Looking for your next fall baking favorite? This pumpkin Bundt cake brings seasonal sweetness to the table, whether you’re hosting or simply craving cake!

A thick slice of pumpkin Bundt cake should give you a tender, golden-orange crumb, a little brown sugar richness, and enough cinnamon to make you lean in for another bite before you have finished your first!

This version gets a generous ribbon of maple cream cheese glaze that settles into every curve, giving you tangy sweetness alongside all that pumpkin and spice!

What Makes This Pumpkin Bundt Cake So Good?

This cake has a moist, close crumb that holds together on your fork but yields easily when you take a bite, with ginger and nutmeg adding warmth behind cinnamon.

Brown sugar brings a light molasses flavor, oil keeps each slice tender even after refrigeration, and a little sour cream adds richness without making pumpkin disappear beneath dairy and sugar.

My recommendation is to keep cloves restrained and let pumpkin have some room; a quarter teaspoon adds depth, while a heavy hand can make your cake taste as though it wandered into a scented candle shop.

For contrast, a maple cream cheese glaze gives you a creamy, gently tangy finish, with just enough salt to keep its sweetness in balance!

Ingredients

For the Pumpkin Bundt Cake

• 3 cups (360 g) all-purpose flour, spooned into measuring cups and leveled, or weighed for better accuracy
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
• ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 teaspoon fine salt
• 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
• 1 cup (200 g) packed light brown sugar
• 4 large eggs, at room temperature
• ¾ cup (180 ml) neutral oil, such as canola or vegetable oil
• 1 can (15 ounces/425 g) plain pumpkin purée, not pumpkin pie filling
• ½ cup (120 g) full-fat sour cream, at room temperature
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1–2 tablespoons vegetable shortening and 1–2 tablespoons flour, for preparing your pan, or a baking spray that contains flour

For the Maple Cream Cheese Glaze

• 4 ounces (113 g) full-fat block cream cheese, softened until easily spreadable
• 1 cup (120 g) powdered sugar, sifted
• 2 tablespoons (30 ml) pure maple syrup
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
• ⅛ teaspoon fine salt
• 1–3 teaspoons milk, added only as needed

Servings: 14 slices

How to Make Pumpkin Bundt Cake 

Position an oven rack in the middle and preheat to 350°F (175°C), allowing enough time for your oven to heat fully before baking.

Set out a 12-cup metal Bundt pan, a large mixing bowl, a medium bowl, a whisk, and a flexible spatula; if your pan’s capacity is uncertain, check it with measured water beforehand, then dry it completely.

A smaller pan can turn a perfectly reasonable cake into an oven-cleaning assignment!

Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, and salt in your medium bowl until evenly combined, taking a moment to break up any visible clumps.

Don’t rush this part, because pockets of baking soda can leave an unpleasant taste, and evenly distributed spices mean every slice gets that warm, fragrant flavor.

In your large bowl, whisk both sugars with eggs and oil for about 1 minute, until smooth and evenly colored, pressing apart any stubborn brown sugar lumps with your whisk.

Add pumpkin purée, sour cream, and vanilla, then whisk again until you have a glossy orange mixture with no white streaks; you are combining ingredients here, so there is no need to beat until fluffy or pull out a stand mixer.

Prepare your pan now so its coating is fresh when batter goes in, brushing a thin, thorough layer of shortening into every groove and around the center tube.

Add flour, rotate and tap until all greased surfaces have a light coating, then turn your pan over a sink and tap out loose flour; if using baking spray with flour, apply it according to its directions and check every crease.

Don’t skip that center tube, because a cake can release around its outer edge and still cling stubbornly in the middle!

Add dry ingredients to your pumpkin mixture in two additions, folding gently with a spatula and scraping along the bottom and sides after each addition.

Stop as soon as dry flour disappears; batter should be thick enough to fall in broad ribbons and settle slowly, and continuing to stir just to make it look extra silky can make your cake tougher.

Spoon batter evenly around your prepared pan, smooth its surface, and tap gently on a folded kitchen towel two or three times to release large air pockets.

Keep batter at or below three-quarters of your pan’s height, even if your particular design leaves some extra in the bowl; bake any excess separately in lined muffin cups rather than overfilling.

Place the Bundt pan directly on your oven rack and bake for 55–65 minutes, beginning your first check at 50 minutes if using a dark metal pan.

Look for a risen, golden-brown surface that feels set and springs back gently when touched, then insert a long wooden skewer into a thick section halfway between the center tube and outer wall.

It should come out clean or with a few moist crumbs, with no shiny batter, and I would check a second spot before calling it done; if either spot looks wet, bake for another 5 minutes and check again.

If browning is already pronounced while the center needs longer, loosely tent with foil for the remaining bake time.

Place your pan on a wire rack and set a timer for 15 minutes, giving this substantial cake time to firm up without letting it cool completely inside its mold.

Gently loosen only any accessible edges with a thin silicone spatula, place a cooling rack over your pan, and use oven mitts to invert both together; pause for a few seconds before lifting away the pan.

If it resists, give it a gentle tap and another minute upside down rather than shaking hard, which can tear a warm cake.

Let your cake cool completely on its rack, usually another 1½–2 hours, checking around the center opening as well as its outer edge before glazing.

The middle can stay warm after everything else feels ready, and warm cake will turn a beautifully thick glaze into a puddle before you have had time to admire it!

Beat softened cream cheese in a medium bowl until smooth, using a hand mixer or a sturdy whisk, then gradually mix in sifted powdered sugar.

Add maple syrup, vanilla, and salt, mixing until creamy, and add milk 1 teaspoon at a time only if needed; you want a thick ribbon that falls from a spoon, briefly holds its shape, and slowly settles, rather than a thin stream that runs straight off your cake.

Transfer your cooled cake to a serving plate and spoon glaze around its crown, nudging a little toward each side so it drips naturally through the grooves.

Leave some golden cake showing between those creamy trails, allow about 15 minutes for the topping to settle slightly, then cut into 14 slices with a sharp knife, wiping your blade between cuts for neat edges.

Small Details That Make a Better Cake

• Measure flour gently. Scooping directly from a bag can pack more flour into each cup, giving you a heavier, drier result. Weighing 360 g is easiest, but spooning and leveling works when a scale is unavailable.
• Keep homemade purée thick. If using it, drain away excess liquid until its consistency resembles canned pumpkin, then weigh out 425 g. Watery purée can leave a gummy layer even when your cake looks browned outside.
• Do not replace oil with melted butter in this version. Oil helps maintain a tender texture after chilling, which matters because that cream cheese glaze needs refrigeration. You already have plenty of flavor from pumpkin, brown sugar, vanilla, and spices.
• Give cooling its full time. A warm slice can seem sticky or compressed because its crumb has not finished setting. If you want clean slices with a soft, even interior, patience does more than another spoonful of flour ever will!

Serving Suggestions

Serve this pumpkin Bundt cake at room temperature so its crumb feels soft and its maple glaze tastes creamy, with hot coffee or black tea alongside.

For a dinner-party dessert, add a small spoonful of lightly whipped, unsweetened cream; the cake already has plenty of sweetness, so an extra sugary topping is unnecessary.

If you enjoy a little crunch, scatter ¼ cup chopped toasted pecans over freshly spooned glaze so they stick, or offer them separately for anyone who prefers a smooth slice.

It also makes a lovely centerpiece for a fall brunch, where you can cut thinner portions alongside eggs, fruit, and other dishes.

A good pumpkin Bundt cake earns its place on your table with a tender crumb, fragrant spice, and a maple cream cheese drizzle that makes every forkful worth slowing down for!

Give yours time to cool, let those creamy ribbons settle into its curves, and cut a generous slice while coffee is brewing.

With a whole can of pumpkin and a batter you can whisk by hand, this is a fall dessert you can make without spending your afternoon decorating it.