Pumpkin Pound Cake

While pumpkin things start appearing before summer is really even over, it’s just beginning to feel like fall around here. Finally, within the last few days, it has started to get cool. If it wasn’t already, it’s now officially time to break out the pumpkin and spices!

This pumpkin pound cake has plenty of both. There’s more than a cup of pumpkin puree in the cake to make sure it has rich pumpkin flavor. And, the combination of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves gives it plenty of warmth to complement the pumpkin.

Why You’ll Love This Pumpkin Pound Cake Recipe

• Moist and tender. Every crumb of this pound cake is perfectly moist thanks to the eggs and pumpkin puree.
• Rich and sweet. The combination of rich pumpkin cake and sweet cream cheese icing is just divine!
• Perfect for fall. Filled with warm ground cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves, this cozy pound cake is just the dessert to make when the leaves start turning and the weather gets colder!

The bottom line is this: Pumpkin pound cake is soft and tender and totally addicting. When paired with the cream cheese icing, this cake disappears in no time. The simplicity of the icing also makes this a super simple cake to make. The perfect cake for Fall and the holidays!

Looking for more pumpkin cake recipes? Try this easy pumpkin cake, this cinnamon streusel pumpkin coffee cake, or this pumpkin roll cake!

What You’ll Need

The ingredients used here are fairly straightforward and you likely have most things on hand already.

One thing you won’t find in this pound cake is a leavening agent such as baking powder or baking soda. Since pound cake is meant to be dense, it’s not necessary to have something to help it rise and, in most cases, I prefer pound cake without it.

For the Pound Cake

• Unsalted Butter: This should be at room temperature before you start. If you have salted on hand, you can use that and just leave out the additional salt.
• Sugar: Sugar adds more than just sweetness and flavor, it also adds moisture and improves the cake’s texture. This cake uses both brown sugar and granulated sugar for the perfect mix.
• Eggs: To bind all of the ingredients together.
• All Purpose Flour: Be careful not to pack too much flour into the measuring cup!
• Spices: Cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves gives this cake warmth and spice.
• Salt: Salt is key when it comes to adding flavor to your baked goods.
• Pumpkin Puree: I experimented with the amount of puree, and 1 1/4 cups is perfect. It provides optimal flavor, but does not overwhelm the cake with too much moisture.
• Vanilla Extract: Pure vanilla extract is the way to go!

For the Icing

This is a fairly thin cream cheese frosting that should drizzle nicely on the cake, but not be too thin that it slides off.

• Cream Cheese: Make sure this comes to room temperature before you begin.
• Butter: Again, both salted and unsalted butter work!
• Powdered Sugar: The powdered sugar helps to thicken the icing.
• Heavy Cream: Only add as much cream as needed to thin out the icing. If it gets too thin, it’ll drip right off your cake. Test it by drizzling it down the side of a bowl or a cup to see if it’s thick enough.
• Vanilla Extract: Pure vanilla is preferred here, too.

Tips For the Best Pumpkin Pound Cake

• Cream the butter and sugar well. When you’re creaming together the butter and sugar, don’t stop until the mixture lightens in color and texture. This indicates that it’s fully creamed. There’s no leavening in this cake, so the air added during creaming is important for the texture of the cake.
• Don’t add too much cream. You don’t want your icing to be so thin that it drips right off your cake. Only add enough to make the icing the right consistency for drizzling. You can always test it on a clean bowl or cup, as mentioned above.
• Grease the pan well. Make sure to thoroughly grease your bundt pan so that the cake doesn’t stick to the sides when you try to turn it out.

Variation Ideas

• Chocolate chips. Add some semi-sweet chocolate chips to the batter before baking, similar to what I did in this pumpkin bundt cake.
• Nuts. Gently toast chopped walnuts or pecans, then add them to the batter.
• Dried fruit. Mix in some dried cranberries or raisins.

Serving Suggestions

• Powdered sugar. If you want to skip the icing and just dust your bundt cake with powdered sugar instead, feel free!
• Ice cream. A scoop of vanilla ice cream pairs so well with pumpkin cake.
• Fresh fruit. A slice of pound cake with some fresh berries would taste great!

How to Store

• Store in the fridge: Pumpkin pound cake can be kept in the fridge in an airtight container for 4-5 days. I would not recommend leaving this cake out at room temperature because of the icing.
• Can I freeze it? Sure! Once the cake has cooled completely and the icing has set, you can freeze it in an airtight container or tight layers of plastic wrap for 2-3 months. Remember to let the cake thaw overnight in the fridge before you serve it again.

More Pumpkin Desserts

• Pumpkin Cheesecake
• Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars
• Pecan Praline Pumpkin Bread
• Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Layer Cake
• Perfect Pumpkin Cupcakes