Mini Pumpkin Bundt Cakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

These Mini Pumpkin Bundt Cakes are light, moist, and perfectly spiced. Top with cream cheese frosting. They're made from scratch with canned pumpkin puree, warm fall spices, and just the right amount of sweetness. For a finishing touch, these little cakes are topped with a swirl of creamy cream cheese frosting.

They're perfect for Thanksgiving, fall gatherings, and holiday dessert trays. Because they freeze beautifully, these little cakes are an excellent make-ahead dessert for busy holiday entertaining.

And here's a little confession: I'm not particularly fond of pumpkin, but I absolutely love these little cakes. You will too!

Jump to:

• Quick Look at the Recipe
• Ingredients for the Cakes- Here's What You'll Need
• Steps to Make the Mini Bundt Cakes
• Steps to Make the Cream Cheese Frosting
• PudgeFactor's Test Kitchen Tips:
• In Case You Were Wondering
• More Mini Bundt Cake Recipes You'll Love
• Recipe

Quick Look at the Recipe

• Prep time: 35 minutes
• Bake time: 16 minutes per pan
• Makes: 36 mini cakes
• Difficulty: Easy

• Special Equipment: Nordic Ware Brownie Bundt Pan, and pastry bag with #4B star tip
• Texture: Light, moist, and tender
• Make-ahead friendly: Yes, up to three days frosted
• Freezer-friendly: Freeze the cakes unfrosted for up to three months

Ingredients for the Cakes- Here's What You'll Need

Be sure to use pure pumpkin rather than pumpkin pie filling in this recipe.

Steps to Make the Mini Bundt Cakes

1. Prepare the Pan: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray the cavities of the Nordic Ware Brownie Bundt pan with nonstick baking spray. I use Bake-Klene-ZT, a professional-quality baking spray that I've used for years, and I have never had a problem with sticking.

2. The sugars, spices, leavening, eggs, and oil: Add the granulated sugar, light brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, baking powder, baking soda, salt, eggs, and vegetable oil to a large mixing bowl. Beat with an electric mixer on medium speed until the ingredients are well combined, about a minute.

3. The pumpkin and vanilla: Add the pumpkin puree and vanilla extract to the bowl and beat on medium until the mixture is smooth and well combined, 1 to 2 minutes.

4. The flour: Add the flour and beat on low just until the flour is incorporated.

5. Portion the batter: Using a 2-tablespoon ice cream scoop, portion 40 grams (1.4 ounces) of batter into each prepared cavity.

6. Bake: Bake the mini Bundt cakes in a preheated 350°F oven for 16 minutes, or until they spring back lightly when touched and a toothpick inserted into the thickest portion comes out clean.

7. Cool: Remove the pan from the oven and allow it to cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes. Then remove the cakes from the pan and allow them to cool completely on the wire rack before frosting. Repeat with the remaining batter.

Steps to Make the Cream Cheese Frosting

1. What you'll need: Cream cheese, unsalted butter, confectioners' sugar, vanilla extract, and salt.

2. Cream cheese, butter, vanilla and salt: Beat the cream cheese, butter, vanilla, and salt in a large mixing bowl until smooth and creamy.

3. Confectioners' sugar: Gradually add the confectioners' sugar, beating well after each addition. Continue beating on high speed until the frosting is smooth and reaches the desired piping consistency.

4. Frost: Transfer the frosting to a piping bag fitted with a #4B open star tip. Pipe a swirl of frosting on top of each cooled Bundt cake. If desired, place the finished cakes into fluted brioche liners before serving

These Mini Pumpkin Bundt Cakes are moist and tender with perfectly balanced spices. The unfrosted cakes freeze beautifully, making them a no-fuss make-ahead dessert for holiday entertaining.

So, skip the pumpkin pie and make these delicious little cakes for your Thanksgiving and holiday festivities. Yum!

PudgeFactor's Test Kitchen Tips:

• Pure pumpkin puree: Make sure that you use 100% pumpkin puree rather than pumpkin pie filling in this recipe.
• Fresh spices: Cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves provide much of the flavor in these little cakes, so make sure that your seasonings are fresh.
• Weigh ingredients: For best results, weigh your flour and sugars. The way that flour is measured can significantly impact the actual quantity used. Also, the amount of packed brown sugar can vary depending on how tightly you pack it. My rule of thumb for flour is borrowed from Julia Child: 1 cup equals 5 ounces. For packed brown sugar, I use 1 cup equals 7.5 ounces.
• Ice cream scoop: Use a leveled 2-tablespoon ice cream scoop to portion the batter. This yields about 40 grams of batter per cavity, producing the best shapes. I tested 35 grams, 40 grams, and 45 grams of batter, and 40 grams won, especially when considering the fit into the brioche flared liners.

• Freezing: I tested freezing the plain mini cakes, and the results were excellent. After thawing, the cakes were just as moist and flavorful as when first baked. I started by freezing them in a single layer on a parchment-lined half-sheet pan. Once frozen, I transferred them to a freezer-safe airtight container.

• Make-ahead frosting: Make the frosting up to 3 days in advance and store it in a covered container in the refrigerator. Allow it to come to room temperature before using.

In Case You Were Wondering

More Mini Bundt Cake Recipes You'll Love

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