Name: Chocolate Pumpkin Bundt Cake
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 40 min
Ingredients: 1 box chocolate cake mix ((15.25 ounces)); 4 large eggs; 1 cup pumpkin puree; 1/2 cup granulated sugar; 1/2 cup oil; 1/4 cup water; 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon; 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg; Powdered sugar

There has never been an easier way to bake with pumpkin! Semi-homemade chocolate pumpkin bundt cake with a sprinkling of powdered sugar. It’s easy for the kids to help with!

Do you guys love chocolate and pumpkin as much as we do? Make a tall layer cake, a pumpkin torte, or an easy coffee cake with the flavors of chocolate and pumpkin…and count us IN.

slice of Pumpkin Chocolate Bundt Cake on a spatula

When fall hits I want all of the pumpkin things. Even when I’m craving chocolate, I want pumpkin with it! This easy pumpkin bundt cake starts with a chocolate cake mix to ensure success. Let’s talk about how to make it!

Do pumpkin and chocolate go together?

Definitely! It’s actually a matter of preference. When we share chocolate pumpkin recipes we often get very mixed reviews. Some don’t think they go together, and some do.

We like to put the two together. The pumpkin adds a simple richness and moistness to chocolate cake…and chocolate adds sweetness to pumpkin.

If you’ve never tried the flavor combination, give it a try. You just might like it!

overheat shot of Pumpkin Chocolate Bundt Cake

What is a bundt cake?

Bundt cakes are traditionally baked in molded pans. Nordic Ware popularized the bundt pans back in the 50’s and 60’s.

You can read the word etymology on Wikipedia, which talks about bundt cakes coming from a popular Jewish cake called Bundkuchen. “kuchen” means “cake” and from that you can see where we may have gotten “bundt cake”.

I’m not a historian and depend 100% on others for knowing the history of our favorite cakes. I’d love to hear from you if you have more information on this popular cake!

What size is a standard bundt cake pan?

Most bundt cake recipes use either a 10 or 12 cup bundt cake pan. If you don’t want to have several sizes of pans, I’d recommend buying a 12 cup pan so that the batter is sure to fit.

If you have a recipe that ends up with too much batter for your pan, just put the extra batter in a cupcake tin or even a small loaf pan. Then you can eat that cake and save the bundt cake for your family. 🙂

How to Make Chocolate Pumpkin Bundt Cake

This cake starts with a box cake mix which gives it a good foundation. It’s a great cake for kids to help with since box cake mixes are hard to mess up!

Preheat oven to 350º Fahrenheit.
Grease and flour a bundt cake pan.
Mix chocolate cake mix, eggs, pumpkin puree, sugar, oil, water, cinnamon, and nutmeg together in a bowl. Beat well.
Pour the batter into the prepared bundt cake pan.
Bake in the preheated oven for about 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Cool the cake for 10 minutes in the pan, then turn it out onto a cake plate to cool completely.
Once the cake is cool, dust it with powdered sugar.
Store the cake covered at room temperature.

How to Cool a Bundt Cake

It’s important to allow a bundt cake to cool slightly before removing it from the pan, but how exactly do you do that?

Set the bundt cake pan on a wire rack to cool for about 10 minutes. If the recipes calls for cooling it in the pan longer, definitely follow that. However, if the recipe does not specify, you’ll want to turn it out of the cake pan onto a cake plate after about 10 minutes so it doesn’t stick in the pan.

Chocolate Pumpkin Bundt Cake Recipe {Easy Semi-Homemade Cake}

How do you get a bundt cake out of the pan?

Sometimes, even if you are careful not to let the cake cool to long, the cake may stick. Preventing a cake from sticking to the pan usually happens BEFORE the cake even goes in the oven.

Use cake release. This 3 ingredient formula works great nearly every time.
Use Bake Easy non-stick spray. People LOVE this stuff and swear it works beautifully!
Loosen the edge of the cake from the pan with a long knife before you turn it onto a plate.

Other Bundt Cake Recipes

Tools to Make Bundt Cake

Bundt Cake Pan: This is a classic, must-have kitchen tool.
Bundt Cake Carrier: Store your cake in this carrier to keep it fresh and easy to transport!
Cake Plate: I have this cake plate and everyone loves it! It comes with the cute server too.