This pumpkin bundt cake with cream cheese filling will be the star of your Thanksgiving celebrations. It’s a perfectly spiced pumpkin cake with pecans and a cream cheese centre. So delicious and full of the warm, cozy flavours of fall.
(Want to skip baking this holiday season? Try this no bake pumpkin cheesecake bars. Make ahead, serve when you’re ready, no oven necessary. And check this out for cheap Thanksgiving side dishes to complete your Thanksgiving menu.)
Kickstart autumn and holiday baking with this pumpkin bundt cake with cream cheese filling.
It’s your favourite pumpkin bundt cake but filled with delicious cream cheese for a dessert you’ll want to make all season long.
It’s sure to be a showstopper at your holiday get-togethers and leftovers, if you ever have any, are perfect with your coffee, tea, this iced pumpkin spice latte recipe or this spiked pumpkin pie punch the next day.
Why you’ll love this recipe
I love baking bundt cakes. It takes so little effort to make them look stunning.
And you’ll love this one even more because:
- It’s soft and tender but dense and keeps its shape very well
- It’s perfectly spiced with your favourite fall flavours like cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and ginger
- It has a cream cheese layer that complements the pumpkin cake so well
- It also has pecans for extra crunch and texture.
- And it’s very easy to make. Perfect for all your holiday celebrations or just as a treat on a crisp October day
(Related: soft pumpkin cookies are perfect for fall! And here’s a delicious pumpkin pie recipe if you’re looking to make one. Plus, this cake mix pumpkin cobbler is easy to make and delicious!)
How to make
This recipe has two components – the pumpkin cake and the cream cheese filling.
Ingredients
For the cream cheese layer, you’ll need:
- Cream cheese – use full fat for best results
- Large egg
- Granulated sugar
- Vanilla extract
And for the pumpkin cake:
- All purpose flour
- Baking soda
- Ground cinnamon
- Ground nutmeg
- Ground cloves
- Ground ginger
- Salt
- Unsalted butter
- Granulated sugar
- Large eggs
- Pumpkin purée — make sure to use pure pumpkin purée and not pumpkin pie filling (Got extra? Make pumpkin bread!)
Baking tools
You’ll need a standard bundt pan to make this recipe.
That’s a pan which is about 10 inches in diameter and can hold about 12 cups of cake batter.
Not sure what size pan you have? Just fill it with water and see how many cups it can hold (see FAQs for options on what to use if you don’t have a bundt pan).
You’ll also need:
- A stand mixer or a handheld electric mixer
- Measuring spoons and cups
- Mixing bowls
- Spatula
- Cooling rack
I also always recommend using a kitchen scale so you can weigh your ingredients and an oven thermometer so you can make sure you’re always baking at the right temperature.
Step-by-step photos
For the cream cheese filling, simply beat cream cheese, egg, sugar and vanilla extract in a bowl.
Beat until until smooth and incorporated and set aside.
For the cake, in a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, ginger and salt.
Set aside while you preheat your oven to 350F.
In a large bowl using an electric hand mixer or using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar…
…until light and fluffy.
Add the eggs one at a time.
Make sure each addition is fully incorporated before adding the next one.
Add the pumpkin purée and beat until combined.
Remember to scrape the bottom and sides of your bowl often.
Before combining your dry and wet ingredients, coat your bundt pan (see FAQs for more information) and set aside.
Add your flour mixture to your pumpkin mixture and stir just until combined.
Do not over mix.
Gently fold in the pecans.
You can also choose to add roasted pecans for additional flavor.
Transfer half of your cake batter to your prepared bundt pan and spread evenly with a spatula.
Scoop the cream cheese filling on top and follow with the remaining cake batter over that.
Again, spread the batter evenly throughout the pan.
Bake for 45-60 minutes or until a bamboo skewer or tester comes out with minimal dry crumbs.
Remove from the oven and allow the cake to cool in the pan for 30 minutes.
Gently loosen the sides with a thin knife before inverting and turning the cake out of the pan onto a cooling rack to cool completely.
Baking tips and recipe FAQs
Cheesecake stuffed bundt cakes are the best kinds of bundt cakes. Hard to beat that delicious surprise centre. And it’s just as easy to make as regular bundt cakes.
Here are some baking tips and FAQs to make this bundt cake with cream cheese filling recipe that much easier.
Can I use pumpkin pie filling instead of pure pumpkin purée
Unfortunately, you can’t use pumpkin pie filling in this recipe.
Unlike pumpkin purée, which only contains pumpkin, pie filling includes other ingredients like sugar, thickeners and artificial flavours that will affect the recipe.
I always buy canned pumpkin purée but you can also make your own from scratch. Here are recipes you can try:
What can I substitute for pecans
If you can’t find pecans, you can substitute with walnuts or almonds. Or you can skip the pecans altogether.
How do you know if a bundt cake is done baking
To know when a bundt cake is done baking, I usually rely on the toothpick test i.e. my tester should come out clean or with minimal dry crumbs.
I make sure to test 2-3 spots on the cake and that my tester (usually a bamboo skewer for bundt cakes) reaches the bottom of the cake.
You can also:
- Gently press the top of your cake. It should spring back. If it doesn’t and your finger leaves a dent, you need to bake the cake some more.
- Also look at the sides of your cake. When they are close to being done, they typically start to pull away from the edges of the pan.
How to coat a bundt pan so cake releases easily
There is really no right or wrong way to coat or grease a bundt pan.
Every baker has their own 100% guaranteed, no-fail technique. Some use butter with flour, some use just oil, others use ready-made cake release sprays.
If a specific way has worked for you, continue doing that.
I use shortening and sugar — granulated sugar, not brown sugar.
- Melt about 2 tablespoons of shortening and coat pan using a pastry brush. Make sure to get to every nook and cranny, especially the middle/tube, which a lot of bakers forget.
- Sprinkle about a heaping tablespoon of sugar all over pan.
- Cover the top of the pan with cling wrap or aluminum foil and shake (I do it over the sink so I don’t make a huge mess).
- If there are bald patches, add more sugar and shake some more until the whole inside of the pan is covered.
Using sugar instead of flour gives my bundt cakes a nice crunch on the outside. It adds to the sweetness too but not by much.
How to get bundt cake out of pan
If coated properly, a bundt cake should release from the pan easily.
Allow the cake to cool in the pan placed on a cooling rack. After about 10 minutes (or however long the recipe specifies), carefully invert the cake onto the rack and lift pan. That’s it!
What to do if cake is stuck in bundt pan
Sometimes, and it happens to the best of the best, cakes just get stuck to the pan. There are a several things we can do to help it along like steaming or freezing.
Check out this article with lots of tips.
Can I use regular baking pans
No bundt pan? No problem. You can still make this pumpkin and cream cheese cake using a rectangular pan or 2 round pans.
Divide the batter equally, just remember not to fill the pans to brim; make sure they’re only about ⅔ full.
Also, the cake will bake faster in these traditional pans so watch your cakes and check for doneness at the halfway point.
For the cream cheese, instead of layering them, you can simply swirl them on top (similar to these mascarpone swirl brownies).
How to store
Store pumpkin bundt cake with cream cheese filling in the fridge in an airtight container. It should keep for 3-5 days.
You can also freeze the cake by wrapping it tightly with plastic wrap and aluminum foil and keeping it in a freezer Ziploc bag or freezer-safe container. It should keep for at least a month.
To thaw, bring down to fridge the night before.
Recipes using pumpkin purée
If you’re looking for other recipes using pumpkin purée to whip up this Thanksgiving, check these out:
Pumpkin buttermilk pancakes with candied pecans are perfect for Thanksgiving morning.
While pumpkin pecan muffins with pecan streusel topping and baked pumpkin donuts with cinnamon sugar are a hit morning, noon and night!
Plus, check out this collection of unique pumpkin and squash recipes. The collection contains really creative recipes that will inspire you to create something amazing using fall’s favourite produce.
And if you have sourdough discard, this sourdough pumpkin bundt cake recipe is the perfect recipe to use it on!
Happy baking!
Did you make this easy pumpkin bundt cake recipe? I’d love to hear from you in the comments section below.
And let’s get social! Find me on Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube.
Pumpkin Bundt Cake with Cream Cheese Filling
Ingredients
For the cream cheese layer
- 1 8-oz block cream cheese room temperature
- 1 pc large egg room temperature
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
For the pumpkin bundt cake
- 3 cups all purpose flour
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp ground nutmeg
- ½ tsp ground cloves
- ½ tsp ground ginger
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter room temperature
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 3 pc large eggs room temperature
- 15 oz pumpkin puree I use canned pumpkin puree
- 3 oz pecans roughly chopped, about 2 cups
Instructions
- For the cream cheese layer, beat all ingredients in a bowl until smooth and incorporated and set aside.
- Preheat your oven to 350F.
- In a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, ginger and salt.
- In a large bowl using an electric hand mixer or using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
- Then add the eggs one at a time, making sure each addition is fully incorporated.
- Add the pumpkin purée and beat until combined. Remember to scrape the bottom and sides of your bowl often.
- Before combining your dry and wet ingredients, coat your bundt pan and set aside.
- Add your flour mixture to your pumpkin mixture and stir just until combined. Do not over mix.
- Gently fold in the pecans.
- Transfer half of your cake batter to your prepared bundt pan and spread evenly with a spatula.
- Scoop the cream cheese filling on top and follow with the remaining cake batter over that. Again, spread the batter evenly throughout the pan.
- Bake for 45-60 minutes or until a bamboo skewer or tester comes out with minimal dry crumbs.
- Remove from the oven and allow the cake to cool in the pan for 30 minutes. Gently loosen the sides with a thin knife before inverting and turning the cake out of the pan onto a cooling rack to cool completely.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information are estimates only.
Marysa
Pumpkin cake and cream cheese.. what a perfect pairing! I haven’t used my bundt pan in ages and this would be fun to make.
Chelley
This looks and sounds so delicious! I’d love to make a pumpkin cake in time for fall.
Swathi
I love this pumpkin bundt cake with cream cheese filling. Each bite is so yummy and delicious!
Jolina
Hi Swathi, glad you like it!
Kathy
This looks so good. I definitely will need to make this soon. I’m sure my whole family will think it’s delicious. I love pumpkin flavor.
Melanie
I bet the cream cheese filling works perfectly with this. What a gorgeous recipe. It sounds amazing!!!
Richelle Escat
Sadly I don’t have bundt molder. But I bet it’ll look great even if it’s just round.
Ivan M. Jose
That looks absolutely delicious. I love the flavor of pumpkin and cream cheese makes everything a winner.
Teena
My daughter loves everything pumpkin and my bundt pan has been ignored for far too long. Thanks for the recipe! It looks delicious.
Tara Pittman
Once the weather cools down here, I will have to make this cake. It looks so delicious.
Amber Myers
You had me at pumpkin. This looks so delicious and is my kind of dessert!