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This pumpkin bundt cake recipe is the perfect dessert to bring to your family’s Thanksgiving! It’s an easier than ever cake recipe that’s semi-homemade and full of pumpkin, spices, and brown butter. This is a heavenly moist cake recipe you’re going to love.
Easy Pumpkin Bundt Cake
Making pumpkin cake in a bundt pan is super simple – and this one is so flavorful because I made it and the frosting with brown butter! This recipe is a piece of cake! (literally) This is probably one of the easiest and quickest cake recipes you will ever make. I love a bundt cake at fall time – or all year – because they’re so pretty. This one freezes perfectly too so you can make it ahead.
This pumpkin bundt cake recipe starts with a cake mix and is full of brown butter, pumpkin spices, and a delicious brown butter glaze!
Important Ingredients Needed
- Butter- Making cake mix with butter makes the cake so much richer in flavor. Since we’re making brown butter you want to use unsalted butter.
- Yellow cake mix – Use your favorite brand
- Pumpkin Puree- Do not use pumpkin pie mix for this step or it will not turn out as desired, be sure that you use actual pumpkin puree.
- Spices: You can use pumpkin spice or make your own pumpkin pie spice with ground nutmeg, ginger, cinnamon and allspice
How to Make Pumpkin Bundt With Cake Mix
- Place the butter in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Melt and keep stirring until the butter turns slightly brown. This should take about 5-7 minutes, be sure to stir it often. During this process, the butter will foam up, then reduce. When it starts to brown move it quickly, butter tends to burn fast so keep an eye on it.
- Measure ⅓ cup of the browned butter and reserve the rest to make the glaze. Mix browned butter with cake mix, pumpkin puree, large eggs, granulated sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and allspice in a large bowl. Mix until the batter is completely smooth.
- Pour the batter into the prepared bundt pan and make for 35-38 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean. Let it cool completely before you remove the pumpkin bundt cake from the pan.
- Place the set-aside brown butter in a bowl. If it has solidified, no worries! You can heat it in the microwave for a few seconds until it’s liquid again. Then, whisk in powdered sugar, vanilla, and salt. Add heavy whipping cream a spoon at a time until it is the right consistency. (around 4 tablespoons.) Drizzle over the pumpkin bundt cake.
Expert Tips
- One of the most important steps in making a bundt cake is to grease your pan properly! If this isn’t done in the right way it could end in potential disaster, so take some care. Make sure you use a baking spray and not a cooking spray, they are different. When greasing the pan use short small bursts instead of long sprays.
- To avoid air bubbles in your pumpkin bundt cake, before you put in it the oven lay the pan on a dish towel and tap on the top of the pan around 5 to 10 times. This allows the air in the batter to be worked out before it bakes.
- You should let the bundt cake completely cool before applying the glaze. Even if the bundt cake is just slightly warm the glaze will melt off of it while applying.
- You can also bake this in a 9×13-inch pan.
- Store loosely covered on the counter or in the fridge for up to 3 days.
FAQs
You don’t actually have to refrigerate your pumpkin bundt cake. It will stay good loosely wrapped on the counter. If you want it to stay fresh for a bit longer you can definitely put it in the fridge.
Layer the thick batter into the pan and press it all the way to the bottom using a bowl scraper. You want to ensure it’s fully reaching the bottom so it maintains that classic bundt cake shape.
Yes, you can! You can find miniature bundt cake pans at the store and then divide the batter up amongst them for some teeny cute cakes!
Brown Butter Pumpkin Bundt Cake Recipe
Ingredients
- 11 tablespoons (154g) unsalted butter
- 1 box (approx 15 ounces) yellow cake mix
- 15 oz can of pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie mix)
- 4 large eggs
- ⅓ cup (67g) granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon ground allspice
- 2 cups (226g) powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 3-5 tablespoons (45-75ml) heavy whipping cream or milk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray a 12-cup bundt pan with nonstick cooking spray (the kind with flour in it).
- Place the butter in a small sauce pan over medium-low heat. Melt, then stir often, cooking until the butter browns. This will take 5-7 minutes or so. Stir often. The butter will foam, then reduce. Once it starts to turn brown it burns quickly so be sure and watch it. Remove from heat.
- Measure out 1/3 cup of the browned butter. Reserve the rest for the glaze. Place the 1/3 cup brown butter with the cake mix, pumpkin puree, eggs, granulated sugar, and cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and allspice in a large bowl. Mix with a hand mixer until smooth. The batter is thick.
- Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake for 35-38 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool completely before removing from pan and glazing.
- To make the glaze: Place reserved brown butter in a bowl. If it has solidified, heat it in the microwave for a few seconds until it becomes liquid again. Whisk in powdered sugar, vanilla, and salt. Add heavy whipping cream 1 tablespoon at a time until you get the desired consistency. (I used 4 tablespoons.) Drizzle over cake.
- Store loosely covered on the counter or in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Recipe Video
Recipe Nutrition
Favorite Pumpkin Recipes
- Pumpkin Cupcakes from scratch
- Easy Pumpkin Bread
- Chocolate Pumpkin Cupcakes with a cake mix!
Pumpkin Bundt Cake is an easy cake recipe made with cake mix and pumpkin – a brown butter cake with brown butter frosting! This is such an easy recipe for the holidays.
Last Updated on October 28, 2023
Pumpkin and brown butter?! Divine combo! Happy belated birthday!!
Om nom nom! Happy Birthday, Dorothy. I hope that you had a great day. 🙂 I made a pumpkin ravioli dish the other day with brown butter and sage. SOOOO GOOD! I think this pumpkin cake would be a great way to finish a fall meal. Thank you. 🙂
Happy birthday!! And love your love story!! I am definitely going to make this – looks yummy. I usually always fail at bundt stuff but will give this a try.
By the way – I totally don’t sympatize with you being 38! Try looking at 73 and not getting all depressed!! ha ha – just kidding, I love my age!! I can finally be myself and not be judged on my style of dressing (still hippy type!!!) my eating (love love love sweets) or my laid back style!
Happy belated birthday!!!
Happy birthday! My birthday is next week, and I’m still trying to pick out which cakes I will make. Yes, I definitely said cakeS. I’m thinking a fig and pistachio cake from Hungry Rabbit NYC, a chocolate cake that my friend gave me a recipe for years ago, and maybe this cake for the office. It looks good, but not TOO sweet…Koreans are funny about their cakes.
First things first – Happy Birthday!! When it comes to ANYTHING pumpkin, I’m in! Just one point of clarification, is the yellow cake mix with or without “pudding in the mix”?
It’s just a basic yellow cake mix – I used Betty Crocker for this one. Any brand will do! You could also use white or butter flavored yellow, or spice!
Your writing in this post is so open and relatable. Â Really enjoyed it. Â Yummy sounding recipe too.
Happy Happy Birthday!! I know, I know it is a little late but I am hoping you had a beautiful day! 38 is a great age and the 40’s aren’t bad either!
This Brown Butter Pumpkin Cake and Frosting sound AWESOME!!! Thank you again for another terrific pumpkin recipe! I’m a happy camper!!
Happy b-day!
What did you do on your special day? like what did you eat, esp for dessert???!
My forties were my best decade ever, for a lot of reasons. Â You will love it! Â The only down side is that I thought, “my life is about half over now (if all goes well); there is still so much I want to do”. Â It made me savor everything more. And speaking of savory get, this cake is a must-try. Â Some of the best cakes I have ever had have been fixed-up cake mixes.
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