Homemade Pumpkin Bundt Cake — made with sweet autumn spices, plenty of pumpkin, a rich browned butter glaze, and a finishing touch of crunchy toasted pecans. It’s a simple cake with superb flavor!
Every fall calls for a few pumpkin desserts — it’s always fun to make a favorite and to try something new. This pumpkin bundt cake with a decadent browned butter glaze fits the bill perfectly.
The cake batter is incredibly easy to make; you don’t even need an electric mixer. Simply blend the wet ingredients (and sugars) and dry ingredients separately, then combine them. Spread the batter into a bundt pan and bake in a hot oven until set.
Let it cool (the hardest part — the waiting!), then smother it with generous spoonfuls of that nutty browned butter glaze and finish it with pecans. You’ll want to savor every bite of this autumn-inspired pumpkin dessert.
Pumpkin Bundt Cake Recipe Ingredients
All-purpose flour: Builds the foundation of the cake.
Pumpkin pie spice: Use a store-bought blend or create your own using cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves.
Baking soda: A crucial ingredient that helps the cake rise.
Salt: Brings out the flavors of the cake.
Brown sugar and granulated sugar: Added to sweeten the cake.
Oil: Vegetable oil, avocado oil, or light olive oil all work well here.
Eggs: Help bind all the cake ingredients together and also help the cake rise.
Vanilla extract: Added for extra background flavor.
Canned pumpkin: Use plain canned pumpkin puree, not pumpkin pie filling. Homemade pumpkin puree works as well.
Pecans: Can be toasted or raw, though toasting is recommended for more flavor.
Powdered sugar: The sweetener used for the glaze, giving it a smooth consistency.
Salted butter: A key ingredient in the glaze — browned for a bolder, nutty flavor.
Milk: Just a little is used to thin the glaze to a spreadable consistency.
How to Make Pumpkin Bundt Cake from Scratch
Prepare oven: Set the oven rack one level down from center. Preheat oven to 350°F.
Whisk dry ingredients: In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda, and salt.
Mix wet ingredients: In a large bowl, combine both sugars and oil, then add the eggs, vanilla, and canned pumpkin, stirring until well blended.
Combine: Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir until just combined — do not overmix.
Bake: Pour the batter into a well-greased bundt pan and bake at 350°F until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool in the pan before inverting onto a wire rack.
Make the browned butter glaze: Melt the salted butter in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring frequently, until it turns golden brown and smells nutty. Remove from heat and whisk in powdered sugar and milk until smooth.
Glaze and garnish: Spoon the browned butter glaze over the cooled cake and top with toasted pecans. Slice and serve once the glaze has set.
This pumpkin bundt cake is an ideal centerpiece for any fall gathering, and its simple no-mixer method makes it just as easy to pull together on a weeknight as it is for a holiday table.
