Flavors abound in this moist Pumpkin Spice Cream Cheese Pound Cake with tart cranberries, warm cinnamon, exotic cardamom, and a cream cheese center.

With great appreciation, this fall cake recipe courtesy of our friends at Eating Well Magazine!

It’s fall y’all, and fall cakes are gracing the cover of every magazine, luring us in to browse delicious fall cake recipes and take comfort in nesting at home.

Cakes for autumn always stop me in my tracks. Or should I be more accurate in saying that the flavor of cakes baked up during this special season are what inspire my days and prompt my experiments in the kitchen?

How This Recipe Came About…

With great appreciation, this fall cake recipe comes today by way of our friends at Eating Well Magazine. Their interpretation of what would otherwise be a sugar-laden dessert, simply eliminates the typical butter and and white flour conundrum.

Instead, they replace with ingredients such as unsweetened applesauce and whole wheat pastry flour. The result is nothing short of magnificent!

Ingredients for Pumpkin Spice Cream Cheese Pound Cake

• cream cheese
• granulated sugar
• eggs
• ground cardamom
• lemon juice
• vanilla extract
• all purpose flour
• whole wheat pastry flour, NOT whole wheat flour
• ground cinnamon
• baking soda
• baking powder
• salt
• canned pumpkin puree, NOT pumpkin pie filling
• unsweetened applesauce
• light or dark brown sugar
• fresh cranberries

What Is The Difference Between Whole Wheat Flour And Whole Wheat Pastry Flour?

…and there IS A DIFFERENCE. Whole wheat pastry flour has a low protein and low gluten content. It is not gluten free, however because gluten affects the texture of the flour, whole wheat pastry flour is lighter as compared to whole wheat flour.

Whole wheat flour is obtained by grinding hard wheat. It has a high 14% protein content. You can’t substitute whole wheat flour in equal measures as it contains more protein and is heavier.

The difference between the gluten levels of whole wheat flour and whole wheat pastry flour also affects their overall structure and elasticity. The takeaway? Do not use whole wheat flour as a substitute for whole wheat pastry flour in your bakes unless you want a rubbery cake or bread!

How To Make Pumpkin Spice Cake?

The first time I approached this pumpkin cake, I noticed that it’s assembled first in three easy parts in three mixing bowls. Cake recipes like this Bundt cake are nice when they are this straightforward. Easy assembly, and super easy cleanup. Bam.

You must begin with room temperature cream cheese and room temperature eggs. It’s just how it is folks, otherwise it makes for some very difficult mixing of your ingredients. Once the cream cheese, sugar, aromatics, and an egg are creamed, the dry ingredients are whisked in bowl number two.

Now the fun begins. Unsweetened applesauce, two sugars, eggs, and the entire can of pumpkin puree are combined until they are ultra smooth. The dry ingredient mixture is added and stirred until only just combined, then in go the cranberries.

Half of this cake batter will be scraped into the bottom of a prepared Bundt pan, and a ‘dip’ or well made gently with the back of a spoon around the whole cylinder. The cream cheese mixture is poured into that well, and the remaining cake batter spooned over top.

That’s it. It’s that easy, and what bakes up is an entirely applause-worthy moist bake that will take your breath away. Dress it with a sweet glaze, cream cheese frosting, or as I’ve done here, with just some cranberry halves that I have taken care to sugar.

What Can I Substitute For Cranberries In This Fall Cake Recipe?

In this recipe, if you absolutely had to sub the cranberries out, I would consider chopped apple, walnuts, pecans, or even chocolate chips. Any that I’ve mentioned would work well with a bit of a caramel drizzle making this a fabulous pumpkin caramel apple cake.

If you wanted to stick with fresh ingredients, shredded carrot or fresh raspberries might be nice. I also have a strong idea that toffee chips baked into the cake would be outstanding, although I have yet to try this myself.

What Can I Substitute For Pumpkin Puree In This Fall Cake Recipe?

First and foremost, this is a pumpkin spice cake recipe. Swapping out any other ingredient will mean altered bake times and the like, so only do this if you are a somewhat experienced baker.

That said, I imagine sweet potato would offer similar flavor and texture here, however not the same amount of moisture which is why I like the pumpkin. But a sweet potato cake mustn’t be discounted if a pumpkin pound cake just isn’t your jam.

Substitute equal measure of pureed sweet potato, unsweetened, for the pumpkin puree in this method. If using sweet potato, begin testing for doneness at 40 minutes.

Can The Cream Cheese Layer Be Omitted?

Yes, but give this careful consideration. The cream cheese layer is laden with cardamom which is a key cake flavor in this recipe. The cream cheese layer also breaks up the pumpkin layers very gracefully which is absolutely necessary.

If you had to omit the cream cheese layer, I might then suggest looking elsewhere for a basic pumpkin sheet cake recipe, as the method would befit the bake time and not have to allow for modifications.

How Long Does This Fall Cake Recipe Take to Make?

From start to finish, plan on one hour and fifteen minutes. The prep time doesn’t take too much effort, but the bake must go in a 350°F for nearly 50 minutes, more if necessary.

What To Drink with Autumn Cakes?

Funny enough, I prepared an Indonesian coffee with cardamom and ginger for sampling with this cake. The match was PERFECT. Flavored cakes go great with aromatic coffees, hot or chilled.

In this case, several crushed cardamom pods and a big knob of smashed ginger are lending warmth to this already hot cuppa. The match is unbelievable.

Other beverages to consider would be hot mulled wine, hot mulled cider, or a lovely spiked Chai tea latte.

Recipe FAQs

More Delicious Autumn Cake Recipes!

• Cinnamon Swirl Toasted Pecan Bundt Cake
• Insanely Delicious Cinnamon Roll Cake With Apples And Pecans
• Apple Cream Cheese Bundt Cake
• Cast Iron Cranberry Brown Sugar Cake
• Pistachio-Cardamom Bundt with Rosewater Glaze
• Magic Cake With Autumn Apples

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