Celebrate fall and winter with this warm-tasting spice bundt cake doused in a stunning cream cheese glaze.
Fall is absolutely my favorite time of year. It’s clearly, obviously, indisputably the best season ever, and if you don’t agree with me, you’re wrong. I told you it was indisputable okay? 
The only negative thing I could ever say about fall, if I had to come up with something, is that it doesn’t last nearly long enough.
Cooler weather means we can finally turn off the air conditioner and open up the windows. It means layered clothing, and finally giving up on the “beach body” I’m never going to have. It means beautiful brightly colored foliage, falling leaves, crisp fresh air, and spending as much time outdoors as possible before it’s too late.
It also means all of my favorite foods are back in season. Squash and pumpkins and root veggies and soups and stews and braises and apples and pears and fresh sweet cider and sugar-coated cider doughnuts and everything infused with warm homey baking spices.
Now, I’m well aware that Martha Stewart thinks pumpkin spice is for basic bitches only, but I also happen to know that she has a thing for a well baked spice cake. And hey, this is the basic bundt series after all, so why not embrace the basic and just go for it?
Basic or not, the classic combination of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, & clove will never go out of style. I mean, can you think of any better flavor to usher in the best season of the year? No. You can’t.
This cake is tender and moist with a soft delicate crumb, a refined subtle sweetness, and the perfect amount of spice. I tested this recipe half a dozen times to get it juuuust right, and I seriously couldn’t be happier with the results. My coworkers, for that matter, couldn’t have been happier that I baked so many cakes to get the recipe just right either. The poor dears.
My favorite thing about this recipe though, is just how versatile it is.
The whole idea behind the basic bundt series was to come up with simple and straightforward, but completely flawless, cake recipes that can either be baked and enjoyed as is, or gussied up and personalized with a few easy additions or substitutions.
When I did my recipe testing this time around, I didn’t just play with the spice levels to perfect them, I also experimented with different “liquid” ingredients to change the flavor profile. I started with and perfected a simple buttermilk-based spice cake, but then I tried swapping the buttermilk for other ingredients like unsweetened applesauce, grated fresh apples, and canned pumpkin puree.
Without changing a single other ingredient, swapping out the buttermilk for something else produces an entirely new and distinctly different cake! I promise that I’ve tried and tested all of these substitutions and they’re all equally delicious and perfectly spiced.
The pumpkin version was definitely a favorite with my (decidedly basic) coworkers.
The endless variations you can put on this recipe don’t have to stop with swapping out the buttermilk either. This cake is just screaming for a cup of toasted walnuts or pecans, or a bit of buttery streusel. Even changing the glaze could make a difference in the flavor profile. I decided that a tangy cream cheese glaze would pair perfectly with any one of the buttermilk, apple, or pumpkin versions of the cake; but I think that a thick caramel glaze would be heavenly too. You could also do a bourbon glaze, or maybe even just sprinkle the cake with cinnamon and granulated sugar.
Click here for the cream cheese glaze recipe.
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Spice Bundt Cake
- Yield: 12 to 16 servings 1x
Description
Celebrate fall and winter with this warm-tasting spice bundt cake doused in a stunning cream cheese glaze.
Ingredients
- 3 cups flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/2 cup 1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup dark brown sugar (firmly packed)
- 4 large eggs
- 1/2 cup peanut oil (or vegetable or canola oil)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 1/4 cup buttermilk *see note below for alternatives
Cream Cheese Bundt Glaze:
- Click the link above for the recipe.
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F.
- Butter and flour a 10 to 12 cup bundt pan (or spray with a baking spray that includes flour), and refrigerate while preparing the cake.
- Whisk flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, & nutmeg together in a bowl and set aside. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, sugar, & brown sugar together on high speed until light and fluffy, about three minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the eggs, one at a time, scraping between additions. In a small bowl or measuring cup, stir together oil, vanilla, & buttermilk (or substitution). In the bowl with the butter and sugars, alternate additions of the flour and buttermilk mixtures at low speed, beginning and ending with flour. Mix just until combined and do not overwork the batter. Scrape down the sides of the bowl to make sure all ingredients are well incorporated.
- Pour the batter into the prepared bundt pan, smooth out the top, and firmly pound the pan against the countertop several times to tap out any air bubbles. Bake in the center of the oven for 50 to 55 minutes, or until a toothpick or cake tester comes out clean from the center of the cake.
- Transfer the pan to a wire rack to cool for about 20 to 30 minutes before turning the cake out onto the rack to cool completely. Once cool, drizzle with cream cheese glaze (recipe below) if desired. Cake should keep, in an air tight container at room temperature, for about 3 or 4 days.
Cream Cheese Bundt Glaze:
- Click the link above for the recipe.
Notes
*baker’s note:
Changing the flavor profile of this cake couldn’t be simpler.
Just omit the buttermilk completely, and substitute with one of the following:
1 1/2 cups unsweetened applesauce
an entire 15 oz can (1 3/4 cups) of pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
2 cups grated baking apples, well packed (peeled and cored before grating)
The applesauce cake should bake for the same time, and the pumpkin and grated apple cakes may take about 5 extra minutes or so.
- Category: Baking, Cake
I’m so making this again for Christmas, just with a little more spices.
This was a very delicious, moist cake. I used applesauce instead of buttermilk, and added 1/2 tsp of allspice. This is a keeper, and definitely will be making again. Thank you for the recipe.
This recipe is absolutely Delicious!! Highly recommend it