The best Pumpkin Bundt Cake with a homemade caramel frosting on top is the best fall recipe to make! Moist, perfectly spiced pumpkin bundt cake frosted with a luscious, thick, and addicting fluffy caramel frosting.
For more pumpkin dessert recipes be sure and try my cinnamon streusel pumpkin cake and this popular pumpkin pie poke cake.
If you love caramel then try my caramel apple muffins or these caramel apple cheesecake bars.
Pumpkin Bundt Cake Recipe
This pumpkin bundt cake with the best caramel frosting is something I make every single year! The moist, super tender pumpkin cake paired with fluffy caramel frosting is something that no one can resist.
And you might just find yourself eating that caramel frosting with a spoon ?
This pumpkin bundt cake rises up perfect each time, has a moist but super tender crumb to it, and it's perfectly spiced with all the warm pumpkin spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves.
What You'll Need
You will need some basic baking ingredients for this bundt cake recipe. Be sure you have some 100% pure canned pumpkin when you make this and a 9-inch or 10-inch bundt pan.
- Granulated Sugar
- Canola or Vegetable Oil
- Large Eggs
- Vanilla Extract - For best flavor use pure vanilla extract. Yes, it's a splurge but it makes such a big difference in baked goods.
- 100% Pure Canned Pumpkin - Make sure you are getting the 'pure pumpkin' and NOT the 'pumpkin pie filling mix'.
- Sour Cream - Full fat is best to use when baking.
- All-Purpose Flour - Feel free to use a gluten-free flour. Just make sure it's a 1:1 ratio when substituting it for regular flour.
- Baking Powder - Helps the bundt cake rise.
- Baking Soda - Makes for a moist and tender crumb.
- Salt
- Cinnamon, Nutmeg, Cloves
To make the caramel frosting you will need some additional baking ingredients. Nothing too fancy!
- Salted Butter - You want that extra salt to help with the sweetness.
- Brown Sugar - I use light brown sugar but if you prefer the darker, more molasses taste of dark brown sugar then go ahead and use that.
- Heavy Cream - NO substitutions for this!
- Salt
- Vanilla Extract
- Powdered Sugar
How To Make Caramel Pumpkin Bundt Cake
Making this perfect caramel pumpkin bundt cake is pretty simple. It does require some bowls and a couple different methods of cooking but it will all be worth it!
Prepare : Heat the oven to 350 degrees and liberally spray a 9-inch or 10-inch bundt pan with cooking spray.
Pumpkin Bundt Cake : Use a stand mixer, or a hand mixer, and beat the wet ingredients together until combined. Add the dry ingredients into the same bowl and beat on low speed just until combined. You want to be careful to mix it but don't over mix.
Cook : Pour the batter into the prepared bundt pan and cook. If the bundt cake is getting too browned towards the end of the cook time, loosely lay a piece of tin foil over it. Use the toothpick test to ensure that the cake is cooked completely. If a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out wet then you need to bake it longer. If it comes out dry or with some moist crumbs then it's ready to take out.
Cool & Invert The Cake : Let the bundt cake cool for about 15 minutes and then invert it onto a cooling rack so it can finish cooling completely.
Frosting : Once the cake is completely cooled go ahead and make the frosting and frost the cake. You can either spread the frosting with a knife all around the bundt cake OR put the frosting into a piping bag with a tip, or use a Ziplock bag and cut the corner, and pipe the frosting on that way.
Tips For Success
I have a few helpful tips that will hopefully make it so easy for you to replicate this recipe in your own home.
- Use Full-Fat Sour Cream : It has the best flavor, thicker texture, and it provides a richness to this bundt cake. Using lite sour cream will work but the final product will be different slightly as lite sour cream has more water in it and it's thinner in texture.
- Cooking Spray : When making bundt cakes cooking spray is your best friend! If you really want to ensure that there is no sticking then use a baker's spray (cooking spray + flour). I liberally spray the bundt pan with cooking spray and have never had a problem with the cake sticking and not coming out.
- Cool The Cake Completely : Do not try to frost the cake when it's warm or otherwise the frosting will just fall right off the cake. Let the cake cool completely before frosting it.
- Frosting : The frosting hardens up really quickly so make sure that once the frosting is done that you can immediately frost the bundt cake with it.
How To Store Leftovers
If leftovers will only be around for a day I like to store the bundt cake at room temperature in a covered container. Once you put the cake in the fridge the frosting will turn cold and hard, and you lose that moist crumb-like texture of the bundt cake.
But, if you are keeping leftovers for 3-4 days then I would store the cake in the fridge because of the milk in the frosting. The cake is good cold straight from the fridge. So you can really store it either way you prefer; counter top or fridge.
Can I Freeze Pumpkin Bundt Cake?
Yes you can! Bake the pumpkin bundt cake as directed and let it cool completely. Wrap up the cooled bundt cake in tin foil, I would suggest a double layer, and freeze for up to 3 months. When you're ready to eat it let the cake thaw on the counter to room temperature. Make the frosting as directed and frost the Cake. Enjoy!
I would suggest not freezing the bundt cake with the caramel frosting on it.
More Pumpkin Recipes You'll Love
Banana Pumpkin Bread : Use up those browned bananas with this banana pumpkin cake with chocolate chips.
Chocolate chip Streusel Pumpkin Cake : Pumpkin cake topped with a cinnamon streusel with mini chocolate chips.
Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bars : One of our favorites! Cake-like, super soft-baked pumpkin bars loaded with milk chocolate chips. This recipe uses applesauce.
Pumpkin Sugar Cookies : A soft sugar cookie with a mild flavor of pure pumpkin and pumpkin spice. Topped with a glaze.
Pumpkin Cheesecake Whoopie Pies : With only 5 ingredients these are so simple to make and crazy delicious!
Marshmallow Pumpkin Pie : A fun twist to classic pumpkin pie! Marshmallows combine with pure pumpkin for this creamy and lighter version of pumpkin pie.
Caramel Pumpkin Bundt Cake
Ingredients
Pumpkin Bundt Cake
- 1¼ cup granulated sugar
- ⅓ cup canola or vegetable oil
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 can (15 oz) pure pumpkin
- 1 cup full-fat sour cream
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2¼ teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon table salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
Caramel Frosting
- ½ cup (1 stick) salted butter
- ¾ cup light brown sugar
- ¼ cup heavy cream
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups powdered sugar
Instructions
Pumpkin Bundt Cake
- Heat oven to 350°. Prepare a 9-inch or 10-inch bundt pan by spraying liberally with cooking spray. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, or a mixing bowl with handheld blender, add the sugar, oil, eggs, vanilla, pumpkin, and sour cream. Beat together until combined.
- Add flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves. Beat together until just combined and no flour pockets remain.
- Pour into the prepared bundt cake pan and cook for 45-50 minutes. * Check with a toothpick to make sure it's cooked. A toothpick should come out with moist crumbs or dry. If it comes out with wet batter then it needs to cook longer. * I like to loosley lay a piece of foil over the bundt cake during the last 20 minutes so that it does not over brown.
- Let cool in the bundt pan for 20 minutes and then invert the bundt cake onto a cooling rack. Cool completely before frosting.
Caramel Frosting
- Combine butter, brown sugar, heavy cream, and salt in a small saucepan over medium-high heat.
- Bring the mixture to a boil. Once boiling turn heat to low and let simmer for 3 minutes. Do not stir during the 3 minute cook time.
- Pour the caramel into a mixing bowl and let sit at room temperature for 10-15 minutes so it can cool to lukewarm.
- Add the vanilla and powdered sugar, beat together until combined and frosting-like consistency. If it is too thick/crumbly, add more heavy cream, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the desired frosting is reached. I usually have to add 2 additional tablespoons of cream.
- Immediately drizzle or pipe the frosting over the cooled pumpkin cake. The caramel frosting hardens up rather quickly so be ready to spread it over the cake right when it's done. Don't start making the frositng until the cake is cooled completely. You can pour the frosting over the cake, drizzle it, spread it with a knife, use a piping bag with a 1A tip and pipe it on OR put the frosting into a gallon-sized Ziploc bag and snip the corner of it to pipe it on the cake.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
This looks great! I'm thinking about swapping this for my traditional pumpkin pies. Does it stay good if you make it ahead of time?
Yes it will. I actually made it the day before and then left the bundt cake covered on the counter. I frosted it the next day. Leftovers kept well covered on the countertop for a day. It didn’t last longer than that..... ? it was just too good.
Thanks! That's how I was thinking of doing it.
Just an FYI - I made this gluten-free and it turned out great. Generally, recipes with sour cream work well with GF flours. I swapped GF flour for the regular flour and added 1 teaspoon xanthan gum. Everyone loved it! Thanks for the recipe.
Could I use whole milk instead of heavy cream?
Yes you can, but you won't need as much because whole milk is not as thick as heavy cream. Start low and add as needed.
My husband is Lactose Intolerant so I use Lactose Free Milk. Works great!!
Made this for community game night gathering. It was fabulous and gone in no time.
Thanks!
Awesome! So happy to hear this 🙂
The moment I found this recipe I knew I had to try it. I'm so happy I did my family and me absolutely love it. So moist and that Carmel topping drizzle made it taste like a slice of heaven. Truly amazing! Thank you so much for sharing your recipe. This won't be my last time making this
Making this tonight for the SECOND time. It's just for my husband and I, and we USUALLY don't finish a whole cake....USUALLY!!! This one is the exception. Delicious moist perfection! Thanks for sharing....
I love hearing this! I could pretty much drink that caramel frosting for breakfast, lunch, and dinner 🙂 haha
I don't usually put comments under recipes but u had to for this one! If your thinking about making this cake JUST DO IT, it's AMAZING and I promise you won't regret It! This might be my favorite cake recipes! 😀 10/10
Thank you! I'll admit, I make this just for that caramel frosting 🙂 I could literally drink that stuff. Thanks so much for your comment.
I'm excited to try this recipe but do you think it would work as 2 9" layer cakes instead of a bundt cake? I'm looking for a pumpkin cake for a rehearsal dinner. Thank you!
I think the cake would work as a 2 layer cake but not sure about the caramel frosting. It's not a thick, buttercream like frosting so not sure how it would hold up to a layered cake. Maybe add some additional powdered sugar to the frosting to make it thicker and that will probably do the trick. Enjoy!
Making this cake for the fourth time! So easy and delicious!
The recipe says 2 eggs but the video shows 4
I don't have a video for this recipe. Just follow the instructions as given in the recipe 🙂 Enjoy!
Just made this for a Christmas work party. I was worried about making a new recipe for a party, but I made the right choice. This is so good! The frosting is delicious. The cake is moist and tender.
This frosting takes the cake over the top!
Killer
This is simply over the top great! Only change was to use olive oil in place of the oil it calls for-as we won’t use that. Easy to make, killer taste.
Delicious cake a great recipe easy to read directions.
The best cake ever!! It’s even my very picky 9 yo daughter’s favorite!
This cake is amazing!!! The perfect cake for fall or anytime for that matter! It’s so moist and delicious!!
This cake was so easy and delicious. The caramel frosting is amazing. I will definitely be making this again next fall.
Can you substitute pumpkin pie spice for the cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger? If so how much? Tsp or tbsp. Thanks
I would recommend using the separate spices as called for in the recipe. Pumpkin Pie Spice is not the same thing as cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger. close but not the same. I've never used pumpkin pie spice instead of the seasonings in this recipe so I would not even know what to tell you.
Since Thanksgiving I've been trying a lot of pumpkin recipes. Cheesecakes, cookies, muffins and today your bundt cake. This is my favorite so far. Took it to my sister and her boyfriend who are both sweet junkies and they loved it. Thanks so much. I'll be making this many more times.
Absolutely delicious!!!! I made the Bundt cake on a rainy Sunday and added pecans to my cake batter. I love pumpkin and I love pecans! Added bonus in my opinion. The frosting was too salty for me. I may omit the salted butter next time and do unsalted butter or not add the extra salt to the caramel. Will be adding to my Autumn baking list. Looking forward to baking it again
First time making this cake. Instructions easy to follow. Wonderful tasting. Perfect amount of pumpkin and spices. Very moist and the frosting is delicious!
Glad the taste was good and it came out moist! Thank you for your comment!
I am wondering if I used roasted pumpkin puree instead of tinned?
I think that would work out fine. I have only ever used the canned pure pumpkin. As long as it's pure pumpkin with nothing else added into it, it should be just fine to roast a pumpkin and puree it.
A 15 ounce can is equal to 2 cups (minus 2 tablespoons). So measure out 2 cups and use a tablespoon measuring spoon to scoop out 2 tablespoons. Hopefully that makes sense 🙂
Are there any substitutes you can suggest to make this cake non-dairy?
I haven't tried making this recipe with dairy substitutes so I can't guarantee how it will turn out. An easy substitute for the butter is coconut oil with a 1:1 ratio (it may change the flavor slightly). To substitute the heavy cream and sour cream you can buy dairy free versions but there are a lot of recipe options online to make your own replacement. Hopefully that helps! Let me know how it turns out with the substitutes!
I made this recipe for a dinner party and it was amazing! I also used gluten free all purpose flour and substituted 1:1. I would like to try cupcakes. Any idea how that would be? or how long to bake?
So glad it worked for your party! I haven't tried making cupcakes with this bundt cake but here is an article that can help walk you through converting a cake recipe to cupcakes. https://www.thekitchn.com/heres-how-to-convert-a-cake-recipe-to-make-cupcakes-instead-tips-from-the-kitchn-219545. In summary, bake at the same temperature, use a liner and watch the cupcakes very carefully! Try doing one test cupcake before you bake the rest. Let me know how it turns out if you try it!
Really yummy 👍🏼
Thank you! 😊
I don't have heavy cream and was wondering if could use milk
Does this freeze well?
I’ve never tried freezing it so I can’t speak from personal experience but I think it would work to freeze the cake. I wouldn’t freeze it with the frosting but I would add that after the cake had thawed.
This cake is so moist and delicious. Thank you for sharing the recipe.
I’m so happy you liked the recipe! Thanks for sharing!