This delicious Pumpkin Bundt Cake is a great way to put your bundt pan to use. It’s made with whole wheat flour, Greek yogurt, applesauce, and of course, PUMPKIN. Finished with a brown butter glaze, make this one when you are looking for the perfect fall dessert.
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Looking for more pumpkin desserts? Check out Healthy Pumpkin Bars, Pumpkin Layer Cake, Pumpkin Cheesecake, and Easy Pumpkin Brownies!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe:
- An effortlessly beautiful cake, thanks to beautiful bundt pan designs.
- Filled with warm spices, a delicious treat for the fall season.
- A lightened up version of a moist pumpkin cake, thanks to applesauce and Greek yogurt.
Pumpkin Cake Ingredients
This recipe is divided into three simple parts: dry ingredients, wet ingredients, and the glaze. I’ve also included and linked suggested tools, i.e. one of my favorite bundt pans.
Dry Ingredients
- whole wheat pastry flour – I like whole wheat pastry flour for cake recipes like this, so they’re more tender than a traditional whole wheat flour. If you’re looking for a gluten-free substitution, you can use 1:1 All-Purpose Gluten Free Baking Flour, such as Bob’s Red Mill.
- cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice – for lots of pumpkin spice and cinnamon flavor.
- baking soda – to lift the cake.
- salt – stick to Kosher salt or fine sea salt for baking.
Wet Ingredients
- pumpkin purée – I used canned pumpkin puree, which is thicker and less liquid-y than homemade purée. Also make sure your canned pumpkin is *not* pumpkin pie mix.
- sugar – I used coconut sugar here but brown sugar is a good substitute. Cane sugar also works.
- applesauce – unsweetened applesauce is the secret ingredient that adds both moisture and sweetness.
- maple syrup – a little bit of maple syrup for a liquid sweetener.
- Greek yogurt – use plain full-fat Greek yogurt or Skyr yogurt for the best results. Sour cream would also work as a substitute.
- eggs – two large eggs in this recipe help provide structure and lift. Also, using room temperature eggs will help ensure everything is more easily incorporated.
- vanilla extract – for extra flavor.
- oil – I used light olive oil but avocado oil is another good substitute. If using coconut oil, make sure all of your ingredients are room temperature.
Glaze
For this delicious pumpkin bundt cake I opted for a simple brown butter glaze – big on flavor but pairs well with the pumpkin flavor. All we need is:
- unsalted butter – no need to bring the butter to room temperature, since we will be melting it down and creating beautifully nutty brown butter.
- confectioner’s sugar (powdered sugar) – to sweeten as well as give the glaze some structure.
- milk – to help thin the glaze
- vanilla extract – for a little but more oomph.
NOTE: If you prefer a cream cheese icing, omit the butter and use cream cheese instead. Just make sure to soften to room temperature.
Find the full detailed instructions with measurements in the recipe card below, at the end of this post.
Recommended Tools
Instructions Overview
Preheat oven to 350ºF. Thoroughly grease a 12-cup bundt pan with butter, oil, or cooking spray.
Mix Dry Ingredients: In a medium bowl, combine flour, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda, and salt.
Mix Wet Ingredients: In a large mixing bowl, whisk together pumpkin, oil, sugar, applesauce, and maple syrup. Then whisk in Greek yogurt, eggs, and vanilla extract.
You can also use a hand mixer on medium speed, or paddle attachment with an electric mixer on low speed – just scrape down the sides of the bowl as necessary to make sure you’re not leaving any ingredients on the bottom.
Combine: Add the flour mixture and gently combine using a rubber spatula or mix on low speed in the bowl of a stand mixer. Batter will be thick.
Bake: Pour batter into a greased bundt pan. Bake for 35-40 minutes, OR until cake is lightly browned and an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Allow cake to rest for 15 minutes while you make the glaze.
TIP: If you feel your cake is browning too much, cover with aluminum foil for the last 5-10 minutes of baking.
Brown Butter Glaze
Add the butter to a small skillet or saucepan and melt over medium heat. Then, continue whisking until butter starts to produce a nutty aroma. Be patient – this can take several minutes, but it’s best to stay right at the skillet because browned butter can go from brown to burnt in a matter of seconds.
Once the butter is browned and you start to see flecks at the bottom of the pan, remove from heat and let cool for 5 minutes.
Once cooled, add the butter to a medium bowl with the confectioners sugar, along with the milk and vanilla extract. Check for desired thickness – if you want a thinner glaze, add 1-2 teaspoons of extra liquid at a time.
How to Flip the Bundt Pan
Now this part can be a little scary, especially if you’ve never worked with a bundt cake pan before. Here’s what I do:
Gently bang the pan on counter to loosen cake and release any air bubbles. Then, place a cooling rack or plate on top of cake pan and flip over.
Glazing a Bundt Cake
Place a large round plate under the cooling rack. Use a spoon to glaze the cooled bundt cake, moving in a zigzag pattern over the creases in the bundt pan.
You may have reserve glaze that catches on the plate, which you can use to go back over the cake if you’d like.
TIP: Make sure to let the cake cool completely before glazing, or the glaze will melt right into the cake. You can also glaze the entire cake, as I did in the photos.
More Pumpkin Bundt Cake Topping Ideas
While I love the nuttiness of a brown butter glaze, there are so many options here. You could also try:
- Cream Cheese Frosting
- Coconut Whipped Cream
- Vanilla Bean Glaze from my Gingerbread Scones
- Espresso Glaze from my Paleo Chocolate Donuts
- Salted Caramel Sauce
Serving Suggestions
Does one really need a special occasion to make a pumpkin cake? I think not. But if you’re looking for some ideas:
- Birthday Cake, for the pumpkin lover.
- Thanksgiving dessert, for the non-traditional.
- Holiday brunch, because pumpkin isn’t just for the fall months!
- Weekend baking activity, because why not?
How to Store Bundt Cakes
This pumpkin bundt bundt cake will keep up to 5 days, tightly wrapped with plastic wrap, or placed in an airtight container, and stored on your kitchen counter.
Pumpkin Bundt Cake
Ingredients
dry ingredients
- 2.5 cups white whole wheat flour, see notes
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tablespoon pumpkin spice
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
wet ingredients
- 1 cup canned pumpkin puree, not pumpkin pie filling
- 1/2 cup coconut sugar, or brown sugar
- 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 1/4 cup maple syrup, room temperature
- 1 cup plain Greek yogurt or Skyr, room temperature
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup avocado oil, or light olive oil
Glaze
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 cup confectioners sugar
- 2 teaspoons milk
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350ºF, thoroughly grease a 10" bundt pan with butter or oil. Set aside.
- Combine dry ingredients: In medium bowl, combine dry ingredients (flour through spices). Set aside.
- Combine wet ingredients: In large bowl, whisk together pumpkin, sugar, applesauce, and maple syrup. Whisk in Greek yogurt, eggs, vanilla, and oil.
- Fold in flour: Add in your flour mixture and gently combine using spatula or mix on low speed with electric mixer. Batter will be thick.
- Bake: Pour batter in greased bundt pan and bake for 35-45 minutes. Check cake with inserted toothpick. Cake should come out with little to no crumbs. Allow cake to cool in pan for 30 minutes before removing.
- Make glaze: Add the butter to a small skillet or saucepan and melt over medium heat. Then continue whisking until butter starts to produce a nutty aroma – this can take several minutes, but it’s best to stay right at the skillet because browned butter can go from brown to burnt in a matter of seconds. Once the butter is browned and you start to see flecks at the bottom of the pan, remove from heat and let cool for 5 minutes. Once cooled, add the butter to a medium bowl with the confectioners sugar, along with the milk and. Check for desired thickness – if you want a thinner glaze, add 1-2 teaspoons of extra liquid at a time.
- Cool & glaze: Once cooled, *gently* bang/tap pan on counter to loosen cake. Flip onto cooling rack. Place plate under cooling rack to catch glaze. Use spoon to glaze cake, moving in zigzag pattern. You may have reserve glaze that catches on the plate. I used this to go over the cake a second time. Once glaze has set, about 15 minutes, you can slice and serve. ENJOY!
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