This bundt cake had a lot of steps to it, but it was worth it! I had some pumpkin left over from a pumpkin cheesecake that I made for Thanksgiving. Unfortunately, that cheesecake ended up being a bit of a wash because it was underbaked. It would have ended up on the blog as a recipe, but it needs a little more work. I don’t think my family will mind. That just means they get to eat more cheesecake!

I did decide to go with a cheesecake filling for the pumpkin bundt cake. And this time I made sure it was baked all the way through!

First, I prepared my bundt pan by buttering and flouring it. I almost collect Nordic Ware bundt pans, if you can call having four of them plus a mini-bundt pan a collection. Maybe it is and I don’t know it! I used the 10-cup elegant party bundt pan. Mine looks different than the one at Amazon though. It has a gold-colored interior, not silver-colored. I usually buy my Nordic Ware from Williams-Sonoma if I have a promo code or they are on sale. This particular pan makes bundt cakes that are easy to slice and serve. You will get 16 slices of cake.

Second, I made the candied pecans for the topping. I did not put it in the recipe but I used ¹/₈ tsp of cardamom also along with the cinnamon and nutmeg. I just like the depth cardamom adds to anything that uses cinnamon and nutmeg. I also roughly chopped the pecans. They were easier to sprinkle on the pumpkin bundt cake that way. What is it about candied pecans that is so addicting? I ended up making another two batches of these because I couldn’t stop eating them (and neither could my kids!)

Then, I made the cheesecake filling and the bundt cake. I think next time I will try to have the cheesecake filling closer to the top (decorative part) of the bundt cake. I did not try to swirl it either so next time I will attempt that.

My bit of leftover pumpkin for the filling only came out to about 1/4 cup. I think probably 1/2 cup might be a better amount, though Josh said it tasted fine with just the 1/4 cup. I’m kind of surprised that he could taste the pumpkin at all. If you do go with 1/2 cup pumpkin, when you add the sour cream, you should have a total of 1 cup pumpkin and sour cream together.

After baking for about 55 minutes, I let the cake cool in the pan on the counter for 15 minutes. Then, I turned it out onto a cooling rack.

I let it cool for quite a while before icing it. I would say at least an hour and probably up to two hours. I was making challah bread at the same time so I kind of lost track of my cooling time for the cake.

Once I was ready to ice, I mixed up the maple icing and poured it onto the cake. It was quite thick and did not run down the sides as nicely as I wanted. Maybe I needed it to be a tad bit thinner, but not much. Then, I decorated the top with the cooled candied pecans.

Print Recipe

Pumpkin Cheesecake Bundt Cake with Maple Icing and Candied Pecans

Servings: 16

Ingredients

Pumpkin Cake:

• 3/4 cup butter, room temperature
• 1 cup white sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp maple extract or flavoring
• 1/4 cup pumpkin puree
• 3/4 cup sour cream
• 2 ½ cup all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder

Cheesecake Filling:

• One 8 oz package of cream cheese, room temperature
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 1 egg, room temperature
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Maple Icing:

• 2 cup powdered sugar
• 3 tbsp milk
• 2 tbsp maple syrup
• 1/2 tsp maple extract or flavoring

Candied Pecans:

• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 1/8 tsp cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp nutmeg
• 1 cup pecans, roughly chopped
• pinch of salt

Instructions

To make the candied pecans:

• Stir together sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and pinch of salt in a small heavy saucepan over medium heat. Add chopped pecans to the saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the sugar melts and coats the pecans. This will take 7 to 8 minutes. Remove from heat and spread candied pecans on parchment paper. Let cool for 20 minutes.

To make the cheesecake filling:

• With a hand mixer, beat the cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla extract in a medium bowl for 1-2 minutes, until smooth. Add the egg and mix on low until just combined. Set aside.

To make the pumpkin bundt cake:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (205 degrees C). Grease and flour a 10-cup bundt pan. Set aside.
• Using a stand or hand mixer, beat the butter and sugar in a large bowl until light and fluffy. The mixture will be very pale. Add eggs one at a time, incorporating each one before adding the next. Mix in the vanilla extract and maple extract/flavoring.
• Combine the sour cream and pumpkin together in a measuring cup.
• Combine the flour, baking soda, and baking powder in a medium bowl. Mix the flour mixture into the cake batter alternately with the 1 cup of sour cream/pumpkin mixture. End with the dry ingredients. Spoon half the batter into the prepared bundt pan.
• Carefully spoon the cheesecake filling over the batter in the bundt pan, trying to keep away from the sides. Spoon the remaining cake batter over the cheesecake filling. Swirl through the batter once or twice with a knife if desired.
• Bake in the 400 degree F (205 degree C) oven for 8 minutes. Then, lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) and bake for 40 minutes more, or until a tester comes out clean.
• Let the cake cool on a rack for 10-15 minutes before tipping the cake out of the pan onto a wire rack. Allow to cool completely before frosting.

To make the maple icing:

• Whisk the sugar, milk, maple syrup, and maple extract together. If needed, add more milk 1/4 – 1/2 tsp at a time until desired consistency.

To decorate:

• Pour maple icing over the cake and allow to drip down the sides. Decorate the top of the cake with candied pecans.

I think this pumpkin bundt cake is definitely a make-again for my family. It was gone in two breakfasts and probably would have been gone in only one breakfast if we had let the kids get as many slices as they wanted. It definitely would have been gone by second breakfast if we were hobbits!

-Lynn

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