Oh hello! Meet these cutie Pumpkin Baby Bundt Cakes with a luscious cream cheese frosting sandwiched in between. Perfect for a little party this season!
These made-from-scratch pumpkin cakes are cute, cozy and ridiculously delicious. Firstly, there’s homemade pumpkin puree in it. Yes, not the canned type but freshly steamed and mashed pure pumpkin goodness. And then there’s crunchy pecans and a tangy cream cheese frosting, rounding up with a little spice for that warm coziness. Just so good!
The first time I had a pumpkin cake was decades ago in Cambodia. It was from a jungle-like cafe in Phnom Penh with relaxing vibes and lots of plants. They call it pumpkin bread and serve with a side of quark cheese and boy was it delicious! I was hooked. Come to think of it, I didn’t have any pumpkin cake from Singapore mainly because this cake doesn’t seem to be widely available. I’d always make my own when I have cravings especially around October & November when everywhere is crazy about pumpkin anything. Most of the time I make them in the typical loaf cake form. This time, I decided to make use of my Nordicware bundt pan with a shape that looks somewhat like little pumpkins. Each bundt cake is actually very small hence I have to call them baby bundt.
This pumpkin cake is good enough on its own but it is even better with a cream cheese frosting. Trust me on that. My mom first tried the cake without frosting, she loved it and resisted on adding cream cheese frosting as she is a die-hard plain cake kinda person. But when I urged her to try the ones I sandwiched with cream cheese frosting, she was converted right away! More frosting pleeeease.
What makes this pumpkin baby bundt cakes so good?
Freshly steamed pumpkin makes all the difference! Most of the pumpkin cake recipes seem to use canned pumpkin puree. I started making with canned ones too and it was convenient and good enough. However, I’d been thinking why not use fresh pumpkin since its not that difficult to make them into puree. Tried it and now I will never go back to using canned pumpkin puree. You can really taste the freshness and even texture of the pumpkin in these little cakes.
Spices plays an important role here. It adds a cozy warm flavour that is very desirable especially during the seasons from October to December. If you can get your hands on pumpkin spice, use it. As I’ve mentioned, pumpkin cakes doesn’t seem to be easily available here in Singapore and so is pumpkin spice. 2 years ago my ex-colleague went on a work trip to the states and she got me some pumpkin spice. I was so happy 🙂 The flavour of pumpkin spice is just so festive! Anyway no pumpkin spice no biggie. Typically pumpkin spice are a blend of cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and maybe ginger. You can mix your own or just use cinnamon if that’s easier. The cakes will turn out delicious nonetheless.
Cream cheese frosting is lovely with these pumpkin spice cakes. The tanginess and creaminess goes very well with the sweet spice cake. Think carrot cake with cream cheese frosting. Its along the same concept.
Overview of key ingredients in pumpkin baby bundt cakes
- Pumpkin – I used the Japanese variety as I find it to have a better flavour and slightly drier texture which is suitable for this cake. It is easier to mash pumpkins while they are still hot.
- Spices – I did not use pumpkin spice for this since I already ran out of the stock I have. So here I used a blend of cinnamon & a little nutmeg. The blend is entirely up to you. I imagine it will be nice to add some ground ginger as well.
- Pecans – nuts adds texture to the cake. I like to use pecans as it has a sweet maple-like flavour to it which I think pairs really well into these cakes. You can swap with walnuts or omit the nuts if you have an allergy to it or just didn’t like it.
- Cream cheese – I used Philadelphia cream cheese as I like the tanginess. These frosting are lower in sugar so they don’t overpower the pumpkin cakes. Just take note to not over mix the frosting or it may end up too watery.
How to assemble the cakes into little pumpkins
The cakes will rise during baking and have a little hump on top. In order to sandwich the cake evenly, slice off the hump to level the cake. Fill the cream cheese frosting in a piping bag and cut off about 1cm at the tip. Pipe circles on the cut side of the cake starting from the outer ring towards the middle. Sandwich with another cake from the cut side. And there you have a cute baby pumpkin cake 🙂
This recipe makes more batter than you need for 12 baby bundt cakes which after sandwiching them, you will have 6 pumpkin bundt cakes. You can bake the balance batter into cupcakes. These fancy little cakes are great for a small party or just for a leisure afternoon tea.
Have a pumpkin good time!
If you make this recipe, please let me know! Leave a comment, rate it and don’t forget to tag me @vanillynbakery on Instagram. I’d love to see your lovely bakes!
If you like this recipe, be sure to check out these as well:
Whole Grain Purple Carrot Muffins
Pumpkin Baby Bundt Cakes
Ingredients
Pumpkin Cake
- 200 grams skinned pumpkin cut into 1 inch cubes
- 110 grams unsalted butter
- 180 grams light brown sugar
- 1/4 tsp fine sea salt
- 2 eggs lightly beaten
- 80 grams milk
- 240 grams cake flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
- 80 grams pecans lightly toast and chop into smaller chunks
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 125 grams cream cheese
- 25 grams unsalted butter
- 35 grams icing sugar
Instructions
Pumpkin Cake
- Grease bundt pan with butter and dust with flour. Knock out the excess flour. Set aside.
- Steam pumpkins over medium high heat for about 15 minutes or until soft. Remove from steamer and puree in a food processor. Should have a fine mash consistency. Set aside.
- Preheat oven to 170C. Sfit flour and baking powder together twice.
- Place butter, brown sugar and salt in a bowl. Beat on medium speed until light and creamy. About 3 minutes. On low speed, drizzle egg into the butter mixture in 4 to 5 batches to emulsify. Mix well after each addition. If the batter start to split, add a tablespoon of flour and continue mixing.
- Add pumpkin puree and mix well. Add half of the flour mixture and mix for about 20 seconds. Add milk and mix for another 20 seconds. Add remaining flour and pecans. Remove from mixer and use a spatula to complete the mixing by folding through. Once all flour are combine, stop mixing.
- Fill batter into bundt moulds to about 3/4 full. Knock the pan a few times to even up the batter. Fill any remaining batter into muffin cups.
- Bake at 170C for 18 to 20 minutes. When the cake is done, remove from oven and let it sit for a few minutes before unmoulding. *You need to unmould while the cakes are still hot but not immediately.
Cream Cheese Frosting
- Place cream cheese and butter in a medium bowl and whip until soft and creamy. Sift in icing sugar and whip on low speed until all the icing are mix in. Increase speed to medium and whip for 1 to 2 minutes. The frosting should be thick, smooth and glossy. Do not overmix to prevent frosting from becoming too watery. Fill frosting in piping bag.
Aseemble the Pumpkin Cakes
- Slice off the hump on each bundt cakes to level. Keep the hump parts as snacks. Cut about 1cm hole from the bottom of the piping bag filled with frosting.
- Pipe frosting starting from the outer circle towards the middle. Sandwich with another bundt cake.