Pumpkin Bundt Cake with Cream Cheese Filling

1 COMBINE. Simply beat cream cheese, egg, sugar and vanilla extract in a bowl until smooth and incorporated and set aside.

3 FLOUR MIXTURE. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, ginger and salt.

4 CREAM. 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.

5 EGGS. Then add the eggs one at a time, making sure each addition is fully incorporated. 

6 PUMPKIN. Add the pumpkin purée and beat until combined. Remember to scrape the bottom and sides of your bowl often.

7 COAT. Before combining your dry and wet ingredients, coat your bundt pan (see FAQs for more information) and set aside.

8 COMBINE. Add your flour mixture to your pumpkin mixture and stir just until combined. Do not over mix. 

9 PECANS. Gently fold in the pecans.

10 TRANSFER. Transfer half of your cake batter to your prepared bundt pan and spread evenly with a spatula.

10 CREAM CHEESE. Scoop the bundt cake cream cheese filling on top and follow with the remaining cake batter over that. Again, spread the batter evenly throughout the pan.

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:

• Homemade Pumpkin Purée
• Crock Pot Pumpkin Purée

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 pumpkin cream cheese 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 2/3 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 cream cheese filled pumpkin bundt cake

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.