Amazing 1 Irresistible Pumpkin Honey Bun Cake Recipe

When that first crisp chill hits the air, I swear my kitchen calls out for pumpkin spice! Forget those dry, crumbly attempts at fall baking, because what I have for you today is truly special. This Irresistible Pumpkin Honey Bun Cake Recipe For Fall Bliss is the absolute softest, most flavorful cake you will ever pull out of your oven. I’m not kidding! This cake is the official welcome mat to autumn at my house.

Every year, as soon as the leaves turn, my kids start demanding it. The rich, spiced pumpkin cake combined with that gooey cinnamon-brown sugar swirl? It’s just pure comfort. It smells like everything good about October, and honestly, the glaze just seals the deal. Get ready, because this is going to be a family tradition for you, too!

Why This Irresistible Pumpkin Honey Bun Cake Recipe For Fall Bliss Stands Out

Honestly, there are a million pumpkin cake recipes out there, but this one just hits different. It’s all about the texture and making sure you get that perfect fall flavor without any fuss. You don’t need any fancy equipment, which is my favorite part!

We’ve refined this recipe over the years to make sure it’s foolproof. If you follow my notes later, you’ll see why people keep asking for this recipe every year.

Key Features of Our Irresistible Pumpkin Honey Bun Cake Recipe For Fall Bliss

• The crumb is outrageously moist because we use both pumpkin puree and buttermilk. No dry edges here, ever!
• That cinnamon swirl isn’t complicated—it’s made in one bowl while the oven preheats. So easy!
• We nailed the spice ratio. It smells incredible, but it’s warm, not spicy hot, which I love.

If you’re looking for a truly standout dessert this season, you should check out my apple crisp cheesecake, too!

Gathering Ingredients for Your Irresistible Pumpkin Honey Bun Cake Recipe For Fall Bliss

Okay, listen up! Getting the ingredients ready is half the battle, and with this cake, we have three distinct departments: the main batter, the gooey swirl, and the final drizzle. Make sure you’ve got everything measured out before you start mixing, especially since this cake comes together really fast!

When you grab your pumpkin, please double-check the can. We want pure pumpkin puree, not that sugary pie filling junk. That’s kitchen rule number one for this recipe. Also, if you need a great recipe for a different kind of pumpkin treat, check out my pumpkin poke cake while you’re grabbing your supplies!

For the Cake Batter

These are the dry and wet superstars that build the body of our cake. Don’t substitute the brown sugar here—that molasses flavor is what keeps things tasting like fall.

• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda (Crucial for lift!)
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil (This keeps it moist!)
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup pumpkin puree (The real stuff, remember?)
• 1/2 cup buttermilk (Don’t skimp on this!)

For the Cinnamon Swirl

This is where we lock in that “honey bun” flavor profile. See how we use more brown sugar and cinnamon here? That’s the secret to the gorgeous streaks you’ll see running through the finished cake.

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
• 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Just take a small bowl, melt that butter, dump everything else in, and stir it up until it looks like a thick, sandy paste. Easy peasy.

For the Simple Glaze

This glaze is thin enough to drizzle beautifully but thick enough to give you that sweet little cap you expect from a honey bun. Whisk it up when the cake is almost cool!

• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Mastering the Swirl: Tips for the Irresistible Pumpkin Honey Bun Cake Recipe For Fall Bliss

Now that you have your ingredients lined up, I want to talk quick substitution cheats and little tricks that make this pumpkin cake recipe unstoppable. A recipe is only as good as its ingredients, right? I’ve spent years learning the “why” behind my mom’s cooking notebook, and these details make a huge difference in getting that perfect texture for your Irresistible Pumpkin Honey Bun Cake Recipe For Fall Bliss.

First off, that swirl needs to be perfect. To get those gorgeous ribbons without sinking the whole thing to the bottom, make sure your swirl mixture is thick when you pour it in, almost like wet sand. If it looks too runny, it’ll just melt right into the batter instead of staying put.

Ingredient Clarity and Substitutions

Let’s make sure we are using ingredients that bring their A-game. Like I mentioned before, canned pumpkin puree is your friend here. Pumpkin pie filling already has sugar and spices dumped in, which throws off the balance of this recipe completely. We want the full control over our spices!

Also, about that buttermilk—if you’re in a pinch, don’t panic! Buttermilk is fantastic because its acidity wakes up the baking soda we use. That reaction creates gas bubbles, giving the cake its beautiful rise and tender crumb. If you don’t have any, mix half a teaspoon of white vinegar or lemon juice into half a cup of regular milk. Let it sit on the counter for about five minutes until it looks slightly curdled. Boom! Instant buttermilk.

If you’re feeling lazy with the spice cabinet—and I get it, because sometimes measuring three different powders is a lot—you can use pumpkin pie spice instead! Just know that our specific ratio here is designed to be perfectly balanced with cinnamon and nutmeg being the stars. You can check out my notes on making your own homemade pumpkin pie spice blend if you want to use that for the cake batter too!

Step-by-Step Instructions for the Irresistible Pumpkin Honey Bun Cake Recipe For Fall Bliss

Alright, we have our ingredients ready, and the oven is humming. This is the fun part! We’re going to move quickly here, but don’t rush the mixing—that’s where we mess things up. Make sure your 10-inch tube or Bundt pan is greased and floured ahead of time. I like to use that cake release spray if I can find it. Nobody wants a beautiful cake sticking to the pan!

When you’re ready to mix, you might want to glance at my steps for making an ultimate sour cream coffee cake; the technique for not over-mixing is practically the same for any good bundt cake.

Mixing the Batter and Preparing the Swirl

First, get your dry ingredients whisked together in one big bowl—that’s your flour, baking soda, and all those beautiful spices. Trust me, whisking them first is key so the baking soda is evenly distributed!

In a separate bowl, you’ll mix your sugars, oil, eggs, pumpkin, and that tangy buttermilk. Once that wet mixture looks smooth, slowly stream it into your dry ingredients. Now, stop! I mean it! Mix it only until you see those last few streaks of flour disappear. If you beat it too long, all that gentle work we did with the buttermilk will be ruined, and you’ll end up with a tough cake. Just combined is the magic phrase here.

While the oven is warming up, take your simple swirl ingredients—melted butter, brown sugar, and spices—and mix them until they form a thick, irresistible paste. This needs to be ready to layer!

Assembling, Baking, and Cooling the Irresistible Pumpkin Honey Bun Cake Recipe For Fall Bliss

For assembly, we alternate layers. Pour about half of your pumpkin cake batter into that prepared pan. Next, drizzle that glorious cinnamon swirl mixture right over the top. Try to spread it out as evenly as you can. Then, pour the rest of the batter on top, gently smoothing the top layer.

Bake it at 350°F for about 45 to 55 minutes. You have to test it! Insert a wooden pick right into the center; it should come out clean, maybe with a few moist crumbs clinging to it—not wet batter! Let it hang out in that hot pan for exactly 15 minutes. This is crucial! If you try to flip it out hot, it might collapse. After 15 minutes, invert it onto a wire rack so it can cool down properly before we hit it with the glaze.

Perfecting the Glaze and Serving Your Cake

I know, I know, the cake is out of the oven and it smells heavenly, but patience! The last layer of magic—the glaze—needs the cake to cool down just a little bit before it goes on. Putting that sweet icing on a piping hot cake just results in a watery mess that disappears into the cake. We want a beautiful, slightly opaque drizzle, right?

Once the cake is cool enough that you can touch it without burning yourself—usually after about an hour on the cooling rack—it’s time for the final touch. This is the easiest glaze ever invented, truly.

Glazing Technique

Get a clean bowl and throw in your powdered sugar, milk, and that little splash of vanilla extract. Then, whisk it until it’s totally smooth. I like to use a fork at first, and then switch to a small whisk. You’re looking for a consistency that drips slowly off the whisk. If it’s too thick, add another half teaspoon of milk, drop by drop! Too thin? Just whisk in a little more powdered sugar.

Once it’s looking just right, hold your cooled cake up (or just leave it on the rack with a piece of parchment underneath to catch drips!) and drizzle it back and forth in sweeping motions. It should flow beautifully over the top curve of your Bundt pan shape. Don’t worry about getting it perfect; the drips running down the sides are part of the charm!

Serving Suggestions for Fall Bliss

This cake is fantastic all by itself, honestly. The spiced swirl is so flavorful you don’t really need anything else. But if you want to make it a real centerpiece for a cozy afternoon, I highly recommend serving a slice alongside a big, steaming mug of coffee or maybe some hot apple cider. Nothing says “fall bliss” like that combination!

Because we used a tube pan, the cake naturally looks fancy, all tall and swirly. A simple dusting doesn’t require much decoration, but if you’re feeling extra enthusiastic, a few chopped pecans sprinkled right over the wet glaze make it look sophisticated and give you a nice little crunch factor. You absolutely must try a warmed-up slice; the buttery swirl just melts in your mouth!

Speaking of other spectacular fall treats, if you picked up any extra pumpkin flavor while you were shopping, you might want to check out that apple crisp cheesecake recipe I mentioned earlier!

Tips for Success with Your Irresistible Pumpkin Honey Bun Cake Recipe For Fall Bliss

Even though this Irresistible Pumpkin Honey Bun Cake Recipe For Fall Bliss is pretty straightforward, I always want to share the sneaky little things that elevate it from good to absolutely legendary. Baking is chemistry, but it’s also intuition, and these tips are all about trusting your process!

My biggest tip, which I learned baking bread with my grandpa—you can check out his methods in my piece on Grandma’s Perfect Homemade Bread—is all about how you treat your flour. Please, please do not scoop your measuring cup right into the bag of flour! That packs it down, and you end up using way too much, which is the number one reason cakes turn out dull.

Here are the three things I swear by every time I make this cake:

• Flour Lightly First: Always spoon your flour into the measuring cup and then level off the top with a knife. Seriously, it makes the difference between tender and dense!
• Don’t Peek While Baking: Resist the urge to open that oven door before the 40-minute mark. The temperature drop can cause a perfectly rising cake to fall right in the center. I know it’s hard when that amazing spice smell is pulling you toward the door, but stay strong!
• Pan Prep is Everything: Since we are using a detailed Bundt or tube pan, you need extra insurance that your cake releases cleanly. Before you grease and flour, take a tiny bit of shortening and rub it into every single nook and cranny of that pan. Then dust heavily with flour and tap out the excess. That thick layer of fat keeps the bottom and sides from grabbing onto the batter.

Follow those little details, and I guarantee your fall cake will be moist, perfectly textured, and completely irresistible!

Storage and Make-Ahead Options for This Cake

The best part about a rich, moist cake like this Irresistible Pumpkin Honey Bun Cake Recipe For Fall Bliss is that it honestly tastes even better the next day! You don’t have to worry about rushing to eat it all the moment it cools.

Since this cake has that lovely oil and pumpkin base, it stays incredibly soft at room temperature, which is where I usually keep it. You’ll want to make sure it’s fully cooled—I mean totally cool after you glaze it—before you store it. If you try to wrap it while it’s still slightly warm, you’ll trap moisture and end up making it soggy; we don’t want that!

Wrap it up tight. I usually use a large cake dome or just a big, tight-fitting lid on the plate it’s sitting on. At room temperature, covered securely, this cake stays fantastically fresh for a good three to four days. The brown sugar and spices act as little natural preservatives, too!

Now, if you happen to have leftovers after that, or if you just want to have a slice ready for next weekend, you can absolutely freeze this cake. Wait until it’s completely cooled and the glaze is firm, then wrap each slice tightly in plastic wrap, followed by a layer of aluminum foil. This double wrap stops you from getting any “freezer burn” flavors.

Frozen slices are wonderful because they thaw beautifully overnight on the counter, still tasting almost homemade. We often bake two of these cakes when the mood strikes—one for immediate eating and one for freezing for a quick holiday dessert or just an emergency craving! Just make sure you let it thaw completely before peeling off the wrapping, or condensation can ruin that beautiful glaze.

Frequently Asked Questions About the Irresistible Pumpkin Honey Bun Cake Recipe For Fall Bliss

I know you’re going to love making this cake! But sometimes you have those little nagging thoughts right before you start mixing, or maybe you’ve run into a small snag while baking. That’s what this section is for! I’ve collected the most common questions I get about ensuring this Irresistible Pumpkin Honey Bun Cake Recipe For Fall Bliss comes out perfect every single time.

If you’ve got your pumpkin bake planned, these little tips should keep you on track. And hey, if you decide you want another pumpkin adventure shortly after this one, don’t forget to check out my recipe for that incredibly fun irresistible pumpkin poke cake too!

Can I use fresh pumpkin instead of canned puree?

That’s a great question about real ingredients! Yes, you absolutely *can* use fresh pumpkin, but you have to be extremely careful with the moisture content. When you roast and puree fresh pumpkin at home, it almost always ends up being much wetter than the canned stuff we use here. If your fresh puree feels too liquidy, you’ll need to cook out some of that excess water on the stovetop until it thickens up to the consistency of the canned puree. If you don’t remove that extra water, your cake batter might end up too thin, and you risk it not setting up properly, which defeats the purpose of this lovely, dense cake!

Why is the swirl sinking to the bottom of my pumpkin cake?

Oh, I’ve seen this happen! It’s frustrating when you layer that beautiful cinnamon mixture only to find it all pooled at the bottom of the pan. Usually, this totally means your swirl mixture was too thin when you added it. Remember, our swirl is supposed to be like wet, thick sand, thanks to the melted butter holding the brown sugar and spice together. If your butter was too hot or you didn’t use enough sugar, it can run into the batter instead of staying put in ribbons. Make sure that swirl mixture is thick enough that it holds its shape when you drizzle it!

Can I bake this Irresistible Pumpkin Honey Bun Cake Recipe For Fall Bliss in a standard round pan?

You certainly can switch up your pan shape, but you have to adjust your baking approach! This recipe is calibrated perfectly for a 10-inch tube or Bundt pan, which is quite large. If you divide the batter into two standard 8-inch or 9-inch round cake pans, you’ll have much thinner layers. This means your bake time will drop significantly—probably down to about 25 to 35 minutes, but you MUST test frequently! Since the cake will be thinner, it will brown faster, so keep an eye out. You might also need to reduce the oven temperature slightly, maybe down to 325°F, just to ensure the thinner layers cook through without the edges getting crisp before the center is done.

Final Thoughts on Your Fall Baking

Okay, you’ve mixed, you’ve swirled, and that amazing pumpkin spice aroma is filling your whole house! Now that you’ve successfully made the best fall cake, I desperately want to hear all about it. Seriously, don’t just disappear after you pull this Irresistible Pumpkin Honey Bun Cake Recipe For Fall Bliss out of the oven!

Did you try the buttermilk trick? How did your swirl look? Did the glaze set up just the way you wanted? Drop a comment right down below and let me know your results! Your feedback helps other bakers who are nervously approaching this recipe for the first time.

If you posted a picture on Instagram—and you absolutely should because this cake is gorgeous—tag me! I love seeing your creations. It makes my day to know that my favorite family recipe is bringing some fall bliss into your kitchen!

And hey, if you have a major sweet tooth and you’re already thinking about what to bake next, you should totally check out that irresistible pumpkin poke cake recipe. It’s another wonderful way to use up that canned pumpkin!

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