Turn your favorite Fall beverage into a showstopping cake with this Pumpkin Spice Latte Bundt Cake! Pumpkin & coffee flavored cake with a milk & sugar glaze.
If I said this was one of my favorite Fall cakes it would not be a lie. Just LOOK at how stunning this cake turned out! I’m not one to toot my own horn, but this cake exceeded my expectations, both in look and flavor.
I actually made this Bundt a year before one of my most popular cakes, the Pumpkin Spice Latte Cake. That one is truly my favorite for Fall (those fondant pumpkins!), but this one is such a close second and the world needs to know.
The inspiration for the styling of this Pumpkin Spice Latte Bundt Cake came from none other than Martha Stewart.
I found the cutest Nordic Ware Pumpkin Bundt set at my local Homesense and was itching to use it. It’s really the only time of year that I can.
In my search for pumpkin cake inspo, I came across a cake from Martha (Update: The original cake from Martha’s site has been removed, it was similar to this one, but more round and had the white glaze covering it).
I loved the unique look of it and wanted to try to recreate it.
How to Make this Pumpkin Cake
For the Bundt cake itself, I tweaked my Pumpkin Bread recipe, got rid of the ginger, and added pumpkin pie spice and espresso powder. I was a bit nervous about the flavor of the espresso powder and the pumpkin together, but it does taste good in a Pumpkin Spice Latte, so I figured it should work.
I started with 1 tsp of instant espresso powder but couldn’t really taste it in the batter, so I added another tsp. If you don’t like coffee then you can leave this out entirely.
I baked the Bundts at 375F, but this caused them to dome too much. I had to push the domes down and trim off some excess, so I’ve adjusted the recipe to 350F.
Decorating this Pumpkin Bundt
For the pumpkin stalk, I cut the stalk from an actual pumpkin. I trimmed the orange pumpkin part so it was small enough to fit in the center but large enough to support the stalk from tipping over. I should have taken a picture of this, sorry!
The glaze was going to be the tricky part, and I was nervous about it. In the video on the Martha Stewart site, she glazes each Bundt separately and then, I presume, stacks them once the glaze dries — they didn’t show that part.
It’s this stacking post-glaze I was worried about. I could just imagine the glaze on the bottom Bundt cracking due to the weight of the top one. So instead, I stacked them first and then glazed them all over.
I first put a bit of glaze between the two Bundts to help them stick together and to seal up any remaining gaps, then doused the whole thing with a LOT of glaze. More than you’d think you need.
The glaze was much thicker than I’d normally do too, but I wanted it to look very white. I hoped that it would cover the entire thing well, and it did! I had to nudge it into a few places near the bottom, but overall it worked perfectly. I left it to set overnight.
Since the glaze had dried, it was really dull and not the look I was going for. I contemplated doing another thinner layer of glaze over top for photos, but I really didn’t want to do that. If I had a spray bottle I could mist some water over it to get that shine, but I didn’t have one.
I was just about to make more glaze to pour over when Ryan suggested painting the glaze on instead of pouring it, and I had a lightbulb moment. Instead of re-glazing, I just dipped a pastry brush in some water and brushed it on. Worked like a charm!
So that’s a great tip if you want to make this in advance but have it look pretty right before serving.
Cake Tip
To revive the shine on the glaze before serving simply dip a pastry brush in some water, dab off the excess, and gently brush it over the dried glaze.
This Pumpkin Spice Latte Bundt turned out better than I expected. It’s incredibly moist and delicious. Both the pumpkin and coffee flavors come through beautifully.
If you love a good PSL, this Bundt cake is for you!
Frequently Asked Questions
How can I convert this recipe?
- This recipe will work in the following. Baking time will need to be adjusted.
- Any two 6 cup Bundt pans
- Or two 8 1/2″ x 4 1/2″ loaf pans
- Or one 12 cup Bundt pan
- To make cupcakes, all you need to do is reduce the baking time — start checking at 15mins or so. The recipe will make 18-24 cupcakes depending on size.
- For other conversions go here.
Can I make it in advance?
- The cooled cakes can be baked ahead of time, double wrapped in plastic wrap, and frozen for up to 3 months. Take out 2-3 hours before assembly.
- It’s best to make the glaze right before covering the cake. If you must make it in advance, place plastic wrap directly on the surface and store it in something airtight. It will dry out over time.
- The finished cake (whole or sliced, stored airtight) can be frozen for up to 3 months.
Can I get the measurements by weight/grams?
- There is a Metric option in the recipe card. If you click it it will convert everything to grams.
- This conversion is done automatically and I cannot guarantee the accuracy but many readers have had success using the metric option on my recipes.
Tips for this Pumpkin Spice Latte Bundt Cake
- I used this Pumpkin Bundt pan from NordicWare, which is no longer available. This is the updated version.
- I prepare my cake pans using Homemade Cake Release then line with parchment.
- Be sure to trim the domes off of the Bundts so they stack nicely.
- You can brush each Bundt with some simple syrup if you worry you’ve overbaked them. Or if you want to add more coffee flavor you can add espresso powder to the syrup.
- You will need a lot of glaze to cover this pumpkin Bundt. And make sure it’s on the thicker side so it makes a thick layer.
- The glaze will turn dull as it dries. To revive it for presentation, you can dip a pastry brush into some water, shake off the excess, and run it over the glazed cake.
- For a layer cake version check out my Pumpkin Spice Latte Cake.
Pumpkin Spice Latte Bundt Cake
Ingredients
Pumpkin Spice Latte Bundt:
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
- 2 tsp instant espresso powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter 170g, melted
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup light brown sugar packed
- 14 oz pumpkin puree 398ml, not pumpkin pie filling
- 3 large eggs room temperature
Sugar Glaze:
- 5 cups powdered sugar
- 6 Tbsp milk
Instructions
Pumpkin Spice Latte Bundt:
- Preheat oven to 350F and grease & flour two 6 cup Bundt pans (or two 8 1/2" x 4 1/2" loaf pans, or one 12 cup Bundt pan).
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, pumpkin pie spice, espresso powder, baking powder, and salt.
- In a large bowl, whisk together sugars, melted butter, pumpkin, and eggs.
- Add dry to wet and mix until just combined.
- Divide batter evenly between prepared pans and bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out mostly clean (about. 40-45 mins).
- Cool in pans on wire rack for 10mins, then turn out onto wire racks to cool completely.
Sugar Glaze:
- In a large measuring cup or bowl, whisk together the sugar and milk until completely combined (I actually use a fork to do this). Glaze will be thick.
Assembly:
- Trim off any domes on the Bundts so you can stack evenly.
- Flip one Bundt over so it's flat side up. Place onto a cooling rack over parchment (to catch the glaze).
- Pour a bit of glaze over the flat part and spread evenly, place other Bundt on top.
- Pour glaze over top, nudging with a spoon as needed so that the entire Bundt is covered.
- Allow to set, cut and serve.
Leslie Foley says
This cake is delicious but I did tweak the assembly to add a bit more coffee flavor- I scooped out a small channel in the bottom layer and filled with a coffee flavored pastry cream that I made. I them made the glaze using cold brewed coffee in place of milk. Bought a churro from Costco for the stem and it was a hit! Initially my glaze going on a bit too thick, hiding the some of the detail, but it made it easier to get the cake covered. Once complete, I used your trick using water to smooth it out and the end result was gorgeous- thank you for your great recipes, I’ve tried several!
Olivia says
Hi Leslie! I love your tweak! That is such a great idea. I bet it looked amazing cut too. Thanks for the wonderful feedback!
Tea says
This recipe was fantastic! The cake tasted just like a pumpkin spice latte, and it was so light and fluffy. I did cut the sugar in half, and it was plenty sweet. I also made a whipped cream frosting to make it more like a “latte” 😊. Thanks for the recipe!
Olivia says
Hi Tea! So happy you liked it!
Ginger Hackney says
The texture of the cake & glaze was spot on but I found using two teaspoons of pumpkin spice was very overwhelming & totally masked any of the latte flavor. Was not a hit with my family.
Olivia says
Hi Ginger! Sorry to hear you didn’t love this one. Thanks for your feedback!
Edyta says
Hi 🙂 you might be bored but I had to tell that your cake is really fantastic! Beautiful outside and very yummy inside. Makes me want to eat it 🙂 I have a question regarding the bundt, just for clarify. 6 cups (I am guessing American cups which a re slightly smaller that European ones, 250 ml) is for one bundt or two? I have a bundt like this one, but not for make pumpkin cake, just normal, tradition bundt cakes. And I think it is a bout 2 liters capacity. Before I make anything stupid 😉 I just want to confirm if this 6 cups is for one, or 2 parts. Thank you 🙂
Olivia says
Hi Edyta! Thank you!! This recipe should work for one normal 10-12 cup Bundt pan. I used two 6 cup Bundt pans to make this cake. I would use the recipe as written for your pan 🙂 I hope that makes sense!
Alli C says
Super late to this post (looks like the last time anyone commented was 2016!) but Pinterest led me to your cake recipe…it looks so good! If I don’t have espresso powder, would instant coffee work as a substitute? I mean, I can buy the powder if i have to, but I have a whole jar of instant coffee from a different recipe (coffee fudge!) so just thought I’d see if you thought that would be ok (and how much I should use since I imagine the strength could be different compared to espresso powder)
Thanks!
Olivia says
Hi Alli! Instant coffee should work fine, but you’ll need to dissolve it in a bit of water first so it gets incorporated properly. Not too much water though as it could change the consistency of the cake — . Instant coffee is also not as strong as espresso powder so you may want to increase the amount as well. I would suggest 1 Tbsp of instant coffee dissolved in 1 Tbsp hot water — cool it before adding to the cake, and add it into the wet mixture instead of the dry. You could just try adding it to the wet mixture or dissolving it with the butter vs the water, but I’m not sure how well that would work. Let me know how it turns out!
Jade says
I’m going to try this for a bake sale this weekend. I was wondering what you would recommend for the stem, because I want it to look nice for whom ever, hopefully, will buy it
Olivia says
Hi Jade! I used a stem from an actual pumpkin, but you could make one from fondant. Or someone suggested using a churro, that could work too!
Patricia Blanco Budia says
Wowww!!! Liv!!! It’s perfect!! I love it!!! It is gorgeous!! That white glaze and the pumpkin cake!! Great as usual!!! XOXO
Olivia says
Aww thank you Patricia! So sweet of you to say! xoxo
rhonda says
Hi can i bake just in one pan and cut in the middle to divide the cake? I don’t have two pans?
Olivia says
Hi Rhonda! You can do that for sure but it won’t have a pumpkin shape then.
Tammy says
Oh no, no, no, keep those beautiful pumpkin recipes coming! I could never tire! After all Liv, it’s only once a year we get to indulge in our pumpkin love. This bundt speaking of which is beautiful! I love who you decorated it…it’s just lovely…almost too lovely to slice into, but I am sure it is as delicious as it looks!
xoxo,
Tammy<3
Olivia says
Oh you’re right, I might just throw in another pumpkin recipe yet :). Thanks Tammy! xo
Laura@ Baking in Pyjamas says
Olivia, this looks stunning! You’ve done such an amazing job, I’m going to try this a loaf cake, I can’t wait to see what it tastes like 🙂 Thanks so much for creating such a fun cake for the theme I chose.
Olivia says
Yay! Let me know how you like the flavour 😀 And thanks for hosting!!