Pumpkin Cream Cheese Bundt Cake

This Pumpkin Cream Cheese Bundt Cake is the best of both worlds - a moist and delicious pumpkin cake with a cheesecake filling! The sweet brown sugar glaze puts this cake over the top. It's really easy to make - check out the tip to keep the cream cheese filling in the center of the cake. You will wow your guests with this dessert, whether it's for Thanksgiving or just for the Fall.

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This pumpkin cream cheese Bundt cake can be our little secret – for more than one reason. First of all, I don’t like pumpkin. BUT… I love this cake. Please don’t tell anyone – you’ll ruin my “I don’t like pumpkin” reputation. Secondly, this cake is not only gorgeous because of the Bundt pan in which it bakes, but also because of the tunnel of cream cheese that runs through the center of every piece. It’s a decadent surprise for every guest, but no-one needs to know how easy it is to put together. You don’t need a special filling pan – just a Bundt pan (a pan with a hole in the center that makes every cake bake in a doughnut shape). The trick to getting the cream cheese center is in creating a tunnel for it to sit in and then simply covering it with more batter. Both the batter and the cream cheese filling are firm enough for you to be able to do this very easily using a spoon. See the photos below for a visual step-by-step.  

Cake batter in a bundt pan, half full, making a tunnel with the back of a spoon for cream cheese filling.

The first step is to fill the pan half full with pumpkin batter. Then, create a trench in the batter using the back of a spoon all the way around the cake.

Cream cheese filling in a cavity in the middle of a bundt cake.

Then fill the trench with the cream cheese filling. If it starts to spill over a little, don’t worry about it. Just push it back towards the center and make sure to push some batter from above down the side of the pan in the next step.

Batter going on top of cream cheese filling in a Bundt pan.

Pour the remaining pumpkin batter on top of the cream cheese, making sure the bottom batter and the top batter touch both at the center of the pan and around the edge of the pan.

Pumpkin bundt cake ready to go into the oven.

Then, it is ready to bake.

Pumpkin bundt cake unfolded and sitting on a rack over a sheet pan, ready to be glazed.

Once you’re ready to glaze the cake, do put it on a cooling rack over a sheet pan. The sheet pan will catch all the drips and extra glaze. Once the glaze sets a little, you’ll be able to scrape up any unused glaze and glaze it a second time.

Pumpkin cream cheese bundt cake on a white platter with mini pumpkins in the background and a piece of bundt cake on a small plate in the foreground.

This pumpkin cream cheese Bundt cake also freezes well – just wrap it carefully a couple of times in plastic wrap before freezing. Try to remember to defrost it a good 8 hours or so before you’d like to enjoy it again. It’s also a good idea to slice the cake before you freeze it – just in case you’d like to defrost just a couple of pieces at a time. This decadent dessert won’t let you down. 

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Bundt Cake

  • Prep Time: 35 m
  • Cook Time: 1 h
  • Total Time: 1 h 35 m
  • Servings:
    12

Ingredients

Bundt Cake:
  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • ¾ teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ½ cup unsalted butter softened
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • ½ cup white sugar
  • 4 eggs
  • ½ cup vegetable oil
  • 15 ounces pureed pumpkin
  • 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Cream Cheese Filling
  • 12 ounces cream cheese room temperature
  • ½ cup sugar
  • 1 egg
  • teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Brown Sugar Glaze
  • ¼ cup unsalted butter softened
  • ¾ cup brown sugar
  • pinch of nutmeg
  • 3 tablespoons milk
  • ¾ cup powdered sugar

Instructions

  1. Pre-heat the oven to 350ºGrease the inside of a 12-cup Bundt cake with butter and then coat the pan with granulated sugar, shaking out any excess.
  2. Make the cream cheese filling, Using an electric mixer or a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, whip the cream cheese and sugar together until smooth. Add the egg and vanilla extract and continue to whip until combined. Refrigerate until ready to use.
  3. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon and salt in a large bowl
  4. In a second large bowl, beat the butter and brown and white sugars until fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time and continue to beat. Add the oil, pumpkin purée and vanilla extract. Beat until well-combined. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until the dry ingredients are just incorporated into the wet. Do not over mix the batter
  5. Pour a little less than half of the cake batter into to the prepared Bundt pan. With the back of a spoon, create a tunnel in the center of the batter. Spoon the cream cheese filling into the tunnel as much as possible (a little of the filling may overflow). Gently pour the rest of the cake batter over the cream cheese layer and spread it out evenly.
  6. Bake at 350ºF for 55 to 65 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out almost clean. Transfer the cake pan to a wire cooling rack and cool for 20 minutes. Invert the cake over the rack and unmold, leaving the cake to cool completely.
  7. Make the brown sugar glaze. Melt the butter in a saucepan and whisk in the brown sugar, pinch of nutmeg and milk. Simmer for a few minutes until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture thickens. Add the powdered sugar and whisk until smooth. Allow the glaze to cool a little, but while it is still warm, pour the glaze over the cooled cake allowing some to drip down the sides. If the glaze drips to fast, allow it to cool a little more.

  8. Serve with a dollop of whipped cream, a scoop of ice cream or just a cup of coffee.
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Comments (34)Post a Reply

  1. I will try to make this. I want to tell you how much I make so many receipes you send thew email And from your books. Thanks so much.

  2. 5 stars
    I have not made this cake but I will because I know I’ll like it. I make my Mom’s pumpkin cream cheese pie every Thanksgiving.

    Thanks for the recipe.

  3. 5 stars
    Made it LOVED IT!! Instead of a bundt I did a layer cake (don’t have a bundt pan) layered the cream cheese frosting in between three layers of cake. Did a cinnamon and orange zest whipped cream topping but left the sides a la natural. It was very pretty and soooooo good. Got great reviews. Kudos Meredith. You did it again.

  4. 4 stars
    I love the taste of this cake but recipe didn’t mention vanilla amount in glaze also after baking cream cheese center has big gaps in it and seems dry, do you need to keep it refrigerated?

    1. Hi Carol. There’s no vanilla in the glaze (unless you’d like to put some in, in which case, I would suggest ¼ teaspoon). When you put the batter on top of the cream cheese filling, make sure it has made good contact with the cream cheese. You can even give the pan a good bang on the counter to make sure all the air pockets are out. As for refrigerating afterwards, I tend not to refrigerate cakes after they are baked, especially if they will be eaten the next day. If you plan to store the cake for several days, I would pop it in the fridge, well-wrapped, and then make sure you give it lots of time to come to room temperature before serving.

    1. Hi Marie, I’m afraid I haven’t made this recipe with Gluten free flour. If you give it a try, let me know how it works out.

  5. Today was the day to try a gluten free version. Here’s the only problem…I had to wait too long before I could taste test it!

    I used 2 small bundt pans so I could taste one and share one.

    Delicious! Thanks for the recipe…and the many others you have shown me from your blog and all the QVC shows over the years!💕

  6. 5 stars
    I make a lot of bundt cakes, this is my absolute favorite Bundt I have ever made. It’s amazing. My only question, I used the exact ingredients and instructions for the glaze, I let it cool slightly, but, it was lighter in color and seemed thicker than your picture. Should I have thinned it out or not have let it cool down as long? It ended up being the type of glaze that you have one chance to pour a single layer or it’s not going to look pretty. It taste great, but, wasn’t translucent like the picture. Thank you for this incredible recipe.

    1. Hi Cynthia, thrilled you give this cake a high praise! You are correct, it is a glaze that you have to work with quickly. As it cools it does become difficult to pour. If that is the case you can reheat it for a minute or two to melt the sugar and it will become pourable again. This will make the glaze look a bit darker which is what probably happened in the photo.

  7. I am in the process of making this cake. It looks so good. I also just wanted to say Happy Birthday to Ms. Hazel. She is a beautiful dog. Thank you so much for posting pictures of both your babies. They sure do make my day.

  8. I made this yesterday, and brought it to my friends as a dessert. Everyone had seconds, and it was deemed “A keeper”. I have an 8 cup bundt pan, so I eye balled the amount of batter, and made some cupcakes with the extra batters. The glaze really made the cake, imo. I toasted and chopped walnuts, and topped the glaze with them, which I think cut some of the sugar. This was easy and wonderful

    1. Hi Dolores. If you have a can of pumpkin, it is pumpkin purée. I call for pumpkin purée in a can to distinguish it from pumpkin pie filling in a can.

  9. Just found this recipe, and will surely be making it, might not even wait until Thanksgiving! Thank you Meredith!!!

  10. 5 stars
    This is a fantastic Bundt cake! I love pumpkin in every way shape or form but for those out there who don’t LOVE pumpkin they will appreciate that this is not a strong pumpkin flavor. I loved it, my husband and little dog who looks exactly like Hazel loved it and my 2 neighbors thought it was the best Bundt cake ever! It’s very moist, easy to make and not an overly sweet heavy cake. It’s definitely a winner and I thank you Blue Jean Chef and your 2 adorable precious dogs!!

    1. It’s best to defrost it in the refrigerator so the cake doesn’t get mushy. Transfer the cake to the fridge the night before you are serving or for at least 8 hours.

  11. 5 stars
    Although I’ve not made this cake yet, just look at the pic and its Merits this recipe! Now my questions!😊!
    Can thus be baked in my counter top oven and what temp would you suggest because I live on top of the plateau about 2000 feet closer to that sun!

    Thank you for all the yummy recipes you give us!

    1. The general rule for higher elevation baking is to increase the temperature of the oven and decrease the baking time. But since the heating elements will be closer to the cake in a countertop oven, you can try baking it at 325 degrees. At 2000 feet you shouldn’t need to make any ingredient adjustment to the recipe.

  12. 5 stars
    This is fantastic! I made this and my son in law who does not normally eat “sweets” loved it. He asks for it once the fall season comes around and in fact I am making it today.

  13. Could you make this as cupcakes? I have a pan that makes cupcake sized little Bundt cakes. Would you change time or temperature? Thanks

    1. This recipe has not been tested in a mini-Bundt cake pan, but it should work fine. You would need to reduce the temperature to 325°F and bake for about 20 to 30 minutes.

  14. 4 stars
    I have made this previously, enjoyed as did friends. The baking time for me was closer to 90 minutes instead of 55. When I checked at 55, it was still raw inside. This time I did the glaze, but it was more a frosting than a glaze. When I added the powdered sugar it thickened it quite a bit, and even while still warm it was very thick. Maybe the next time if i decide to glaze I’ll use less powdered sugar to keep it thinner.

    1. This recipe has been tested several times and hasn’t needed more than 65 minutes to bake, but all ovens are different so it may take more time. Be sure to bake until a toothpick comes clean. For the glaze, you can add your sugar gradually until it reaches your desired consistency.

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