Pumpkin cream cheese Bundt cake is everything you love about pumpkin cake with a decadent cheesecake layer hiding inside. Simple to prepare and perfectly spiced, this fall cake always impresses a crowd. This layered beauty is irresistible on its own, but even more worthy of your fork with salted caramel drizzled on top! 😉
I originally published this recipe in 2016 and have since added new photos and more helpful success tips.
If you like my pumpkin Bundt cake, you’re going to love today’s pumpkin cream cheese Bundt cake. We use the same base recipe, skip the chocolate chips, and add a cream cheese layer. Hello, fall!
One reader, Caila, commented: “This recipe was easy to follow and yielded a delicious, moist cake! I have friends and family who don’t love pumpkin, and they still enjoyed it. Highly recommend making the salted caramel topping to go with it. ★★★★★“
Why You’ll Love This Pumpkin Cream Cheese Bundt Cake:
- Moist, dense pumpkin cake crumb with a cheesecake-style filling
- Spiced with cinnamon, ginger, cloves, nutmeg, and allspice (or you can use pumpkin pie spice)
- Pumpkin + cream cheese make a great team, just like in these pumpkin cream cheese muffins and pumpkin cheesecake pie
- Conveniently uses 1 standard can of pumpkin. (My beloved pumpkin pie uses an entire can, too. For future reference!)
- Easy to make; beginner bakers can absolutely handle this one
- A large, beautiful, impressive cake perfect for fall celebrations—with no decorating skills required
If you love dessert + cozy fall flavors, here’s a list of 30+ fall cake recipes.
These Are Key Ingredients You Need & Why
Like all of the recipes on my website and in my cookbooks, my team and I tested various ingredients and ratios to develop a standout cake with excellent flavor and texture. Here are some key ingredients:
- Baking Soda: 2 teaspoons of baking soda seems like a lot, and it is. But think about the size of a Bundt cake… they’re huge, and need to rise quite a lot in the tall cake pan. In addition to leavening, baking soda deepens a baked good’s color and neutralizes its acids.
- Spices: Cinnamon, ginger, cloves, nutmeg, and allspice. On its own, pumpkin is quite bland, so you need a lot of spice for flavor. You can also use pumpkin pie spice here—see recipe Notes.
- Oil: You can use vegetable oil, canola oil, or avocado oil here. This cake needs a neutral-tasting oil so it doesn’t overpower the pumpkin spice flavor.
- Eggs: Pumpkin, oil, and flour are big, heavy ingredients so you need eggs in the batter for lift; eggs also bind the ingredients together. You need an egg for the cream cheese filling, too.
- Pure Pumpkin: This Bundt cake conveniently uses one standard 15-ounce can of pumpkin. For best results and flavor, I strongly recommend using canned pumpkin puree instead of homemade. I prefer Libby’s brand for this cake. (Not sponsored by them, just a big fan!)
- Cream Cheese: It’s important to use the block cream cheese that comes in a box, as opposed to the spreadable kind that comes in a tub. That’s great for bagels, but it doesn’t make for a sturdy, sliceable cheesecake layer.
You also need all-purpose flour, salt, brown sugar + granulated white sugar, and vanilla.
The Best Cream Cheese Filling to Use
You only need 4 ingredients for the cream cheese layer, 3 of which you already got out for the cake batter: brick-style cream cheese, an egg, granulated sugar, and vanilla extract.
This tangy, creamy filling isn’t overly sweet, which I love—and I think you’ll appreciate too. Real flavors shine through today!
Overview: How to Make It
You’ll find the full recipe below, but here’s a quick visual of the steps:
Make the cake batter. This is as simple as whisking together the dry ingredients, whisking together the wet ingredients, and then whisking wet + dry together.
Make the cream cheese filling. Use an electric mixer to beat the softened cream cheese until completely smooth—no lumps. Then beat in the remaining ingredients.
Let’s layer: Spread half the pumpkin batter into your greased Bundt pan. Carefully spread the cream cheese filling on top. I like to spread it as close to the edges of the pan as possible, so you get filling in every bite. Then top with the remaining cake batter.
You follow similar layering methods when making my cheesecake swirl carrot Bundt cake.
And bake. This is a huge cake so it takes a while to completely bake through. You’ll also need to let it cool for a bit before you invert it, otherwise it will stick to the pan.
As I said before, this cake doesn’t really need a topping, but if you want to add a little something extra, it’s fabulous as pictured with salted caramel sauce + flaky sea salt sprinkled on top. It’s also lovely with vanilla icing + a pinch of pumpkin pie spice. Or go full-cream-cheese-ahead and top with the maple cinnamon cream cheese icing from these pumpkin cinnamon rolls!
Bundt Pan Recommendations
Do you make a lot of Bundt cakes? If so, you need a Bundt pan that’s 9.5 to 10.5 inches in diameter, and can hold 10 to 12 cups of batter. Let me share two favorite Bundt cake pan options with you:
- Anolon Bundt Pan: Super quality, heavy-duty, great price, never warps, awesome rubber grips. I’ve been using it for years and, honestly, it’s just as durable as day 1.
- Nordic Ware Bundt Pan: Outstanding quality, heavy-duty, and makes beautiful cakes.
Whichever Bundt pan you use, be sure to grease it very generously before adding the batter. Even if the pan is labeled nonstick, due to the size and weight of a Bundt cake, you NEED a lot of greasing so the cake easily separates from the pan when inverting it.
Other Favorite Pumpkin Recipes
- Pumpkin Pie & Pumpkin Slab Pie
- Simply Pumpkin Muffins
- Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Pumpkin Snickerdoodles
- My Best Pumpkin Bars & Pumpkin Bread
And be sure to bookmark this list of best pumpkin desserts.
Print
Pumpkin Cream Cheese Bundt Cake
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 60 minutes
- Total Time: 4 hours, 30 minutes
- Yield: serves 12
- Category: Cake
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
Pumpkin cream cheese Bundt cake combines generously spiced pumpkin cake with rich and creamy cheesecake. Simple to prepare, this fall cake always impresses a crowd. This layered beauty is irresistible on its own, but you can add optional toppings. See recipe Note.
Ingredients
Cake
- 2 and 3/4 cups (344g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)*
- 1 cup (200g) packed light or dark brown sugar (I prefer dark here)
- 3/4 cup (150g) granulated sugar
- 1 cup (240ml) vegetable oil (see Note)
- 4 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Cream Cheese Filling
- 12 ounces (339g) full-fat brick cream cheese, softened to room temperature*
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 1/3 cup (67g) granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Optional Topping
- salted caramel sauce
- flaky sea salt, for sprinkling
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C) and generously grease a 10-inch Bundt pan. (Even if your pan is labeled nonstick, still grease it very well to prevent the big heavy cake from sticking.)
- Make the cake batter: In a large bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, nutmeg, and allspice together. Set aside. In another large bowl, whisk the pumpkin, brown sugar, granulated sugar, oil, eggs, and vanilla extract together until combined. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and whisk until completely combined. Batter is thick. Set aside.
- Make the cream cheese filling: Using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle or whisk attachment, beat the cream cheese on high speed until no lumps remain, about 1 minute. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a silicone spatula. Beat in the remaining ingredients on medium-high speed until combined and creamy, about 1 minute.
- Spread half of the pumpkin batter into the prepared bundt pan. Spread all of the cream cheese filling evenly on top. Spread the remaining pumpkin batter on top. Use a knife to gently swirl the layers together.
- Bake for 55–65 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean with just a couple lightly moist crumbs. This is a large, heavy cake so don’t be alarmed if it takes a little longer in your oven. Mine usually takes 60 minutes exactly.
- Once done, remove from the oven and allow to cool for 2 hours in the pan set on a wire rack. Then invert the slightly cooled Bundt cake onto a cooling rack or serving plate/cake stand.
- Allow to cool completely before drizzling with optional topping and serving.
- Cover leftover cake tightly and store at room temperature for up to 2 days and/or in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Notes
- Freezing Instructions: Baked cake can be frozen for up to 3 months. Be sure to wrap it tightly. Allow to thaw overnight in the refrigerator before serving.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Bundt Cake Pan (I like this one or this one) | Glass Mixing Bowls | Whisk | Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | Cooling Rack
- Spices: Instead of 1/2 teaspoon each ginger, cloves, nutmeg, and allspice, you can use 2 teaspoons of pumpkin pie spice. (You will still add the 2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon.)
- Pumpkin: For best results and flavor, I strongly recommend using canned pumpkin puree over homemade in this recipe. I found the flavor is much better with canned. I prefer Libby’s brand for this cake.
- Oil: You can use vegetable oil, canola oil, avocado oil, or olive oil. Instead of 1 cup of oil, try 1/2 cup (90g) unsweetened applesauce and 1/2 cup (120ml) oil. The cake is just as moist. If you want to use coconut oil, melt it first, and be sure that all of the other ingredients are room temperature. Bake the batter right away, because as the coconut oil begins to cool and solidify, it thickens the batter and could result in an overly dense cake.
- Cream Cheese: Brick cream cheese is typically sold in 8-ounce blocks. You need 1 and 1/2 of them for this cake.
- More Topping Options: Brown butter icing from my peach Bundt cake; chocolate ganache; cream cheese frosting; homemade whipped cream; brown sugar glaze from my apple Bundt cake
- Can I Turn This Into a Loaf? Yes. This recipe yields 2 loaf pan-size cakes, made in 9×5-inch loaf pans. Bake time will be similar to my pumpkin bread. Simply layer the pumpkin and cream cheese batters, then swirl gently with a knife.
This recipe was easy to follow and yielded a delicious, moist cake! I have friends and family who don’t love pumpkin, and they still enjoyed it. Highly recommend making the salted caramel topping to go with it.
I made this tonight for Thanksgiving. Also made the salted caramel. This is definitely a keeper! I used Sally’s Pumpkin Pie spice mix that I made for the Pumpkin sandwich cookies. I set my timer for 50 mins at 45 I put parchment over the cake. I temp tested it at 50 and it was 200F. Smelled and looked baked. Left 2 hrs in pan to cool and it came out of bake pan ,no problem.
This is the perfect fall cake! It was easy to make and the flavors were spot on. Followed the recipe as is. After 55 minutes the bottom was getting dark so I put some aluminum foil over it and baked it for another 10 minutes. Came out perfect. It’s a keeper!
Hi Sally; I would like to ask if I can use mascarpone cheese instead of cream cheese or a combination of both.
Absolutely! A 1:1 sub or a combo of both totaling 12 ounces would be fine.
I have this cake in the oven right now! Doggie sitting for our daughter, and today is her birthday, so when she gets home this evening, the amazing aroma of this cake will greet her at the door.
Hi Sally, this recipe sounds amazing. Would I be able to bake this in my mini Bundt pan? If yes, what are the adjustments for time. Thank you.
Hi Byoung, mini Bundt pans should work just fine here. Bake time will vary depending on the exact size of your pans, so keep a close eye on it and use a toothpick to test for doneness. Enjoy!
Glass Bundt pan…will I need to adjust bake time? I can’t find my metal ones because I’m moving! I have glass ones, though. Just don’t want to under/over bake. Thanks!
The time will likely need to be extended, but I would begin checking at 60 minutes.
So moist and delicious! I took other reviews advice and really increased the spices. Also added 1/4 cup of cake batter and mixed into the cream cheese filling. This prevents air pockets or gaps from forming in the filling.
This just came out of my oven & my kitchen smells like heaven! It baked up beautifully & I can’t wait to serve it!
Just wanted to ask … I didn’t have allspice, BUT added all other spices listed. Should I expect a crazy difference in flavor? Thanks!
Hi Sheila, you shouldn’t notice too much of a difference. We hope you loved the taste as much as the smell!
Hi Sally! I love all your recipes! I have a question… I’m making this pumpkin cream cheese Bundt cake tonight for a luncheon tomorrow at noon. My question is do I have to store this in the fridge tonight or will it be ok stored at room temp until tomorrow? Thanks!!
Hi Paulina, you can keep the cake at room temperature overnight. Leftovers will last in the refrigerator for a few days. Enjoy!
I’m a bit confused. I left out the cheesecake part and added white ghirardelli chips. The recipe calls for 12 oz cream cheese / one block. One block of cream cheese is 8 oz. So do you need to use 12 oz or one 8 oz block?
Hi Tonia, you need 12 ounces of block-style cream cheese, which is 1.5 8 ounce blocks. Sorry for the confusion!
Mindi -the egg is necessary for binding the cream cheese mixture, otherwise, it would be too runny, not set up & probably meld into the bread.
The cake came out great except I would have liked more cream cheese filling. When I read the part about 12 ounces (336g) full-fat block cream cheese I just thought the 12 was a typo because our full block is 8 oz. Other than my mistake it tasted great.
Great! I noticed some commenters said it wasn’t quite spicy enough and I do like things spicy so I upped each spice by about 50%. Worked out well for me. Not too sweet, moist and delicious. Served at Thanksgiving and was loved by all.
Hi Sally – love your recipes! I’m always a little paranoid to try bundt cakes because I’m scared the cake will get caught in all the fluting of the pan. Do you have any tips to ensure it comes out cleanly?
Hi Allison, just VERY generously spraying your pan! Air on the side of more than less, so that the Bundt releases seamlessly from the pan.
I was looking for a dessert for a special meal with friends. I wanted a dessert that “feels like a hug”. A friend recommended your recipe. For extra sinfulness I served it with an optional salted caramel (also your recipe) and a small scoop of walnut ice cream (we don’t have dessert often but when we do we go all out!). I cannot begin to tell you what a hit it was! Our guests were happy to leave with extra pieces to take home. It will be my new go to recipe when having friends over. Thank you!
This was perfect! Your recipes never let me down. Right balance of moistness and spice flavor for all palates- the right spice flavor coming through has been living in other pumpkin bread recipes I have tried.
Fit great in my Nordic ware Bundt too. Thanks!
Perfect Fall cake! Loved the cream cheese layer. Would have liked it to be slightly sweeter as it is a cake so will add a tad more sugar next time.
Don’t use grocery store spices if you want deep flavor. Penzey’s spices always deliver the best quality and “umph”!
Super yummy! I made this for a bridal shower, and everyone loved it! Thanks, Sally, for another awesome recipe!
Just made this today. Turned out wonderful! Directions were easy to follow and finished product looked exactly like the picture. Will be adding this to my cake recipes.