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Featured Reader Review
★★★★★
"Delicious cake. And the maple cream cheese frosting is perfect for this. Grating the apple was genius. Glad I found your recipe I will make this a regular dessert for fall."
-Michelle
❤️ Why You'll Love this Recipe
Soft and Moist - If you're one of those people who despises the word "moist," then I apologize because there is simply no better way to describe this pumpkin apple dessert. Ingredients like pumpkin puree and apples are often added to cake batter in place of oil, butter, and eggs for moisture, so adding them along with these components results in pure decadence.
So it has the perfect moist and dense texture without being too spongy, and it doesn't even need frosting! But cake is not cake without frosting, to me, so I had to finish it off with homemade maple cream cheese frosting.
Fall Flavor - All the seasonal flavors come together beautifully with the flavor of crisp, fruity apples and sweet, earthy pumpkin, made perfectly cozy with autumnal spices like cinnamon and ginger.
👉🏾 I love fall baking season and have so many goodies to share with you, like my fall banana nut bread, pumpkin spiced snickerdoodle cookies, sweet potato dessert bars, fresh pear cobbler, and sweet potato pie ice cream!
What You'll Need for this Recipe
Pumpkin Puree gives this cake a nice orange color and imparts the flavor of pumpkin. Make sure not to use pumpkin pie filling, which has extra ingredients not necessary for this recipe.
Fresh Apple is grated right into the cake batter for authentic apple flavor and all the juiciness that comes with that. As an alternative, you can use applesauce.
Brown Sugar for sweetness with a hint of molasses flavor. You can use either dark or light brown sugar.
Sweet Warming Spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and clove. Check your spices to make sure they aren't expired so that the cozy flavor shines through!
This easy pumpkin apple bundt cake recipe calls for one cup of puree, which is about half of the 15-ounce cans you'll find at most grocery stores. Wondering how can I use leftover pumpkin puree? Try my baked pumpkin donuts or pumpkin kitchen sink cookies, or pumpkin hatch chile salsa for early fall.
For the Cream Cheese Icing
Cream Cheese for that classic tanginess. I recommend using a full-fat cream cheese for the best and richest texture. Low-fat cream cheese just won't hit the same.
Powdered Sugar, aka confectioner's sugar, is really the only kind of sugar to use here because it is fine enough to completely dissolve into something so smooth and spreadable.
Maple Syrup adds a touch of cozy, woodsy flavor that we love so much at this time of year. Don't skip it!
Check out the recipe card below for full ingredients list, measurements, nutrition facts, and step-by-step instructions!
Substitutions & Variations
Vegan or Vegetarian - Wondering can I make this pumpkin apple cake vegan? I have made this recipe egg and butter free, using plant-based milk, and it came out well, although the texture was definitely not the same and it did not come out quite as moist. The vegan version of this cake has a slightly springy texture but is still soft. As for the cream cheese frosting, using plant-based butter and cream cheese will give you a very similar effect.
Add Nuts for a pop of texture contrast. Walnuts, pecans, or sliced almonds are my go-tos. Stir them into the flour mixture (steps below) to make sure they distribute through the batter evenly.
Pan Shape - This simple recipe presents beautifully as an apple pumpkin spice bundt cake, but you can also use an oblong pan or two round cake pans to bake it.
How to Make an Easy Pumpkin Apple Cake
- Step One: Mix together the pumpkin puree, butter, brown sugar, eggs, milk, and vanilla extract. (Photo 1)
- Step Two: Whisk together the flour, rising agents, and spices. (Photo 2)
- Step Three: Grate the apple then mix it into the flour mixture and combine with the wet mixture to form cake batter. (Photos 3 and 4)
Pro Tip #1
You don't have to use a stand mixer or even a hand mixer to make this cake! Use mixing bowls, a whisk, and a silicone spatula with a little elbow grease and stir it by hand. And I recommend hand stirring to finish mixing the batter in any case to avoid over-mixing, which can result in a tough cake.
- Step Four: While the cake bakes, beat the frosting ingredients together until uniform, glossy, and fluffy. (Photo 5)
- Step Five: Bake the cake until a toothpick inserted into several points comes out clean. (Photo 6)
- Step Six: Cool the cake fully then frost. (Photo 7)
Pro Tip #2
To make sure your cake doesn't stick, I recommend preparing your bundt pan with butter or non-stick oil spray and flour, even if it's a non-stick pan. Here's a visual on how to grease and flour a bundt pan.
Pro Tip #3
I recommend baking the cake on the middle rack for even cooking, with a sheet pan placed on the lower rack to catch any drips.
Watch me make this cake on YouTube!
I'm a visual learner, so I appreciate a good how-to video. Check this one out before you make the cake.
Frequently Asked Questions
With the cream cheese frosting, you should refrigerate this cake in an airtight container to keep it from spoiling. Keeps for up to two weeks. Allow it to come to room temperature before enjoying.
More Favorite Cozy Cake Recipes
Want more recipes like this one? Try these:
I hope you and your loved ones enjoy this apple pumpkin spice cake soon and very soon. And sharing is caring, so be sure to pin this recipe for later and follow me over on Pinterest. Thanks for reading!
📖 Recipe
Pumpkin Apple Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
Equipment
- 1 stand mixer or hand mixer (can also be done by hand)
- 1 whisk
- 1 silicone spatula or kitchen spoon
- 1 grater
Ingredients
Cake
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour sifted or fluffed (see notes)
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon ground clove
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 ¾ cup brown sugar packed
- ½ can pumpkin puree
- ¼ cup milk
- ¼ cup unsalted butter melted
- 4 eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 10 ounces apple about one small apple, three inches in diameter
Frosting
- 1 ¼ cup powdered sugar sifted
- 6 ounces cream cheese softened to room temperature
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter melted
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Instructions
For the Pumpkin Apple Spice Bundt Cake
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a bundt pan and set aside.
- Add flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, ginger, and sea salt and whisk together until uniform in appearance.2 ½ cups all-purpose flour, 2 teaspoons baking powder, ½ teaspoon baking soda, 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg, ½ teaspoon ground clove, ½ teaspoon ground ginger, ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- In another bowl, combine brown sugar, pumpkin puree, milk, butter, eggs, and vanilla extract until uniform.1 ¾ cup brown sugar, ½ can pumpkin puree, ¼ cup milk, ¼ cup unsalted butter, 4 eggs, 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and stir until just combined and no dry pockets remain. Peel and shred apple then mix into cake batter.10 ounces apple
- Transfer batter to prepared bundt pan and bake on center oven rack for about 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into multiple parts of the cake comes out clean. Cool for about 10 minutes in pan then remove and allow to cool completely.
For the Maple Cream Cheese Frosting
- Meanwhile, beat powdered sugar, cream cheese, butter, maple syrup, and vanilla extract until fluffy, glossy, and uniform (about four minutes). Frost cooled cake as desired.1 ¼ cup powdered sugar, 6 ounces cream cheese, 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, 2 tablespoons maple syrup, 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Michelle says
Delicious cake. And the maple cream cheese frosting is perfect for this. Grating the apple was genius. Glad I found your recipe I will make this a regular dessert for fall.
Jazzmine Woodard says
Hi, Michelle! Thanks for your feedback. I'm so glad you enjoyed the cake!
Holly says
Your recipe turned out Amazing!
I am not the greatest cook, and I made a couple of changes.
I made it gluten-free by using brown rice flour & almond flour.
It is So Good!!
Thank you Jazzmine!!
Jazz says
So wonderful to hear that, Holly! Thanks for your feedback.
Emma Coleman says
It says 1/2 can pumpkin purée but how big a can? It would be nice to have the pumpkin measurement in cups!
Jazz says
Hi, Emma. Great point--I'm in the process of updating this very recipe! The measurement is from a 16.9 ounce can of puree so that's about one cup. Hope you enjoy the cake!
Emma Coleman says
Thank you so much!!!
Ivana J says
Yummy, definitely recipe to try out xo
Annette Dattilo says
Oh my goodness this looks like heaven. What a great idea to shred the apples. Thank you for sharing.
Jazz says
You're very welcome! It's really a great trick.
101foodtravel says
This is packed with all the fall flavor oh my i love it. I never had maple cream cheese frosting before, this sounds really yummy. I am sharing this recipe to my social media if you don't mind. Thank you for sharing this recipe.
Jazz says
Thanks for sharing!
Jen Seislove says
The maple cream cheese frosting sounds amazing! And I've never thought to shred my apples with a basic grater. I should be doing this for salads! Great tip!
Jazz says
Thanks! I found the tip via Sally's Baking Addiction. I think it would work well for salads, too.
Strength and Sunshine says
You packed ALL the fall flavors in there! Pumpkin, apple, and maple <3
Lisa says
I love everything about this!!
kage2015 says
As if the cake is enough all by its self you go and add the maple frosting to put it over the top delicious.
Jazz says
Lol, I had to do it! Thanks for reading!
Theresa | Bridesmaids Confession says
Oh this is so yummy. I love cream cheese frosting.
Giustina says
I'm loving everything pumpkin spice right now & that maple cream cheese frosting sounds delicious!! <3
Jazz says
Thank you! It was a last-minute addition but I love how the flavors play together.