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Pumpkin Ricotta Bundt Cake

I originally was going to call this Pumpkin Ricotta Bundt Cake, “Pumpkin Ricotta Custard Bundt Cake.”

Pumpkin Ricotta Bundt Cake. Pour a sweet ricotta custard over the batter before baking. It will magically bake into a lovely swirl in this delicious cake.

But, that’s a mouthful of words that doesn’t quite roll off the tongue. So, I took, “Custard,” out of the title and made peace with it. Or not.

Because custard is the highlight of this cake, the pièce de résistance. Aaand, that custard forms magically for you in the oven!

Yep! You just pour the custard on top of the cake batter and it travels nicely down to the bottom of the cake baking into lovely swirl. There’s no layering of filling and batter; just pour it on top and science takes over and does the rest of the work.

Pumpkin Ricotta Bundt Cake. Pour a sweet ricotta custard over the batter before baking. It will magically bake into a lovely swirl in this delicious cake.

Let’s back track a bit. The origin of this wonderful cake harkens back a million years when I had my first job out of college. I was in an executive training program at a large department store and my position was sales manager. I had a wonderful team of ladies that worked in my department.

They were long term, loyal employees that had probably worked at the company for more years than I was alive. Clearly, they were going to teach me more than I was ever going to teach them, and they quickly took me under their wing.

In addition to teaching me all about the product in our department, how to keep the stock boys in line and how to manage the various buyer personalities that came out to visit our store, they also liked to bake.

Pumpkin Ricotta Bundt Cake. Pour a sweet ricotta custard over the batter before baking. It will magically bake into a lovely swirl in this delicious cake.

There was one woman, another old timer from one of the other nearby departments, that baked a ricotta cake for some event we were having. It was a yellow cake with a layer of the most delicious custard.

I had never had anything like it up to that point! I was in love. When I found out it was made with a yellow box cake mix and just a few extra ingredients, my single girl working 60-70 hours a week self was sold.

If I ever needed to bring a quick, yet impressive cake somewhere, that cake was certainly going to become a go to recipe for me. And so it did. And every time I brought it somewhere, I was asked for the recipe. Every. Single. Time.

Pumpkin Ricotta Bundt Cake. Pour a sweet ricotta custard over the batter before baking. It will magically bake into a lovely swirl in this delicious cake.

Then my sister in law asked for the recipe. I think she started making it at Christmas and maybe for some other events.

When I would see it on her dessert table, my eyes would always light up and I knew that I had to save room for a slice of it, regardless of what other treats might be gracing her spread of delicious desserts.

At some point I realized that I wasn’t making it at all anymore. What happened? I was too busy testing other recipes and working on ideas for the blog.

Pumpkin Ricotta Bundt Cake. Pour a sweet ricotta custard over the batter before baking. It will magically bake into a lovely swirl in this delicious cake.

And then I came up with an idea…what if I made a pumpkin version? I figured, how hard could it be? All I needed was a good pumpkin cake recipe. Piece. Of. Cake. *car brakes screeching to a halt* Or maybe not.

Pumpkin Ricotta Bundt Cake. Pour a sweet ricotta custard over the batter before baking. It will magically bake into a lovely swirl in this delicious cake.

Maybe the first cake I made was not partially raw when I cut into it. Maybe I didn’t then cut slices of said cake and bake them again so that they could fully cook… and then offer the now toasted slices of cake to my family. Ugh!

Oh, now don’t feel sorry for them. It was a strange twice baked cake creation, but some of them actually asked for seconds! Clearly, though, that concoction was not going to be bloggable.

It’s the pumpkin, I tell you! Pumpkin always changes the texture of a recipe (#sconegoals) and now that I was combining it with a custard, I had twice the challenge.

Pumpkin Ricotta Bundt Cake. Pour a sweet ricotta custard over the batter before baking. It will magically bake into a lovely swirl in this delicious cake.

I’ll skip the trials and tribulations of the following test rounds of cake batter that were simply too moist to handle the addition of custard, and instead tell you that I just ended up going back to a favorite tried and true recipe hoping that it would work with my custard.

I even changed the recipe for the custard just to insure my success. (To be honest, I was simply trying to create a recipe that used a full can of pumpkin so I wouldn’t leave you any leftovers, but it was a no go. #good intentions)

Pumpkin Ricotta Bundt Cake. Pour a sweet ricotta custard over the batter before baking. It will magically bake into a lovely swirl in this delicious cake.

You might think that my family was sick of pumpkin cake. I know I was. I had already planned to give at least half of the final and successful cake away to friends. After photographing it, I headed out for an evening meeting, leaving my family home to test the latest cake.

When I got home, I asked how the cake was. My husband told me they ate half of it. What?!? That’s insane! See what happens when I leave, letting go of all of the mighty control I exert over the household every day? ;)

Oh, and then they told me they didn’t want to give any of it away. Yep, I’m outing my family…specifically my husband, because there’s at least one person who now knows she got cheated out of some cake :)

The cake itself is tender and moist. It’s not super fluffy, and it’s just gently spiced. I’ll add notes to the recipe if you want to add more spice, but the lack of a strong spice profile really does make this a little more mass appeal.

It’s kind of like pumpkin cake rolls; they never seem to be strongly spiced. I’m going to try it with a little more spice and some orange zest the next time around, though. Just for fun.

Pumpkin Ricotta Bundt Cake. Pour a sweet ricotta custard over the batter before baking. It will magically bake into a lovely swirl in this delicious cake.

Because the custard is so moist, the edges where the custard meets the cake batter, even when fully baked, will be a little like pumpkin pie. In fact, one of my taste testers thought the cake should be called a “pie” cake.

But that would be yet another word that would make the title rather unwieldy to repeat. Pumpkin Ricotta Custard Bundt Pie Cake? Pumpkin Ricotta Custard Bundt Cake? Yeah. No.

I think Pumpkin Ricotta Bundt Cake is enough. I’ll probably leave off the bundt part of the name in regular use and just call it Pumpkin Ricotta Cake. It doesn’t really matter what you call it…because in a word?

Pumpkin Ricotta Bundt Cake. Pour a sweet ricotta custard over the batter before baking. It will magically bake into a lovely swirl in this delicious cake.

It’s delicious! :)

Pumpkin Ricotta Bundt Cake. Pour a sweet ricotta custard over the batter before baking. It will magically bake into a lovely swirl in this delicious cake.

Pumpkin Ricotta Bundt Cake

Yield: 12 -16 slices

In this cake, a delicious ricotta custard is poured over pumpkin cake batter and bakes into a delicious cheese layer within the cake. How much your custard layer "sinks" into the cake will depend upon the consistency of your pumpkin puree. Check recipe notes before beginning for best results.

Ingredients

For the cake:

  • 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 3/4 teaspoon ground all spice
  • 1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
  • 1 1/4 cups sugar
  • 1 cup 2 sticks or 1/2 pound unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 3 large eggs, room temperature
  • 1 1/4 cups pureed pumpkin, not pumpkin pie filling, see recipe notes on consistency
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 3/4 cup buttermilk

For the filling:

  • 1 pound ricotta cheese, I used part skim from Belgioiso
  • 2 large eggs
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla
  • 2 Tablespoons flour
  • confectioner's sugar for topping

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a bundt pan, tapping out excess flour or see notes for a super easy way to do this. Adjust oven rack down to the bottom third of the oven. For me, this is just one level down from the center.
  2. Make the cake. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, all spice and nutmeg. Set aside.
  3. In a medium bowl, whisk together pumpkin, vanilla and buttermilk until fully combined. I like to do this in a large liquid measuring cup for easy pouring. Set aside.
  4. In a large mixing bowl, beat butter and sugar with an electric mixer until pale and fluffy, about 3-5 minutes. Add eggs one at a time mixing until incorporated after each addition.
  5. Alternate adding flour and pumpkin mixture to the butter mixture (1/3 flour, 1/2 pumpkin , 1/3 flour, 1/2 pumpkin, 1/3 flour) mixing until just combined after each addition. Scrape the sides of the bowl as necessary.
  6. Pour batter into prepared bundt pan.
  7. Make the filling. In a medium bowl or large liquid measuring cup, combine ricotta, eggs, sugar, vanilla and 2 Tablespoons of flour. Whisk until thoroughly combined. Carefully pour all over the top of the cake batter in the bundt pan. Jiggle the pan a bit to even out the cheese mixture, if necessary.
  8. Bake for 55-60 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove from oven and allow to cool for 15 minutes in the pan.
  9. Place a cooling rack on top of the cake and flip cake over and out onto rack. Allow to cool, then dust with powdered sugar before serving.

Notes

*For an easy way to grease/flour your bundt pan, melt 1 Tablespoon of butter and mix with 1 Tablespoon of flour until combined into a paste. Use a pastry brush to apply paste to all the ridges, nooks and crannies of your pan making sure to coat all of the sides as well as the center tube.

*Cake should be stored in refrigerator. My family prefered it cold, but it gets too dense for me when it's cold. If it has been stored in the refrigerator, I would allow it to come to room temperature before serving, although my favorite way to eat it is heating up a slice for just a few seconds in the microwave. It becomes really soft and kind of fluffy when it's warm. Love it!

*If you want to add more spice, I would increase cinnamon to 2 teaspoons and add 1/2 teaspoon of ground ginger and 1/8 teaspoon cloves. Love ginger? Don't increase cinnamon and add a full teaspoon of ginger instead. Or skip all of the spices and replace with 3 teaspoons of pumpkin pie spice. I also think adding the zest of 1/2 an orange would taste amazing. My advice is to try it first as the recipe is written, so that you have an idea of how much you'd like to adjust. It's really wonderful as is, though.

*My bundt pan is about 10" across and about 3 3/4" tall. I've made the original recipe in a 13 x 9" pan, but I haven't tried this pumpkin version in that sized pan so I'm not sure if it works well or not. Sometimes recipes translate to other sized pans, sometimes they don't.

*If you want to try the original recipe, just prepare a boxed yellow cake mix as directed. Spread the batter in a bundt or 13 X 9 pan (well greased and floured) and pour custard mixture over the batter. Bake at 350 for 50-55 minutes. In this version, the custard will sink completely to the bottom instead of forming that "filling" effect that you see with the pumpkin version.

*UPDATE 9/23/18-Some readers have had issues with their cheese filling not properly sinking to the bottom of the cake while baking. I think this is due to different moisture levels in pumpkin puree which subsequently affects how thick the cake batter ends up. My puree had more water content and was more on the loose side, like very thick baby food, instead of very thick. If your puree is very thick, I would remove a Tablespoon of the puree and replace it with a Tablespoon of buttermilk to loosen it up just a little. Then check it for consistency. You can sub out another Tablespoon if you need to before you mix it into the batter. Results will vary on how much your cheese filling sinks, but regardless of what position it ends up in, the cake will still taste delicious.

Base cake recipe adapted from Two Peas and Their Pod via Epicurious

The Merchant Baker Copyright © 2016

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Cathy

Friday 18th of November 2022

Thank you for a very good, easy to follow, cake recipe, delicious, moist, not too sweet. Easy to follow and the cake came out looking exactly like the picture. It did need to bake for an additional 15 minutes for the toothpick to come out clean. It released perfectly from my antique (bare alluminum) bundt pan with no issues. (I chill the clean pan in the fridge for about 30 minutes, carefully paint on melted butter, return to the fridge for 5-10 minutes, then carefully paint on melted butter & flour paste, & return to fridge until the batter is ready to put in.) I did add about 1/2 tsp ground ginger for a more traditional "pumpkin spice" flavor. I'm sure it would be just fine without. I followed the directions regarding cooling. I'll be making it again to bring to a holiday potluck.

Cathy

Saturday 19th of November 2022

@Ramona, This morning I realized that I forgot to state that I had substituted organic canola oil for the butter. Beat egg and sugar together, then beat in oil. Continue as instructed in your recipe. (I've been trying to cut back on some animal fat.) Very good cake! Thank you.

Ramona

Friday 18th of November 2022

Cathy, you're welcome! I'm happy to hear that it worked out so well for you :) As far added spices, I'm glad you adjusted the recipe to suit your spice level. I do the same thing with my recipes depending upon my mood. Sometimes I want a lot more spice than I have in my recipe and I just go ahead and add more. Other times, I know that I have people I'm serving that prefer a milder spice profile. Of course, ovens vary but I'm wondering if your cake needed the extra time because the pan started out cold? In any case, you proved once again that time stated in a recipe is a guideline and you have to check doneness in other ways because there are other variables involved. I AM thrilled to hear that your ricotta mixture sunk into the cake as pictured. I know that not everyone gets the same result. The good news is that whether that filling sinks or not, it doesn't affect the delicious flavor of the cake. Thanks for all the wonderful feedback!

Marilou

Friday 7th of October 2022

Made this cake last week as a pre-trial for Canadian Thanksgiving. Didn't get a full sinking. But the effect was an interesting "marbling". The taste was really good. So it is on the menu for this weekend's family gathering. Thanks for a good and well-written recipe!!!

Ramona

Saturday 8th of October 2022

Hi Marilou, I admit the results can be variable. I think it has to do with the texture of the pumpkin puree and how thick or thin it is. I find variations even in the same brand. I'm glad the flavor was a winner and that you have something you know you'll enjoy for your holiday meal :)

Audri

Sunday 6th of February 2022

We LOVE this cake! Made this for the first time and it was good; my grands enjoyed it and asked me to make it again ‘cause they were ‘all out of yummy dessert’. Made this again today and added a bit more cinnamon, bit of nutmeg and ginger! Rating by grands ‘amazing’! ( and the ricotta custard was so yummy)

Thankyou for this recipe…it’s a keeper!

Ramona

Monday 7th of February 2022

Hi Audri, you're welcome! I'm thrilled to hear that you and your family are enjoying it so much. I do love a spiced up cake, so I'm sure the additional spice was delicious!

beks

Friday 26th of November 2021

This was so good! Thanks for sharing. I added walnuts to the batter and increased the amount of spices + cardamom. Delish. I also used monk fruit sweetener to cut back on the sugar

Ramona

Saturday 27th of November 2021

Love your additions! I adore nuts in pretty much everything! Thanks for the great feedback, Beks!

Shauna

Thursday 23rd of September 2021

I baked for an hour and cooled for 15, went to flip and it wasn't done and made a terrible mess. :( just put it back in to see if I can finish baking it. I wonder if my oven isn't properly heating but I've never had any problems before.

Ramona

Friday 24th of September 2021

Hi Shauna, it is possible that your oven temp is off a bit. I find that it's good to get an oven thermometer to make sure the temp is accurate. I make sure my oven is at the temperature I state in the recipe so that I can give the most accurate bake time. Pan size can also affect how much time is needed. The only other thing I can imagine is maybe your ricotta was very wet and made the batter too wet? Because there are variables involved in everyone's home kitchen, I would definitely do the toothpick test to make sure your cake is done before removing from the oven. I'm sorry you had a messy experience. It can be really frustrating especially after all your efforts. I hope the additional bake time saved your cake this time and I hope the toothpick test will save your cake next time.

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