Gluten Free Pumpkin Pound Cake

With canned pumpkin and pumpkin pie spice, this gluten free pumpkin pound cake is moist and dense and the perfect flavors of fall.

gluten free pumpkin pound cake up close on black cake stand

Who doesn’t love pound cake? A great pound cake should be dense, but very moist and flavorful. You should be able to pick up a piece of it with your hands without it falling apart.

I’ve been making my gluten free cream cheese pound cake for years, which is a great go-to dessert that always wows everyone. I usually serve it with whipped cream and fresh strawberries, which is perfect for spring or summer.

But it’s fall now and I really wanted pound cake, so I decided to see how my recipe would fare by adding pumpkin puree and pumpkin pie spice. And I’m happy to say it was delicious and the perfect addition to my fall dessert repertoire!

slice of pound cake cut and lifted out of whole cake

Ingredients in Gluten Free Pumpkin Pound Cake

Like I said, I began with my gf cream cheese pound cake and added a few things:

  • Butter–all good pound cakes begin with butter
  • Cream cheese–for this pound cake, I reduced the amount of cream cheese to make up for other additions
  • Granulated sugar–I reduced the amount of granulated sugar
  • Brown sugar–the original recipe doesn’t call for brown sugar, but I felt adding a little would be perfect with the pumpkin
  • Eggs–lots of eggs, 6 to be exact, go into this cake
  • Kim’s gluten free flour blend
  • Pumpkin puree–make sure to buy real pumpkin and not pumpkin pie filling
  • Pumpkin pie spice
  • Salt–just a dash
  • Vanilla extract

You may notice there is no chemical leavening in the form of baking soda or baking powder in this cake. That’s why so many eggs are required, and the eggs are beaten for an extended time. They take on the job of leavening in this cake all by themselves so they need as much air as possible to help that along.

overhead shot of half of pumpkin pound cake on black cake stand over white flour sack towel

Mix the Batter and Bake the Cake

First, beat the butter, cream cheese, and pumpkin puree on medium high until very light and fluffy, 5 minutes. Then add the eggs, one at a time, beating for 2 minutes after each addition. I know this sounds like a lot, but don’t cut corners here because the eggs and the air incorporated into them is what makes the cake rise.

Add the dry ingredients on low just until combined. Turn the mixer off and finish folding in the dry ingredients by hand (with a spatula). Scoop the batter into a well-greased bundt or tube pan and smooth the top. Bake the cake for 1 hour and 40 minutes (the cake is baked on a very low temperature, so it needs to be in the oven for this long).

Make the Maple Glaze

You could leave the maple glaze off the pound cake if you’d like. It doesn’t absolutely need it and is great on its own. In fact, you could serve this cake with a maple or pumpkin spice flavored softly whipped cream and it’d be delicious. However, the maple glaze and sprinkles add an extra touch that takes this gluten free pumpkin pound cake over the top. I found these cute fall sprinkles at Walmart and they are gluten free.

Whisk together the powdered sugar, maple syrup, and hot milk in a small bowl until smooth. You can also add a few drops of maple extract to boost the maple flavor if desired. I like the glaze on the thicker end of the spectrum, but feel free to add more milk to thin it out, a teaspoon at a time, until you reach your desired consistency.

pouring maple glaze on pumpkin pound cake

This gluten free pumpkin pound cake with a sweet maple glaze is easy to make, but even easier to eat!

gluten free pumpkin pound cake up close on black cake stand

Gluten Free Pumpkin Pound Cake

Kim
With canned pumpkin and pumpkin pie spice, this gluten free pumpkin pound cake is moist and dense and the perfect flavors of fall.
3.89 from 9 votes
Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 40 minutes
Total Time 2 hours 5 minutes
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Servings 16 servings

Ingredients
 

  • 1½ cups (3 sticks or 283 g) butter, softened
  • 4 ounces (113 g) cream cheese, at room temperature
  • 1 cup (240 g) pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
  • 2 cups (400 g) granulated sugar
  • 1 cup (200 g) lightly packed brown sugar
  • 6 large eggs, at room temperature
  • 3 cups (420 g) Kim's gluten free flour blend
  • 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
  • â…› tsp kosher salt
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • fall sprinkles for decorating, if desired

Maple Glaze

  • 2 cups (250 g) powdered sugar
  • 2 tbsp milk, heated in microwave to almost boiling
  • 2 tbsp pure maple syrup
  • ¼ tsp maple extract, if desired

Instructions
 

  • In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter and cream cheese with the sugars and pumpkin puree until smooth, about 5 minutes. Stop to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl halfway between creaming.
  • Add eggs, one at a time, beating for 2 minutes after each.
  • Mix the dry ingredients (flour blend, pumpkin pie spice, and salt) in a medium bowl and slowly add into the wet ingredients just to incorporate. Finish folding in the flour mixture by hand with a spatula.
  • Scoop batter into a well-greased Bundt or tube pan and smooth top. Bake at 300° F for 1 hour and 30 minutes to 1 hour and 40 minutes, or until long skewer inserted into center comes out with a few crumbs stuck to it.
  • Remove from the oven and place on wire rack to cool completely in pan. Flip over and remove from pan onto cake plate or cake stand.
  • To make the glaze, whisk all glaze ingredients together until smooth. Slowly pour over cake and let drip down the sides. Add sprinkles on top if desired.
Keyword Gluten Free, pound cake, pumpkin
Tried this recipe?Tag @letthemeatglutenfreecake on Instagram so we can see!



17 thoughts on “Gluten Free Pumpkin Pound Cake”

  • Just made this in mini fall shape tins (pumpkins, acorns) and they are awesome. Question – recipe doesn’t mention the cream cheese and vanilla in the method. I creamed with butter and sugars but wanted to ask if that was correct. Thanks!

    • Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry! Yes, you were absolutely correct and I will correct it in the recipe right now. Thank you for catching that!!

  • I made this for Thanksgiving and it was a BIG hit. Everyone raved about it and as you said in your previous response to me, it lasted beautifully in a covered cake taker. Thanks so much, Kim!!! Definitely a keeper.

  • Hi Kim, this looks amazing! I’d like to make it for Thanksgiving. If I make this 2 days in advance (and refrigerate it), do you think it will hold up okay? Thanks!

    • Absolutely! In fact, I just recently brought this up to my mother-in-law’s, which is about 8 hours away, and everyone snacked on it for at least 3 days, unrefrigerated. I kept it in a covered cake taker 🙂

  • This is a beautiful cake, and I don’t care for pumpkin, so you know it caught my eye! Do you think it might work with mashed sweet potato?

    • Girls… I’m asking the same question… what temperature do I set the oven? Only mentions baking at low temperature

      • I looked up Kim’s recipe for Cream Cheese Pound Cake that she bakes at 300 degrees for 1 & 1/2 hours. Recipe uses 6 eggs. I would appreciate an answer from Kim on the oven temp just to be sure!

        • Thanks, Doris! Yes, you were right. It was 300 degrees F. Thank you all for finding my mistake and I have since fixed it 🙂

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