Pumpkin Bundt Cake with Date Caramel Sauce

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Pumpkin Bundt Cake is all about fall! Spicy, sweet, filled with apples, pecans,  and dripping with a Medjool date caramel topping. This recipe is plant-based, and dairy and egg-free. Enjoy this pumpkin bundt cake for breakfast or on a lazy afternoon with a cup of coffee. This seasonal cake is perfect to take and share. Trust me, it’s that good!

Raise your hand if you sometimes like a little something sweet for breakfast! (Raising my hand…) Notice, I said a *little* something sweet. Because this pumpkin bundt cake is not overly sweet, it’s perfect for breakfast, brunch, or to enjoy with your afternoon coffee. Bursting with pumpkin, apple, and caramel goodness; it hits the spot.

For some other great seasonal breakfast or brunch ideas, try my Puff Pastry Apple Cranberry Strudel, Apple Dumplings Made in the Instant Pot, or Pumpkin Spice Crescent Rolls. Check out this post with all the vegan pumpkin recipes – both sweet and savory – from Veggie Fun Kitchen!

And if you are just looking for more vegan pumpkin yummy sweets, try:

• Vegan Pumpkin Pie with Cashew Creme
• Pumpkin Bundt Cake with (Vegan) Cream Cheese Filling
• Pumpkin Muffins with Pecans
• Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies – Just Like Grandma’s
• Baked Pumpkin Spice Donuts

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Ingredients needed to make apple pumpkin bundt cake:

• coconut sugar
• all-purpose flour
•  salt for the cake and for the caramel date sauce
• baking Soda
• baking powder
• pumpkin pie spice
• ground cinnamon
• pumpkin puree NOT premixed pumpkin pie filling
• vanilla extract (used for the cake as well as the date caramel sauce)
• apple cider vinegar
• plant milk – I use vanilla almond milk for extra yumminess (use for cake as well as for caramel sauce)
• pure maple syrup
• vegetable oil 
• Medjool dates pitted and soaked in hot water
• You will also need a basic bundt pan

How to make the best apple pumpkin bundt cake

Step 1: Prepare the ingredients

Preheat the oven to 350°. Grease and flour your bundt pan. It’s best to use a simple bundt pan for this recipe or even a tube pan. The chunky fruit might stick to the sides as it cooks and it’s much easier to release the cake from the pan if there aren’t too many nooks and crannies.

Mix the apple cider vinegar and plant milk together and let the mixture sit while you are preparing the other ingredients. This makes a “sour milk” and will help with depth of flavor and with rising.

Peel and chop the apples. This recipe calls for two apples and I always use two different kinds for flavor variety – usually a Granny Smith and then a sweeter red or yellow apple. Peel and chop the apples into small bite-sized pieces.

Chop the pecans if they are not already chopped. You could also use walnuts in this cake if you prefer – but pecans make me happier than walnuts do!

Step 2: The dry ingredients

Mix together the dry ingredients ensuring no clumps. Once you mix the wet ingredients into the dry, you only want to mix enough to moisten well.

If you don’t have coconut sugar you can swap it for white or brown sugar. Brown sugar is more similar in flavor but holds a little extra moisture. This cake is plenty moist without any extra added in. So be aware it might take a little longer to bake. White sugar is an easy swap but lacks the depth of flavor – it’s just sweet.

I do recommend using coconut sugar in this recipe. You can find it on your grocer’s shelf near the sugars – or sometime near the organic or health foods. Or you can buy coconut sugar on Amazon if you are having trouble finding it.

Step 3: The wet ingredients

Mix together the wet ingredients including the soured plant milk and the canned pumpkin. Make sure to buy canned pumpkin puree – not the premixed pumpkin pie filling.

If you want to make your own pumpkin puree, make sure to use the best pumpkin for the job. Don’t use the same type of pumpkin you carve into a jack-o-lantern. Use a sugar pumpkin or something similar instead. This post about making pumpkin puree from Old World Garden Farms gives the best options.

Step 4: Mixing it together

Mix together the dry and wet ingredients. I like to put the dry ingredients in a large bowl and pour the wet ingredients into the dry.

Fold in the chopped apples and pecans. This is why it’s important to have them chopped and prepared ahead of time. Mix with a large spoon until everything is mixed together and moistened. You don’t want to mix any longer than necessary.

Step 5: Bake and cool

Place your bundt cake into a preheated oven. I like to place it on a cookie sheet on the center rack. This bundt cake is very dense and will take an hour to bake – maybe a little longer. I’ve adjusted the ingredients because a reader was having difficulty and emailed me. (Thank you, Kate!) But have now cooked this recipe 3 times today to make sure!

You will know when it’s done because the top will be browned and when pressed slightly, will rebound.

Take it out of the oven on the cookie sheet. Allow to set on a cooling rack for about ten minutes. Carefully turn it onto the cooling rack. If it doesn’t come out immediately then give it a bang and let gravity take its course. If you have properly greased and floured your pan and checked for any spots you missed, you should not have any trouble.

The Medjool Date Caramel Sauce

While the cake is cooking, you will have time to make the Medjool date caramel sauce. Medjool dates make a thick plant-based caramel sauce. Try my Coconut Date Syrup poured on top of a thick stack of Banana Nut Pancakes.

Not familiar with Medjool dates yet? You are in for a yummy surprise! Read 13 Surprising Facts About Medjool Dates )and How to Cook with Them).

Use 18 pitted Medjool dates. Soak the pitted dates in hot water for about 30 minutes while the cake is cooking. Simply drain and blend in a high-speed blender along with almond milk, vanilla, and a little salt.

 Here is a trick I use to get the caramel sauce to look “drizzled” and not glopped on: I put it in a pastry bag and simply squeeze it out where I want it to go.

Serving suggestions

Top with chopped pecans and some golden sugar sprinkles for fun and this cake is ready to go! This pumpkin bundt cake is best warmed up and deliciously served with a cup of coffee or hot tea.

Another icing alternative

You could also pour a rich butter glaze over the top instead of the caramel date sauce. Try my Classic Buttery Donut Glaze, Browned Butter Glaze, Brown Sugar Cinnamon Glaze, or Maple Glaze (coming soon

SPECIAL NOTE ABOUT THE OIL:

Many of my recipes are oil-free, yet this pumpkin bundt cake recipe does contain oil. Honestly, the taste and texture of this cake are better when made with a little oil. When I make this cake to take and share with others, I want it to be the tastiest it can be. Vegan food can already feel like foreign territory to people who don’t eat this way. I want my friends to talk about how awesome my plant-based food is and ask for the recipe.

If you want to make it oil-free, then sub in your favorite fruit puree. I suggest unsweetened apple sauce for this cake. It will be moist and delicious!

Can’t find pumpkin pie spice?

Make your own homemade pumpkin pie spice – it’s so easy!

The printable recipe card for apple pumpkin bundt cake

Did you love this recipe? Want to share the love? It would thrill me to no end if you could leave five ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ stars and even a comment. Did you know that this will help google to find this recipe when others are looking for something similar? Thanks, Cindy