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! ๐
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. โ โ โ โ โ “
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 celebrationsโwith 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 hereโsee 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 loveโand 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 smoothโno 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 flourย (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 Cheeseย 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 350ยฐF (177ยฐC) 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 55โ65 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 likeย this oneย orย this one) |ย Glass Mixing Bowlsย |ย 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.
Reader Comments and Reviews
LOVE THIS CAKE..even my very picky husband couldnโt get enough slices!
Nice cake for Thanksgiving but also a wonderful coffee cake! Made according to directions and topped with a light homemade caramel sauce and it was delicious! Definitely making again!
Perfect for Thanksgiving! Loved this, moist and a perfect add on for dessert. I personally cut back a little on sugar for health reasons but was so delicious still (I am sure itโs amazing with regular amount of sugar too) I sprinkled with powdered sugar! Looked beautiful! will definitely go into my save recipes.
It’s perfect like all yor recipes, I love it please marry me
Where I live, I can only find 28 oz cans of pumpkin. Should I spoon some into a glass measuring cup until it reaches the 15 oz mark?
Hi L, you can weigh the pumpkin for the most accurate result. So either 15 ounces or 425g.
Excellent! I made this gluten free for a friend and it was still lovely and soft. I also topped it with Sallyโs browned butter icing and it was heavenly. Highly recommend.
Iโm so excited to make this for Thanksgiving! I was wondering if itโs possible to include a crumb topping for this recipe? Similar to your pumpkin cheesecake muffins. I would like to add that, wondering how I should go about it or if its possible. Thanks!
Hi Angela! Crumb topping isn’t the best for Bundt cakes since you serve them upside down from the way they are baked.
This cake sound wonderful! I’d like to try it, but first a question: Is there a reason why I can’t make the cake batter in one large bowl instead of two? Can’t I mix the wet ingredients, then add the dry to the same bowl? Thanks!
Hi Geraldine, it’s best to mix the dry ingredients separately to ensure the ingredients are incorporated evenly, then add to the wet ingredients.
The cake turned out great! Delicious and festive:). It took 65 minutes in my oven using a 10-cup bundt pan. I had to tent with foil over the top toward the end of the baking. Thanks for a terrific recipe!