Pumpkin Espresso Bundt Cake With A Chocolate Espresso Rum Glaze
Updated Oct 27th 2020
This is a wonderfully moist pumpkin spice bundt cake with the tastiest chocolate espresso swirl and a chocolate espresso rum glaze to top it off. This cake is easy to make and delicious on its own but the glaze really puts it over the top. I always make extra glaze and save it for chocolate waffles or even for drizzling on my chocolate hazelnut espresso brownies if I’m feeling extra. It’s just that good. You know I love pumpkin and chocolate together. The addition of the espresso makes it an even more delicious combo with the pumpkin.
How to make the perfect pumpkin bundt cake every time
Making this bundt cake is very easy. I strongly recommend sticking to to using canned pumpkin puree as opposed to homemade for this recipe as the texture changes quite a bit. Homemade pumpkin puree can be a bit more watery than canned and can affect the recipe outcome. I have recipe tested it a few times using homemade and tried to trouble shoot ratios and change the dry ingredients and in the end the canned puree yielded the most consistent and predictable outcome. You can use any shape bundt pan you like just make sure to thoroughly grease every area of it. To help ensure I get into every nook especially if I’m using a more intricate bundt pan i use a brush to dab in the butter or baking spray into those hard to reach edges. Once you have done that just give it a light dusting with flour and your are ready to mix your ingredients. Once you have your cake baked allow it to cool in the pan just for 10-15 minutes - no more. Then invert pan onto wire rack and allow cake to cool complete before glazing. Usually it unnecessary to have to loosen edge of cake free if the pan has been well greased. If it needs a bit of coaxing just use a knife along the edges of the pan to loosen it.
How it create those swirls in the cake or marbling effect
Whisk together your dry ingredients, and mix together the wet ingredients separately. Then mix the two together until incorporated. Whisk together the cocoa espresso ingredients and to them and add 1½ cups of the batter to create a chocolate batter. Starting with the pumpkin batter, scoop out 1 cup of pumpkin batter and add it to the bundt pan. Top the pumpkin batter with ¼ cup chocolate batter. Add then ½ cup pumpkin batter over the top of the chocolate batter. Continue repeating layers to use up the remaining batter. That’s pretty much it. I will usually give my pan a little tap before baking it and then it goes straight in the oven.
Bundt Cakes are always showstoppers even when they are made in the most basic bundt pan. They are lofty looking cakes and usually dripping with some sort of delicious glaze. This is the most perfect bundt cake for fall. The spices are not overpowering but just enough and the chocolate and espresso play well off them. If you like your pumpkin baked goods to have a stronger spiced flavour feel free to add more to your liking. This bundt cake works really well as a plain pumpkin bundt cake too. If you wanted to make it without the chocolate and the espresso just leave the batter as is and bake it without. You can also skip the glaze if you think its too much and serve it just as it is or with a dusting of powdered sugar. It’s simple, its delicious and the perfect cake to make ahead. It even freezes well. More details below on that. The best part is that the flavours in the cake continue to develop and the cake tastes even better a day or two after its baked so it’s just the cake to consider if you want to make something ahead of time if you are entertaining. It’s great for any occasion - hope you enjoy it!
Recipe
Ingredients
For the cake
- 1¼ cups of canned pumpkin purée
- 4 eggs
- ¾ cup of vegetable oil of choice ( i love to use coconut oil)
- 1 cup of brown sugar
- ¾ cup of granulated sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 cups of all purpose flour
- 2 tsp of of baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp ground allspice
- ¼ tsp of ground ginger
- ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
- ¼ tsp ground clove
- A pinch of salt
For the cocoa espresso filling
- ⅓ cup of coconut sugar or brown sugar
- 1 tbsp of espresso powder or instant coffee powder
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp of cocoa powder
- 1-1½ cup of cake batter
For the chocolate espresso rum glaze
- ⅔ cup semisweet chocolate chips
- ¼ cup heavy cream
- 1½ tbsp of dark rum (optional)
- ¼ tsp of vanilla extract
- 1 tsp of espresso powder of instant coffee powder
Directions
For the bundt
- Preheat oven to 350°F and heavily grease your bundt pan (every nook and cranny) and lightly dust with a bit of flour and set aside
- In a medium sized bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices and set aside
- In a small bowl whisk together all the dry ingredients for the espresso filling and set aside
- In a large mixing bowl beat together the pumpkin purée, eggs, oil, both sugars, and the vanilla extract until well blended Slowly beat in the dry ingredients until you have a smooth batter and everything is incorporated.
- Scoop out approx 1 ½ cups of cake batter into a separate bowl and whisk it together with the sugar and espresso filling until chocolatey and smooth
- Filling the pan: Add 1 cup of the pumpkin batter to the bundt pan. Top batter with ¼ cup of the cocoa batter. Repeat with ½ cup of pumpkin batter on top of the chocolate batter and repeat ½ to ¼ cup with the remaining batter
- Place pan on a baking sheet and bake for 50 - 60 minutes or until done and toothpick inserted comes out clean. Allow cake to cool in pan for 10 minutes before inverting onto a cooling rack them removing the pan and cool completely.
- Once cool transfer to serving plate and serve with a dusting of powdered sugar or pour or spoon the glaze over it if making with glaze. Then slice and serve. Glaze directions below. Cover leftover cake tightly and store at room temperature for a couple days and/or in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
For the glaze
- In a small sauce pan over low heat melt the chocolate chips and whisk together with the cream, coffee and vanilla extract.
- Once it’s smooth take off the heat and stir in the rum.
- Allow to cool for a few minutes before pouring it over the cake so that it has a thicker consistency and is easier to pour.
Make Ahead Instructions: You can make the entire cake ahead of time (before topping with glaze or icing). Cover cooled cake and refrigerate for up to 2 days. Bring to room temperature before glazing and serving. Baked cake can be frozen up to 3 months. Allow to thaw overnight in the refrigerator and bring to room temperature before icing and serving.
