A tender gluten free pumpkin bundt cake topped with a brown butter maple glaze and a generous sprinkling of pumpkin seeds is a welcome addition to the fall table. Serve it as a side to pumpkin pie on Thanksgiving, or cut thick slices to finish a special meal.
If you've got a hankering for cake this Thanksgiving, make this beautiful pumpkin bundt cake! (Of course, you'll still have gluten free pumpkin pie or maple pumpkin pie for desserts, but cake is always welcome.) Inspired by a New York Times recipe for a dark and luxurious pumpkin cake, my gluten free pumpkin bundt cake is a worthy finish to any autumnal meal.
This is a beautifully pumpkin-flavored cake, packed with lots of cozy spices like cinnamon and cardamom and sweetened with the dark richness of brown sugar. It's topped with a just-sweet enough maple syrup and brown butter glaze, which feels so festive.
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
I used my easy homemade gluten free flour blend to make this cake, and any 1:1 gluten free flour mix will work wonderfully. In fact, I dare you to say it's gluten-free! Just make sure to weigh your flour first for the best results. If you're in the mood for a fall-forward, rather luscious pumpkin bundt cake topped with a delicious slick of maple glaze and scattered with a few pumpkin seeds you are sure to love this beautiful rendition.
- Easily gluten free. Your favorite gluten free or homemade flour blend helps make this cake gluten free a cinch.
- So pumpkiny! There are 2 cups of pumpkin puree in this cake, and you will taste every gorgeous bit of it.
- A cake version of pumpkin pie. One of the reasons I love serving pumpkin bundt cake at Thanksgiving is because has the classic pumpkin pie flavors we love but wrapped into a gluten free cake package.
- Autumnal goodness. Every bite of this cake just shouts fall!
Ingredient Notes
- Gluten free flour - Use my homemade homemade gluten free flour blend as I did, or substitute your favorite all-purpose gluten free flour.
- Rising agents - A combination of baking powder and baking soda helps the cake to
- Spices - Use a blend of ground cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, and allspice. If you don't have cardamom you can substitute it with more ginger or nutmeg.
- Brown sugar - I used dark brown sugar and either dark or light brown sugar works fine.
- Butter - Always use unsalted butter, softened to room temperature, for the best results.
- Olive oil - I used extra virgin olive oil. You may substitute canola oil or vegetable oil if neefded.
- Eggs - Room temperature, large eggs will blend seamlessly into the batter.
- Pumpkin puree - You'll need a whole can of pumpkin puree to really wallop this cake with pumpkin flavor. DON'T use pumpkin pie filling, which has extra additives.
- Sour cream - Substitute with plain or vanilla Greek yogurt if needed.
- Powdered sugar - Make sure to sift the powdered sugar into the glaze ingredients so that the glaze is nice and smooth without any lumpy bits.
- Maple syrup - You can add a little more maple syrup if you like a lot of maple flavor.
- Pumpkin seeds - Toasted or untoasted pumpkin seeds make an optional garnish.
Scroll down to the recipe card at the end of this post for the full ingredient amounts and detailed instructions.
How to Make Gluten Free Pumpkin Bundt Cake
Easily get an idea of how you'll put together this cake via the photos below:
1. Make dry mix: Whisk together all the dry ingredients, minus the sugar, in a bowl.
2. Cream butter: Beat together the brown sugar, butter, and olive oil on medium-high speed, then add the eggs, pumpkin, and sour cream.
3. Combine: Combine the wet and dry mix.
4. Bake: Rest the batter, then bake it in a 350F oven for 1 hour.
5. Cool: Cool the cake.
6. Make the glaze: Whisk together the glaze ingredients, then drizzle it over the cake.
Baking Tip: Grease That Pan!
You want a bundt cake to release easily from the pan otherwise it will leave chunks of cake behind - which looks so bad! For bundt pans, I use cooking spray along with a non-stick pan, and I really spray into the nooks and crannies of the bundt pan. I've found this to be the winning combo in creating perfect bundt cakes every time.
Tips and Substitution Suggestions
- Rest the batter: Let the batter rest for at least 15 minutes before baking. My homemade gf flour blend contains rice flour, and I always make sure to rest the batter for up to 20 minutes before baking. This helps the flour blend to hydrate - soak up some of the liquid - to avoid any grittiness later. I advise doing this for any type of gluten-free flour or blend you use, especially if it includes rice flour.
- To make vegan: Substitute three flax eggs for the eggs. Use your preferred vegan butter substitute and cream cheese substitute in the frosting.
- Make it a sweet potato bundt cake: If you want to mix things up, swap an equal amount of cooked, pureed sweet potato for the pumpkin puree!
- Flour substitutes: Use oat or sorghum flour instead of teff flour. Swap arrowroot for the tapioca and almond flour for the sweet white rice flour.
- Dairy-free: To make the cake dairy-free, add an additional ½ cup of olive oil and swap dairy-free yogurt for the sour cream. For the butter in the glaze, use melted coconut oil (do not brown it).
- Refined sugar-free: Use coconut sugar instead of brown sugar.
- Make your pumpkin puree: Cut a sugar pie pumpkin in half, scoop out the seeds and innards, then bake it face down on a baking sheet at 350°F for about 45 minutes. When the pumpkin is soft, remove it from the oven and let it cool a bit. Scrape off the skin, place the pumpkin in a food processor, and process until very smooth. Then measure out how much you need (for this recipe: 2 cups).
Can I Make it in a Different Shape?
You can bake this bundt cake as a regular cake, using a 10-inch springform pan to bake a larger, one-layer cake, or use two 9-inch pans and divide the batter equally between them. You may need to adjust the baking time depending on the size of the pan.
Storage Options
- Counter - Cover pumpkin bundt cake with foil and store it on the counter at room temperature for up to 2 days.
- Fridge - Store the cake in an air-tight container or well-covered in the fridge for up to 5 days. You can serve the cake cold from the fridge or at room temperature.
- Freezer - Freeze the cake unglazed by wrapping it in plastic and foil then storing it in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw the cake in the fridge, then make the frosting and assemble the sheet cake.
More Gluten Free Pumpkin Recipes
If you tried this Gluten Free Pumpkin Bundt Cake or any other recipe on my website, please let me know how it went in the comments below! And I always appreciate a star rating if you loved it ❤️
Gluten Free Pumpkin Bundt Cake
Ingredients
Cake
- 3 ¼ cups gluten free flour (380 grams)
- 3 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground cardamom
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon ground allspice
- 2 cups brown sugar
- ½ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
- ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 large eggs
- 1 15-ounce can pure pumpkin puree
- ½ cup sour cream
Glaze
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- ½ cup powdered sugar, sifted
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- 3 tablespoons pumpkin seeds, toasted or untoasted, optional
Instructions
- Spray or grease a 12-cup (or larger) capacity bundt pan.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, and allspice until well combined.
- In a large bowl using a hand or stand mixer, beat together the brown sugar, butter, and olive oil on medium-high speed until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing in well. Add the pumpkin purée and sour cream, and mix until well combined, scraping the bottom and sides of the bowl as necessary.
- Fold in the dry ingredients using a rubber spatula until well combined.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan, smooth the top and firmly tap the pan on the countertop a few times to release any large air bubbles. Cover the batter loosely with a clean kitchen towel and let rest for 15 minutes, or longer if you can.
- Then preheat oven to 350°F. Bake the cake until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean and the edges are starting to come away from the sides of the pan, 55 to 65 minutes, checking often.
- Remove from oven and place the cake on a wire rack to cool for 20 minutes, then use the tip of a knife to loosen the edges and invert the cake onto the rack to cool completely before glazing.
- Make the glaze: Once the cake is cool, melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Cook the butter, occasionally scraping the bottom and sides of the pan with a rubber spatula until it turns a deep golden brown and smells nutty, for a few minutes.
- Transfer butter to a heat-safe bowl, and let it cool slightly. Whisk in the powdered sugar and maple syrup until smooth. The glaze should be thick but pourable. If it’s too thin, add a bit more powdered sugar. If it’s too thick, add a few drops of water.
- Transfer the cake to a serving platter and pour the glaze evenly over the top. Sprinkle with seeds if desired. Let the glaze set for a few minutes before slicing.
- Store in fridge covered for 3 days.
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