Pumpkin Spice Bundt Cake

Sweater weather is here, and this pumpkin spice cake is perfect for Fall! 

This pumpkin spice cake is made with soft pumpkin spice cake layers and creamy vanilla buttercream that’s decorated to look like a pumpkin you might find at your local pumpkin patch. The pumpkin cake isn’t complete without the handmade fondant stem. 

This cake is for the intermediate baker or a home baker with more experience that is looking for a challenge. This pumpkin cake is not necessarily tricky, but it will certainly take longer to make. So if you are up for the challenge, then this will be a super fun cake for you to make! 

By stacking two bundt cake together, the pumpkin quickly comes to life. This pumpkin cake will teach you to be resourceful with cake crumbs and a little bit of buttercream. Mix the two to create a cake pop like mixture that’s perfect for filling the bundt cake center hole. 

Since there are many ridges on bundt cakes, a game-changing tool when decorating this cake is the Sugar Smoothers. It’s a flexible piece of food-grade plastic that has a frosted finish to prevent buttercream from sticking. The combination of this tool and rubbing the buttercream with microfiber paper towels, you’ll be able to get a smooth finish on the edges of the pumpkin. 

This pumpkin spice cake is perfect for all fall celebrations and something that will undoubtedly impress your friends and family. 

Tips for Success: 

• Read through all the ingredients and instructions so you can get a better idea of how much time and what you need to make this cake.
• You can bake the cake layers ahead of time. Wrap the cake layers in plastic wrap and freeze up to one month. 
• You can make the buttercream a day ahead and refrigerate it overnight. Then take them out to come back to room temperature. Make sure the buttercream is at room temperature before re-whipping.
• A single batch of this cake recipe makes two bundt cake layers or three, 6-inch round cake layers or two 8-inch round cake layers. (Double the cake recipe to make enough cake batter for three, 8-inch cake layers).
• Be careful not to overmix this cake batter, or else the cake will come out dense. Mix until all ingredients are well incorporated. 
• Food coloring gets darker over time, so it’s best to gradually add the food coloring, which is best for lighter colors.  
• If you are in a rush for time or you would like to break up the decorating, then make the fondant decorations the day before, so the fondant has plenty of time to dry.  
• Serve cake at room temperature. 

What Tools You’ll Need to Make This Cake: 

• 5-quart, Stand Mixer with mixing bowl & paddle attachment
• 9-inch Bundt cake pan
• Offset spatula 
• 10-inch white cake board 
• Serrated knife or cake leveler 
• Turntable 
• Cake scraper or bench scraper
• Flexible sugar smoother 
• Piping bag (I use reusable silicone bags)
• Whisk or sifter
• Rubber Spatula
• Non-Stick Cooking Spray and Parchment Paper
• Ice Cream Scooper with Trigger Release (for dividing cake batter evenly)
• Cake Stand, optional
• Orange gel food coloring
• Super red gel food coloring
• Brown gel food coloring 
• Small fondant rolling pin 
• Silicone fondant mat
• Fondant (tan, brown and green)
• Tylose powder, optional
• X-Acto knife
• Fondant molding tools
• Cornstarch and Vegetable Shortening

There’s no better way to have fall vibes than with this pumpkin spice cake! Here’s how to make this Pumpkin Spice Cake that’s perfect for celebrating Fall! 

Let’s Get Decorating! 

How to Make Pumpkin Spice Bundt Cake 

1. Preheat oven to 350 °F. Spray one large bundt cake pan with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.
2. In a medium-size bowl, whisk and stir together the all-purpose flour, cornstarch, baking powder, salt, and pumpkin pie spice. Set aside. 
3. In the stand mixer bowl fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter, oil, and sugar on medium-high for 5 minutes.
4. Add the eggs, one at a time to the stand mixer bowl and beat on medium until well incorporated.
5. Turn the mixer on low and add the flour mixture to the butter mixture until fully incorporated. 
6. Pour in the buttermilk and vanilla extract. Mix on medium for another 30 seconds. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. 
7. Split the cake batter in half and fill the bundt pan with one half of the cake batter (it’s approximately 13 large scoops). 
8. Bake for about 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of each cake comes out clean or with just a few moist crumbs.
9. Remove cakes from oven and let cool in the bundt pan for 10 minutes before inverting onto cooling racks to cool completely. 
10. Repeat steps 8 & 9 with the remaining cake batter. 
11. Wrap both bundt cakes in plastic wrap and place in the freezer to chill for 60 minutes. 

How to Make Creamy Vanilla Buttercream

1. In the stand mixer bowl fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter on high until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.
2. Turn the mixer to low, gradually add powdered sugar, followed by the heavy cream. Then add vanilla extract and salt. Mix until incorporated completely. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. 
3. Turn the mixer to medium-high and beat the buttercream for about 5 minutes until light and fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Turn the mixer on low and mix for 2 minutes to push out any air bubbles.  
4. Add 1-2 drops of orange, super red, and chocolate brown gel food coloring to color the buttercream a rustic orange. 

How to Make a Fondant Pumpkin Stem

1. On a silicone mat, knead the tan fondant until it’s smooth, add a small amount of shortening if fondant is too dry or cornstarch if fondant is too sticky. Repeat with the brown and green fondant. 
2. Roll the tan fondant into a rope then split in half, cutting lengthwise. Repeat with the brown and green fondant. 
3. Combine one-half of the tan, brown, and green fondant ropes. Then twist the colors together and combine with the other half of the colors. Continue to twist and marble the fondant together, so the fondant stem is lightly streaked with all three colors. 
4. Roll and cut into a 4-inch log. Then use a molding tool to make vertical lines and texture similar to a real pumpkin stem. Press the end of one side to make flat to stand up on its own. Set aside to dry for one hour. 

Putting It All Together

1. On a cake board, place one of the bundt cake ridge side down and cut the bottom off so the cake will sit flat. Keep the cake crumbs and set aside. Repeat with the second bundt cake. 
2. Combine the cake crumbs with a dollop of buttercream, mix until you have a moist cake mixture. Set aside. 
3. Place a small amount of buttercream onto the cake board. Layer one bundt cake, cut side up onto a cake board. Add 1 cup of buttercream over the cake and place the other bundt cake layer over the top with the ridges up. 
4. Make the ridges on the sides, so the cakes line up perfectly. Fill the center hole of the bundt cakes with the cake mixture. 
5. Cut off the small ridges of the bundt cakes. Cut it slightly lower than the large ridges, so it’ll create the lines for the pumpkin later. 
6. If the center hole still needs to be filled in, then repeat the process above by mixing the cake crumbs and a small amount of buttercream. 
7. Crumb coat with orange vanilla buttercream and freeze for 30 minutes. 
8. Add a thick layer of orange buttercream all over the cake. Use an offset spatula to fill in any gaps with more buttercream. Then use a flexible cake smoother to smooth out the ridges of the cake. Place the cake back into the freezer for 30 minutes. 
9. Gently press and rub a piece of micro-fiber paper towel to smooth out the cold buttercream. 
10. Finish by adding the fondant stem on top. Serve at room temperature and enjoy! 

You May Also Enjoy: 

• How to Make a Woodland Fox Cake (tutorial)
• Brown Butter Almond Cake That’s Perfect for Fall (recipe)
• How to Cut & Serve Cake (free guide)
• Common Baking Mistakes & How to Avoid Them (free ebook)
• How to Decorate Your First Cake (free course)

What an excellent way to celebrate Fall than by making this Pumpkin Spice Cake that looks just like a pumpkin you would find at your local pumpkin patch! This cake will challenge and push your cake decorating skills, but it will also spark joy and will be fun to make! 

Happy Decorating! 

Hey, if you liked this tutorial, you really should check out, Cake Decorating Creator Program, my online cake course. I coach you on everything I teach on these cake tutorials so that you can uplevel your baking and decorating skills. We 10x it so you get the results you want most. Like any new skill, it’s important to learn from the ground up to build a foundation, so take on any cake challenge. It is an investment your future self will thank you for. Check it out at XOKatieRosario.com/online-cake-course. I will see you there.

Watch The How-to Video Below: 

 

 

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