Pumpkin Cake with Warm Vanilla and Cinnamon Sauce

This pumpkin pie is easy to make (one-bowl recipe!), delicious, and super tender. With warm vanilla sauce, it’s delicious!

There are two main reasons to love this pie:

1. All pies are more delicious when baked in a pumpkin pan 😉
2. Warm cinnamon vanilla sauce (warning: it’s incredibly sweet if drizzled over this pie).

Bundt Cake Batter
Don’t let the words “bundt” and “cake” scare you! This pumpkin pie batter is super easy to make. It’s a one-pot recipe!

Whisk all ingredients, except flour, together:

• canned pumpkin
• sugar (granulated and brown)
• egg
• oil
• baking powder + baking soda + salt
• cinnamon + nutmeg + cloves

Once the flour is added, the mixture is just a few steps away (don’t overdo it!) from making it into the Bundt pans.

What size Bundt pan should I use?

Bundt pans and their awkward, delicate dimensions can be a bit confusing.

Here are some tips that may help:

• The most common type of Bundt pan is a 9- or 10-inch Bundt pan (all of my Bundt recipes use this size pan)
• These pans may also be labeled as 12-cup Bundt pans
• If a Bundt pan is labeled “12-cup Bundt pan,” that means that 12 cups of batter/liquid will fill it to the brim – YOU DO NOT WANT TO BAKE 12 CUPS OF BATTER IN A 12-CUP BUNDT PAN OR IT WILL OVERFLOW
• Fill Bundt pans no more than 2/3 to 3/4 full

I’ve found that almost every Bundt recipe I’ve made (from internet searches, my grandmother’s cookbook, and others) works in a 9- or 10-inch Bundt pan like this one {affiliate link}.

Warm Vanilla Cinnamon Sauce

One of the reasons this pumpkin cake is so special is the vanilla cinnamon sauce.

Served warm and drizzled over the soft, moist cake, it elevates this pumpkin cake to party-worthy dessert status (but simple enough to make any day of the week!).

If you’re wondering about the benefits of serving your pie with a warm, velvety sauce, look no further than these testimonials:

Or… skip the sauce!

Pumpkin cake and sauce have a gooey date pudding feel to them. Which is to say, I love it.

However, if you’re looking for a truly amazing pumpkin cake on its own, you can skip the sauce!

Pumpkin pie is absolutely delicious with or without sauce.

You can also dust the top of your pumpkin cake with powdered sugar. Or make some lightly sweetened cinnamon whipped cream to serve with your slices of cake?

With a cake this delicious, you can’t go wrong!

Pumpkin Sponge Cake with Warm Vanilla Cinnamon Sauce

Makes: 12 servings

Prep Time: 35 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour 15 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 50 minutes

Ingredients

Cake:

• 1 (15-ounce) can (425 g) pumpkin puree
• 1 ¾ cups (370 g) granulated sugar
• ¾ cup (170 g) vegetable or canola oil
• ½ cup (106 g) lightly packed brown sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
• 2 ½ cups (355 g) all-purpose flour

Sauce:

• 6 tablespoons (85 g) butter, cut into pieces
• ¾ cup (159 g) granulated sugar
• ¾ cup (173 g) heavy cream or evaporated milk
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
• ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. (If your pan has a dark finish/coating, reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees.)
2. Grease a 12-cup bundt cake pan with butter or shortening, lightly dust with flour, and tap off any excess flour.
3. Set aside. (If your pan is nonstick, you may not need the flour and just grease the pan.)
4. For the cake, in a large bowl, add the pumpkin, granulated sugar, oil, brown sugar, eggs, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and cloves. Whisk until well combined.
5. Add the flour and mix until any dry streaks disappear. Try not to overmix.
6. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and spread evenly.
7. Bake for 55 to 65 minutes until the top springs back.Allow the pie to cool for 5 to 10 minutes in the pan. Invert the crust onto a serving platter.
8. For the sauce, in a medium saucepan, add the butter, sugar and cream. Bring to a gentle simmer, stirring frequently, and cook for 5 to 6 minutes. Off the heat, stir in the vanilla and cinnamon.
9. Serve the pumpkin pie in slices with the warm sauce drizzled over the top.

Note:

Make ahead: The sauce can be made ahead and refrigerated for up to a week (and possibly longer). Heat before serving. The cake can be made up to a day ahead and kept tightly covered overnight. The cake can be served warm or at room temperature.