolate chips,
Yes, sure can!
Thanks!
We ADORED this recipe! I used Milk Chocolate Chips instead of semi-sweet. Used dark brown sugar. I also made Maple Icing with our homemade maple syrup. The cake stayed moist for its entire “life” of three days. It’s fabulous. I will be making it again.
I’ve just taken my cake out of the oven. It rose in the center but not around the edges. I used a dark bundt pan, which I know better and should have adjusted the temperature. I wasn’t thinking. I’ve had a hard time finding a light colored pan. Should I have to use this pan again can you tell me how to adjust the temperature and how long I should bake it?
I took a bite off the top and it tastes delish! Also, I can’t decide which glaze or icing so I’m going to section it off and try all three. This was a test cake so my husband and I can choose which glaze we like best and enjoy.
Hi Sherry, for next time, you can try reducing your oven temperature by 25 degrees. Keep a close eye on it and you can use a toothpick to test for doneness. We’re glad you enjoyed it and let us know which glaze you and your husband like best!
Sally, I was short on time so I opted for the Maple Icing. My husband loved it. In fact I think I’m going to use that on my cinnamon rolls instead of the cream cheese in the future.
I had to cut a sizable slice off of the top in order to flatten the bottom . Surprisingly it didn’t shorten the cake too much. I’m hoping I have time to try the other two toppings today and use the left over cake as the test cake. Do you Reccomended any additional ehancements? Also, I used dark brown sugar as I usually like the intense flavor. I think I’ll try light brown next time so not to mask the pumpkin flavor. I love pumpkin
Thank you for for interest in us bakers experiences.
Hi Sherry, so glad you loved the cake! You could also add a cheesecake swirl like we do in the carrot Bundt cake. Enjoy!
Sally, I tried the caramel and cinnamon glaze and just used confectioners sugar on a piece. I love the cinnamon but the simple confectioners sugar wasn’t bad if you’re looking for something simple.
This was great. It was pretty chocolate-y, so I’ll lower the amount of chocolate chips. Love all the spices, makes the pumpkin in depth.
Use milk chocolate chips not dark or semi-sweet. Much better.
this was wonderful. No one could figure out what the “secret ingredient” was. I don’t have cloves. nutmeg or allspice but doubled the cinnamon and ginger. It was very well received. thank you for a great recipe that will now become part of my repertoire.
Thank you for such inspiring recipes. I’m a vegan so I like that most of your recipes uses oil. I omit eggs and replace with extra fluid and I turns out marvelous. No one knows there’s no eggs. I tell them afterwards. Made it with eggs and without eggs.
This cake is the bomb. Made it twice..
Rave reviews.dont change a thing .
I’ve contacted you twice today & haven’t heard back. The outside of my Pumpkin Bundt cake is very dark. Is this correct? My earlier posts from today have disappeared.
Hi Terri, we just haven’t had a chance to get to your comment yet – so sorry! If it’s very brown, it may be over-baked. How did you grease the pan? We recommend using a non stick baking spray like pam – using butter can lead to an overly-dark exterior. If you don’t cool the cake in the pan, the cake is much more likely to break when inverting. We recommend cooling in the pan for best results!
My Bundt was very brown but it was delicious and super moist, not burnt at all. I think it was brown from the spices and dark brown sugar. We loved it – I served it to guests for dessert. I am going to make another.
As per the recipe,I left the cake upside down in the pan for 2 hours. It is very brown. It doesn’t look like the bottom of the cake. I can’t taste. It’s for someone else’s Thanksgiving. Should I have left it in the pan right side up? What happens if u don’t cool it in the Bundt pan? Please help me. Thank you.
Its so good! I used rounded measurements on the spices because Im scared of under spiced. Also it did not come out of my bundt pan in once piece so I ended up making whipped ganache to hide the mistake. I sprinkled cinnamon on top and it took the ganache to the next level!