This classic fall dessert, Cream Cheese Glazed Pumpkin Bundt Cake, is full of pumpkin flavor, cinnamon spice, and rich cream cheese! This rich pumpkin cake is the perfect fall dessert, and the pumpkin cream cheese frosting is to die for! It is absolutely Heavenly.
This easy homemade Pumpkin Bundt Cake with Cream Cheese Glaze is, perhaps, my absolute favorite pumpkin dessert recipe!
This Pumpkin Cream Cheese Bundt Cake is surprisingly simple to make and even simpler to eat! 😉
This is what comfort food looks like.
(In case you were wondering…)
Pumpkin cake.
Cream cheese frosting.
Fall spices.
It’s pretty much everything I’ve ever wanted and more, because pumpkin = Christmas feelings and I literally just can’t contain my excitement that the holidays (and boot season!) are approaching (hopefully–it was 104 yesterday, so beyond wanting to die, I’m reallllly ready for cold weather).
This cake is pretty much fall in a bundt (let’s just take a moment and relish in the fact that My Big Fat Greek Wedding bundt cake scene is one of the best…in history).
All I need is a Pumpkin Spice Latte (and maybe a handful of Pumpkin Spice Candied Nuts for good measure) to make this day complete.
This cake is a fall classic, and it’s something I try to make annually.
I’m like 99% positive I might’ve missed the last year or two (so…does that make me a liar??), but I can tell you for sure I made it a few years back…
…when I had first started my blog and lacked any eye for photography.
You know, back when it was under a different name and I shared, like, 1 recipe each month (if that) with my (one) reader, aka, my mom. I made this cake, decided that photographing it outside on the brightest day known to man was a grand idea, and ended up being so ashamed of my iPhone pictures that I couldn’t actually bring myself to post it on the blog.
And the worst part of it all? I used flour to grease the pan and apparently didn’t do it right because there were weird chunks of flour stuck to the outside of the cake. #yum
I spared you all.
No need to thank me for my selflessness.
There are two things about this pumpkin cake that put it into the “BEST PUMPKIN BUNDT CAKE EVER” category:
- Applesauce
- Cream Cheese Glaze
The applesauce addition not only cuts down on the oil in this cake (so we can all eat the cream cheese glaze by the spoonful without feeling nearly as guilty–see guys, I’m looking out for you), but it also adds an incredible amount of moisture to the cake.
(There’s nothing like a dry forkful of cake to ruin all your fall hopes and dreams.)
If you’re not a cream cheese person (we can’t be friends), then the glaze may be slightly anticlimactic in your book (so you can definitely use a vanilla glaze or something). However, if you’re as in love with the cream cheese as me, this glaze is pretty much ahh-mazing.
Cream Cheese Glazed Pumpkin Bundt Cake Tips & Tricks:
- All right, let’s talk about how to grease a bundt pan. There are a few methods, including using a generous amount of baking spray and greasing with butter or shortening/flour. I have struggled with the butter/flour thing and instead use a generous amount of baking spray.
- For the cream cheese glaze, you definitely want to make sure the cream cheese has been softened to room temperature, otherwise you will have a lumpy cream cheese glaze.
- I like to make my own pumpkin pie spice rather than using a store bought pumpkin pie spice, because I prefer a ratio of a lot of cinnamon to other spices.
I think you should probably make this.
- 1/2 cup vegetable or canola oil
- 1/2 cup applesauce
- 1 15 oz can pure pumpkin such as Libby's
- 2/3 cup brown sugar
- 1 cup sugar
- 4 eggs
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 cups flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp all spice
- 8 oz cream cheese softened to room temperature
- 1/4 cup + 1-2 Tbsp heavy cream milk is fine
- 1/2 - 3/4 cup powdered sugar depending upon your preference
- Cinnamon if desired
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a bundt cake pan well.
- Cream together oil, applesauce, sugar, brown sugar, and pumpkin. Once combined, add in eggs, one at a time. Add in vanilla extract.
- Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and all spice.
- Slowly incorporate the dry ingredients into the wet. Once combined, pour batter into the bundt cake pan, making sure it is evenly distributed.
- Bake for 45-50 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean. Allow to cool for 10-15 minutes, then remove from pan and allow to cool on a cooling rack.
- Mix cream cheese and 1/4 cup of heavy cream together, until well combined. Add in powdered sugar, beginning with 1/2 cup. Depending upon your preference of how thick or thin you want the glaze, add in the last 1/4 cup of powdered sugar, and/or the last 2 Tbsp of heavy cream.
- Pour glaze over cooled cake and sprinkle with extra cinnamon, if desired.
- Enjoy the cake at room temperature or cold (I prefer it cold, but room temperature would taste fine as well!)
Here are some other fall recipes you might love:
Medha @ Whisk & Shout says
This is total fall comfort baking! I am so pumped for boots season too and I love this cake- the cream cheese glaze looks to die for 🙂
Erin @ Texanerin Baking says
Fall in a bundt sounds great to me! This looks SO moist and heavenly. Thank goodness you got around to posting it. 🙂
Gayle @ Pumpkin 'N Spice says
Pumpkin cake and cream cheese frosting makes the BEST comfort dessert! I love this pretty glaze, Michelle! I think I would have a hard time not eating it all with just a spoon! 🙂
Holly @ 3 Yummy Tummies says
This cake looks so moist and delicious…want a piece now! I am so ready to bring out the boots too!
Ashley says
Oh gosh this is making me want to run to the store and go buy pumpkin immediately!! haha I have started with apples but not pumpkin yet! This cake looks perfect!
Valerie | From Valerie's Kitchen says
I love the old fashioned look and feel of this recipe. So cozy!
Maria says
I love pumpkin, I love cream cheese, and I love bundt cakes. This recipe and I are a match made in heaven…I am going to make this in the very near future!
Justine | Cooking and Beer says
Ah! I love bundt cakes, but this could possibly because it’s one of the few types of cake I can actually bake. Love all of the deliciousness going on in this one! Pinned!
Meg @ With Salt and Wit says
Well I am so happy you decided to share this recipe because it is everything that I want right now. Between this cake and those apple blondies…I will be drooling all weekend over sugar!
Jaren (Diary of a Recipe Collector) says
This looks absolutely wonderful! I love Fall too!
Deb M says
Oh my, oh my, oh my. BEST CAKE EVER. Make it now. Delicious doesn’t begin to describe this. No glaze, just pure pumpkin goodness!!!!!!
Michelle says
Hi Deb! I am SO happy you loved it! Thank you so much for sharing! 🙂
Turtle66 says
Hello Michelle! Your bunt cake sounds delish! I’ll be making it soon. 🙂
Heather @ Boston Girl Bakes says
This cake looks so moist! YUM 🙂
Erica says
Made this tonight for dessert. It’s delicious and gorgeous! It’s incredibly moist and pumpkin-y. I only altered the glaze, only because it tasted too much like plain cream cheese for me, so I added a bit more sugar and a splash of vanilla. My 3 year old got to help make and decorate it and my husband it taking some to work tomorrow. I’ll definitely be making that again, thanks!
Lockwood Family says
Oh my gosh – got a bundt cake pan and this was the first cake we made in it. Whipped it up with the kids and the end result was pure deliciousness (and I’m particular!!!). Cake was SUPER moist – did not have the entire 1/2c applesauce, so did nearly 1/2 and a teaspoon of butter. Also had to make our own brown sugar with pure molasses because we ran out of that too. And instead of the all spice and nutmeg, did 1/2tsp Pumpkin pie Spice…the result was AMAZING !!!
Marlo says
One of the best cakes I’ve ever tried! Making it again for my daughter’s party this weekend.
Pam says
I made this cake on Monday (no glaze), and had the last piece on Wednesday, it was wonderful. I din’t put the glaze on it and put whipped cream on each piece instead and it was HEAVEN. Today I’m going to make it in my Temptations Texas Size cupcake pans but I’m going to put a cream cheese filling in them, and take them to the lake for our final camping dinner. I’ll let ya know how it works and what everyone thought.