This Pumpkin Spice Bundt Cake is a perfect fall dessert and is definitely a showstopper on a Thanksgiving dessert table! Made with Pumpkin Pie Spice and a cranberry sauce filling, it’s sure to impress everyone!

The best way to describe the perfection that is this bundt cake is to imagine all the five senses:

Vision: I mean, look at it! It’s absolutely beautiful. The cranberry sauce filling slightly oozing out of the cake. The pretty glaze, topped with pumpkin seeds (I tried two different types of glazes – see below for pictures and details).
Smell: indescribable in the kitchen while it’s baking! But, let me try to describe it: the aroma of the pumpkin spice seasoning is warm, cozy, cinnamony! Amazing!
Touch: bundt cakes are denser in texture, so you can grab a slice with your fingers and dig right into it! Inside, the cake is soft and melts in your mouth!
Hearing: so, there are several things you may hear: loud chewing, lots of praise to the chef, lots of “Mmmmm!” and, of course, my favorite, absolute silence (pure enjoyment!)
Taste: The taste of fall! Warm. Moist. Rich flavor.

Tips for making a moist Pumpkin Spice Bundt Cake

Make sure the butter, eggs, and buttermilk are at room temperature
Mix wet and dry ingredients separately
When adding the eggs to the wet ingredients, make sure the beat them in one at a time.
When folding the dry ingredients into wet ingredients, do not overmix
Do always sift! Sifting the dry ingredients (before folding into the wet ingredients) makes the mixture lighter.

How to remove the bundt cake from the pan:

Firstly, make sure the pan is greased well before pouring in the batter. I use a pastry brush, but a silicone brush will work great as well. Make sure to brush every corner in the pan. Using room temperature butter helps to spread the butter.
After removing the cake from the oven, allow it to cool inside the pan before flipping it out onto a cooling rack or a plate.
Once you’ve flipped the cake over, gently lift the pan. If it is not coming out easily, leave the cake flipped over in the pan and wait another 5 minutes before trying to lift the pan.

More Tips:

Measure ingredients precisely
Allow the cake to rise: do not open the door of the oven until you are ready to check the cake for doneness – after about 45 minutes of baking.
To check the cake for doneness, pierce a toothpick closer to the center of the cake. If the toothpick comes out clean and there is no batter on it, it is ready to be taken out of the oven.

The cranberry sauce filling:

If you have some homemade cranberry sauce leftovers, it would be great to use in this recipe. Or, you can, of course, make some fresh cranberry sauce for this cake separately. Or, storebought works great too – that’s a time saver.

The Glaze for the Pumpkin Spice Bundt Cake – two ways:

Mix powdered sugar, pumpkin spice, and a few tablespoons of milk, pour over the cake and top with pumpkin seeds (optional). You can make this glaze thicker or thinner (by adding more milk). I personally prefer thinner (less) glaze so I taste less sugar and more cake.
Brush cake with maple syrup, sift powdered sugar, and top with pumpkin seeds

Frequently Asked Questions:

What can I do if I can't find Pumpkin Pie Spice at the store?

Pumpkin spice is simply a mixture of cinnamon, nutmeg, ground ginger, allspice, and cloves. Mix: 2 tablespoons of ground cinnamon, 1 teaspoon ground ginger, 1 teaspoon nutmeg, 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice and 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves. The cloves are optional. Use two teaspoons of the mixture for this recipe and keep the remainder in a spice jar for other recipes.

How do I store leftover Bundt cake?

Store the cake in an air-tight container or on a plate, tightly covered with saran wrap, for up to 3 days.

What can I use instead of a Bundt pan?

As an alternative, you can use a muffin pan to make smaller cakes, a pie pan, springform pan, or a regular baking pan.

Try these desserts:

Pumpkin Spice Bundt Cake (with cranberry sauce filling)

Yield: 10

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 45 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour

Ingredients

1 cup (or 1 stick) unsallted butter, room temperature, plus more butter to grease pan
1 cup granulated sugar
3 eggs, room temperature
1 cup buttermilk, room temperature
2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons Pumpkin Pie Spice
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup cranberry sauce

For the glaze (option 1)

2 cups powdered sugar
4 tablespoons whole milk
1/2 teaspoon Pumpkin Pie Spice (optional)

Or For the glaze (option 2)

2 tablespoons maple syrup
1 tablespoon powdered sugar
1 handful pumpkin seeds (optional)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Using a pastry brush or silicone brusk, thoroughly grease the bundt pan with butter. Make sure to grease all the nooks and crannies of the pan.
Place 1 cup of butter and 1 cup of sugar in a mixing bowl, or the bowl of your stand mixer. Beat the ingredients together at medium speed until the mixture has become pale yellow and creamy. Make sure to get the sugar and butter off the sides as well.
Beat in the eggs, one by one. Add 1 cup of room buttermilk and mix to combine.
In a separate bowl, mix together 2 cups of all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon of baking soda, 1 teaspoon of baking powder, 2 teaspoons of Pumpkin Pie Spice, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Sift the flour mixture over the wet ingredients mixture and beat gently to combine. Do not overmix the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients.
Pour about 1/2 of the batter into the bundt pan and add a layer of cranberry sauce. Distribute the sauce evenly over the batter. Top the remaining batter over the cranberry sauce.
Place the bundt cake pan on the middle oven rack and bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 45 minutes. Test readiness of the cake by inserting a toothpick into the center. If the toothpick comes out clean, your cake is ready to be taken out of the oven. Otherwise, allow the cake to bake for another 5 minutes and test for readiness again.
Remove the cake from the oven and allow it to cool for 15 minutes before taking the cake out of the pan. Then turn the pan over onto a cooling rack and lift the pan off the cake. Allow the cake to cool completely before glazing.
While the cake is cooking, prepare the glaze:
Glaze option 1: combine the powdered sugar, pumpkin pie spice mix, and milk. Stir well to blend. Add a little more milk to reach your desired consistency. Drizzle the glaze over the cooled cake and top with pumpkin seeds (optional).
Glaze option 2: using a silicone brush, brush the top of the cooled cake with maple syrup. Sift the powdered sugar over the cake and top with pumpkin seeds.

Notes

Making a moist Pumpkin Spice Bundt Cake

Make sure the butter, eggs, and buttermilk are at room temperature

Mix wet and dry ingredients separately

When adding the eggs to the wet ingredients, make sure the beat them in one at a time.

When folding the dry ingredients into wet ingredients, do not overmix

Do always sift! Sifting the dry ingredients (before folding into the wet ingredients) makes the mixture lighter.

How to remove the bundt cake from the pan:

Firstly, make sure the pan is greased well before pouring in the batter. I use a pastry brush, but a silicone brush will work great as well. Make sure to brush every corner in the pan. Using room temperature butter helps to spread the butter.

After removing the cake from the oven, allow it to cool inside the pan before flipping it out onto a cooling rack or a plate.

Once you've flipped the cake over, gently lift the pan. If it is not coming out easily, leave the cake flipped over in the pan and wait another 5 minutes before trying to lift the pan.