Pumpkin Bundt Cake with Vanilla Cream Cheese Frosting

My friend Rachael turned me on to this cake and OHMYGOODNESS I am so glad she did.

I made it for dessert on Sunday and everyone loved it. Some several of us had seconds, it was so good. It's dense and soooo moist and absolutely the perfect amount of pumpkiny goodness. Actually, it reminds me a lot of my mom's pumpkin bread, which has long been one of my favorite fall treats. I wouldn't be surprised if the recipe is very similar if not identical!

But I am not gonna lie: the glory of this cake is its frosting. The first cake I made was in just a regular bumdt pan and I frosted it heavily. The second time I used my Nordicware Jubilee bundt pan, which lends itself better to drippy glazes. I thinned the frosting with milk so I could drizzle it on top, but I may have gotten a little carried away because...well, just look at it. That's a pretty heavy "drizzle."

I want to eat this frosting by itself with a spoon. Maybe I've already done that. You'll never know for sure.

I lightened up the original recipe to decrease the amount of sugar and oil. The texture was ever so slightly different; the bottom of the cake rounded up more in the oven. However, since I still want to eat like half the cake by myself, it's safe to say this version is on par with the original. Dare I say better because it's a little bit healthier?

Maybe we should do a side-by-side taste test. You know, for science.

Pumpkin Bundt Cake with Vanilla Cream Cheese Frosting
adapted from Lick the Bowl Good

Pumpkin Bundt Cake

Ingredients
1 cup sugar
4 eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup applesauce*

2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
15 oz pumpkin puree
1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 350.

In a large bowl, whisk together sugar and eggs until slightly bubbly and light in color. Add applesauce and oil; whisk until well combined. Add baking soda, cinnamon, salt, and vanilla to egg mixture, and whisk together. Stir in flour with a wooden spoon, making sure to get out any lumps. Add pumpkin and stir well.

Grease a bundt pan very well and pour in batter. Bake for 55-65 minutes, or until inserted toothpick comes out clean. Cool completely in pan, then turn out onto a cake plate and frost.

Vanilla Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
4 oz (half a package) cream cheese, room temperature
2 cups powdered sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla bean paste**

Beat ingredients together until well combined and smooth. Frost cake as desired. (For thinner glaze, add milk until desired consistency is reached. Don't skimp on this frosting though. I promise you'll regret it.)

*I used my mom's homemade applesauce which is well spiced, so I omitted some of the cinnamon. Just FYI

**You could use regular vanilla extract, but I LOVE the flavor the paste adds to things. It's more expensive so I don't use it often, but this is the perfect recipe for it. Mmm...so good.

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