Pumpkin Spice Pound Cake
This Pumpkin Spice Pound Cake is baked with real pumpkin and a combination of warm baking spices. It’s the perfect way to celebrate fall baking season!
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Ah, pumpkin spice season. A good pumpkin spice latte on a crisp Autumn day is a thing of beauty. Same goes for pumpkin spice donuts, cinnamon rolls and a whole array of other delicious baked goods. But pumpkin spice season seems to be arriving sooner and sooner, amiright?
It turns out pumpkin spice season (well at least Starbucks’ pumpkin spice latte season) is indeed arriving earlier and earlier. Last year, Starbucks moved up its’ #PSL release date by 6 days – to August 24. That’s a full 2 weeks earlier than in 2015. 2 weeks! Pretty soon, we’ll be seeing pumpkin spice lattes in July.
As much as I do love pumpkin spice, I feel like the flavors just need a crisp Autumn day. We live in the mountains of North Carolina, and we get some beautiful crisp Autumn days here…but not in mid-August!
Pumpkin Spice Pound Cake
The mornings are getting cooler here now, and that means we can officially break out the pumpkin spice seasonings! I love baking with cinnamon, nutmeg and the other flavors in pumpkin pie spice. I channeled those flavors into a pound cake recently, and it was absolutely delicious!
This Pumpkin Spice Pound Cake features a generous amount of pumpkin pie spice in addition to a whole can of pumpkin puree. That’s right. Actual pumpkin in a pumpkin spice recipe! Call me crazy, but if something is called ‘pumpkin spice,’ I expect to see both pumpkin and pumpkin pie spice in there. This cake has both…and it’s topped with a cream cheese glaze, too!
What is Pumpkin Pie Spice?
Pumpkin pie spice is a charming blend of warm spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, allspice and cloves. Pumpkin pie spice, sometimes just called pumpkin spice, is largely an American spice blend. (It is similar to the British ‘mixed spice,’ though.) While there is no actual pumpkin in pumpkin pie spice, the spice blend is commonly used to add flavor to pumpkin pies.
This Pumpkin Spice Pound Cake is a classic pound cake in many ways. After all, it features a whole bunch of eggs, a lot of butter and even more sugar. There is nothing healthy about this cake. But it’s darned tasty, and it goes well with a mug of coffee on a cool fall morning! It’s also a great dessert for a crisp fall evening.
Years ago, a classmate of mine in grad school would welcome fall baking season by bringing in loaves of pumpkin bread topped with cream cheese frosting. I channeled those cream cheese vibes for this Pumpkin Spice Pound Cake, although I did loosen the frosting up by adding a bit of cream. That allowed the glaze to drizzle over the pound cake a bit easier.
Storing Leftover Pound Cake
Leftover pound cake can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for 3 days. This cake can also be frozen! Just let the cake cool completely and wrap slices tightly in plastic wrap. Place the slices in freezer bags and freeze for up to 4 months. Let thaw at room temperature for an hour or two.
If you’re in the baking mood, I highly recommend this pumpkin pound cake recipe! It’s not a traditional pound cake in that it includes both pumpkin and a bunch of spices. If you’re looking for a classic version, grab this Classic Pound Cake recipe instead. But I promise this pumpkin spice version will be met with lots of ooo’s and aah’s! Happy baking!
Did you bake this Pumpkin Spice Pound Cake at home? Leave a comment, or snap a photo and tag me on Instagram (@Spicedblog) – I’d love to see your version!
Pumpkin Spice Pound Cake
Ingredients
For the Pumpkin Spice Pound Cake
- 1½ cups unsalted butter room temperature
- 1½ cups granulated sugar
- 1½ cups light brown sugar
- 7 large eggs room temperature
- 3¼ cups all-purpose flour plus 1-2 more tablespoons for flouring the pan
- 1 Tbsp pumpkin pie spice see note
- 1½ tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1 15-oz. can pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- vegetable shortening for greasing pan
For the Glaze
- 1¾ cups confectioner’s sugar
- 4 oz. cream cheese softened
- ¼ cup half-and-half or heavy whipping cream
- 1 Tbsp unsalted butter softened
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
For the Pumpkin Spice Pound Cake
- Preheat oven to 300°F.
- Using an electric mixer, cream butter and sugars together until light and fluffy (3-4 minutes on medium speed).
- Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition.
- Using a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add half of the flour mixture to the mixing bowl; mix until well combined.
- Add heavy whipping cream; mix until well combined.
- Add remaining dry ingredients, pumpkin puree and vanilla extract; mix until well combined.
- Scrape sides and bottom of bowl to ensure batter is well combined.
- Grease and flour a 10-12 cup Bundt pan. Transfer batter into pan. (See note below.)
- Bake for 60 minutes. Tent top of cake with foil and continue baking for 45-50 more minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
- Let cool in pan for 15 minutes before inverting onto a wire baking rack. Let cool completely before glazing.
For the Glaze
- Using a medium bowl, combine all of the glaze ingredients; whisk together until smooth.
- Pour glaze over cooled cake. Let glaze completely set (1-2 hours) before slicing.
Notes
Looking for more pound cake recipes? Check out some of these other favorites, too:
I need to try this soon for me btw can’t wait to make your recipes soon for me
This is a great pound cake, Ramya – I hope you enjoy it!
Pumpkin spice? Nope i don’t think we have it here but who knows? I am not in the swing of it these days! This sounds delicious David. And I love a Bundt pan. I have hubby do his magic with butter and flour and his magic fingers and they never stick! Hehehe …
cheers
sherry
So pumpkin spice is a combination of all the best fall baking spices – although I guess for you, those would be spring baking spices. 🙂 Cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom, etc. I know you’ve said pumpkin is more of a savory food down there, but you should try it in a cake like this sometime! It’s magical.
I love that you are using a whole tin of pumpkin purée with all these spices. I would not mind a slice or two to go with my cup of tea this morning. The air is definitely getting crisper in Chicago that is for sure. ~Nessa
The air is getting crisper here in the NC mountains, too – perfect for a slice of pumpkin cake! Thanks, Nessa!
Just the thing I’d love to have in the morning with a nice cup of Joe! That said, keep that spice out of my coffee, puh-lease!
Haha – I hear ya, Frank! I like my coffee strong and unadulterated. 🙂
Oh that beautiful frosting, it’s really interesting to read your post. Pumpkin pastries must be often made in the US because in France we don’t have pumpkin pie spices, nor pumpkin puree. Thank you for this lovely recipe, I would gladly have a slice of your cake. Have a great week!
I’ve heard similar comments from folks in Australia, too. Canned pureed pumpkin and pumpkin spice blends are very common (almost everywhere) in the fall here in the States. I will say that it’s a fantastic flavor – one of my favorites of the entire year!
This pumpkin spice pound cake is exactly what I need for fall baking season! I love that you use real pumpkin puree in the batter along with all those warm baking spices instead of just the spice blend. And that cream cheese glaze drizzled over the top is pure perfection. Can’t wait to bake this gorgeous bundt cake!
The pumpkin + spices just screams fall! This is a great way to celebrate the arrival of cooler temps and delicious pumpkin spice treats. Thanks, Betty!
Your pumpkin pound cake is so perfectly dense and moist, and I love how the seasonings perfectly compliment the pumpkin. Each bite is pure heaven! Then, that gorgeous glaze finishes the whole experience with such a spectacular sugary sweet crackle. I think I’ve just discovered my new favorite fall coffee friend!
It’s hard to beat a good pound cake no matter the flavor…but when the flavor also happens to be pumpkin spice? Pure heaven is the right description! Thanks, Heidi!
Wow, that’s a lot of puree! I’ll bet this is terrific. I love your description of pumpkin spice as being charming. I think it is!
Well to be fair, pound cakes use a lot of everything, right? The pumpkin puree really gives this a cozy fall vibe – delicious!! Thanks, Jeff!
This pumpkin spice pound cake looks like pure autumn comfort the kind of bake that makes the whole house smell warm and cozy even before it comes out of the oven. its one of those cakes you bring to a gathering and everyone suddenly remembers how much they love fall.
Oh the house smelled amazing while this was baking. You can skip the candle – just make this cake instead! (Plus, you can’t eat the candle!)
I agree, I love pumpkin BUT not before mid-September! We get a late summer here in SoCal and the end of summer is still hanging on, but I have started baking all things pumpkin 🙂
Agreed! I can start to get on board with pumpkin season by September, but not before that! Summer hung around here in the NC mountains for a while, too, but we’re finally getting some cool mornings…perfect for fall baking! Hope y’all are doing well out there!