Bourbon Pumpkin Gingerbread Bundt Cake (Gluten-Free Option)
Originally posted October 2021. Updated August 2026.
It’s October – the season of fall foliage, frost on the windshield, and the Christmas decorations Halloween candy in the stores. October makes me think of fresh gingerbread cookies and hot toddies because they wrap you in a warm spicy hug. It’s also the season of winter squash and pumpkins. Which is why, I’ve decided to bring you a warm, spicy Bourbon Pumpkin Gingerbread Bundt Cake with a Goat Cheese Frosting.
The hubby loved it so much, he’s been trying to steal the rest of it to take to work to share with his coworkers. But I’m still clinging to the rest because it’s so freaking GOOD. Spicy, sweet, making me sigh with each bite and wanting just one more.
Gingerbread Meets Pumpkin (With a Splash of Bourbon)
Most fall cakes like this are either gingerbread or pumpkin with fall spices (quite often pumpkin pie spice). But I wanted to combine the two flavors and bring in a deeper, darker warmth that just sings fall in this Bourbon Pumpkin Gingerbread Bundt Cake. Plus, a hint of real Southern flavor with bourbon tying it all together. While I’m not a huge fan of drinking bourbon, I adore the taste it adds to food.
The advantage to adding pumpkin is that it keeps the cake moist rather than dry. And bundt cakes do tend to lean towards dry. But this one holds the moisture. What’s even better is all the warming spices, cinnamon, ginger, allspice, cloves, and cardamom. These are the backbone of gingerbread. And the bourbon isn’t about making it a boozy cake. It’s about the low, caramel and vanilla warmth everything. The thing that keeps people coming back for more.
Then pairing these flavors with the tang of goat cheese frosting? It just brings it all together without dropping into being too-sweet. Spicy-warm with bright, tangy frosting.
How to Make Homemade Pumpkin Puree
You can buy your pumpkin puree, BUT canned ones really don’t have the taste and flavor fresh pumpkin puree has. Oven roasting gives a much deeper caramelized taste, you don’t get from canned which is boiled. Plus, fresh is so easy to make. Get all the details for making yours at home over on my Pumpkin Pie recipe.
You can peel it, chop into cubes, pop it into a pot, covered with water and boil until tender (my least favorite because it’s a bit watery). Then there’s the microwave way. Either half it and pop in whole, cooking until tender or you can peel and cube it, cooking until tender. Or you can toss it into a pressure cooker or the Instant Pot for the short cut (boiled, not roasted). Or you can use the Instant Pot, like Fork in the Road did. Finally, there’s my favorite way.
Slowly roasting in the oven allows time for the sugars to caramelize and makes for such a delicious puree. Cut your pumpkin (or winter squash) in half, place on a baking sheet, and bake in a 325°F (160°C) oven until soft. I was able to get about four cups of pumpkin puree from a small pie pumpkin.
Btw, I use pumpkin and winter squash interchangeably in this cake. Here in Portugal it’s harder to get actual pumpkin, so I use winter squash which is readily available. Butternut squash is sweet enough to use on it’s own as a straight substitute but for the less sweet winter squash, I add a bit of sweet potato to make it sweet enough.
Bourbon Pumpkin Gingerbread Bundt Cake Gluten-Free Option
You know I LOVE to using Bobs Red Mill Gluten Free 1 to 1 All Purpose Flour. You would think I’m sponsored by them, I mention them so often, but I’m NOT. It’s an awesome product because you can easily substitute it without adding a lot of other ingredients. And the texture and taste stay mostly the same, which is a huge plus for me.
Don’t Skimp on the Spices
This is a 5-spice gingerbread — cinnamon, ginger, allspice, cloves, and cardamom — plus fresh grated ginger on top of the ground. It brings a bright ginger to it. I know it sounds like a lot, but I really wanted the spices to come through on this and shine. They aren’t just a supporting roll. They are a starring ingredient.
The fresh ginger is worth the extra grating; it brings a brighter, sharper heat that ground ginger alone can’t. And cardamom is the quiet one doing a lot of work, adding a floral, almost citrusy warmth that makes people ask what’s in it. It’s something not in most gingerbreads. If you’re going to leave anything out, don’t make it the cardamom.
Do double check that your spices are fresh. Since these are fall flavors, you might not have been using them since last fall. You tell from opening the bottle and smelling them. If they don’t have a scent or it’s very faint, it’s time to toss them and get new ones. For even deeper flavor, buy whole ones and grind your own. But either way is good.
Why Goat Cheese Frosting?
I know goat cheese frosting sounds unexpected on a dessert, but you really want to keep an open mind on this one until you’ve tried it. It’s the same texture as cream cheese frosting, the same as on a carrot cake. Goat cheese brings a bright, earthy tang that cream cheese doesn’t have for this Bourbon Pumpkin Gingerbread Bundt Cake. It stands up well to the warm spices, pumpkin, and bourbon. Adding rather than just accompanying. And together they are all gorgeous and have you reaching for the next slice.
It’s also easy to frost the bundt, by warming the whipped frosting slightly, just enough to make it pourable. Then pour over the cake and allow it to drip and run down the ridges. If you want to spread with knife, keep it at room temp and spread over the cake.
Make-Ahead and Storage
This is one of those cakes that just gets better with aging. The flavor deepens over a day or two as the spices settle. And the pumpkin keeps it from drying out. It makes it perfect for the holidays when having something nice to serve when guests show up. It also makes a good dish to carry to family meals at other homes or to give as a gift.
To make ahead: bake and cool the unfrosted cake, wrap it well, and keep it at room temperature for up to 3 to 4 days. Frost the day you serve for the freshest look, or store it already frosted in the fridge. Always bring it to room temp before serving. Cold makes the spices and bourbon flavors taste dull.
To freeze: wrap the fully cooled, unfrosted cake in parchment and then plastic wrap and freeze up to a month. Thaw overnight, then frost. Bundts freeze beautifully because the dense, moist crumb holds up, and of course, it gives time for the flavors to meld, just another reason this is my kind of make-ahead dessert.
Bourbon Pumpkin Gingerbread Bundt Cake Substitutes
As I’ve already mentioned, you can use any winter squash in the place of the pumpkin. And if you don’t happen to have bourbon, you can use rum or apple cider instead. Personally, the hard stuff will give a better taste, but the regular cider will work as well. Also, if you’re not a fan of goat cheese, just add an equal amount of cream cheese.
I used toasted walnuts on top of the cake. But pecans, dried cranberries or cherries, or even golden raisins would be lovely here.
A slice of this with a cup of milk is my perfect fall afternoon (the hubby loves it with coffee). It earns it place as a holiday dessert as well, right next to the pie for Thanksgiving or even Christmas. If you want to dress it up, scatter a few toasted walnuts and/or some dried cranberries over the frosting, even a touch of fresh rosemary sprigs or leaves.
And if you love cinnamon rolls, then try these lovely fall Apple and Pear Cinnamon Rolls with Candied Pecans and a Brown Sugar Bourbon Glaze. Do you have a favorite recipe that uses bourbon or fall flavors? Let me know in the comments. And if you have questions, drop them there as well.
RECOMMENDED INGREDIENTS & TOOLS
- Bundt Pan — Good bakeware is the key to the best baked goods, and having a heavy nonstick Bundt pan that doesn’t warp makes prettier cakes. This one is my favorite.
- Molasses — The backbone of gingerbread flavor, it’s not gingerbread without it. Personally, I prefer blackstrap but it is a very deep dark flavor. Most people prefer the regular molasses which is sweeter. And always use unsulphured for a cleaner taste.
- Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1 Gluten-Free Flour — Want your cake to be gluten-free? I use Bob’s Red Mill in all my bake goods that I switch out to gluten-free. It’s so easy and a direct equal ratio of 1 to 1 substitute.
- Soft Goat Cheese — I use the soft cherve goat cheese at room temp for the frosting. If you’re not a fan of goat cheese, use your favorite cream cheese instead but the frosting won’t have the same tang that pairs so well with the pumpkin fall flavors.
We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. These links and other affiliate links like them do not cost you any extra when shopping but they do help us fund the creation of this site and publications.
FAQ
- Can I use canned pumpkin instead of fresh? Yes. Canned pure pumpkin (not pie filling) works just as well as fresh roasted pumpkin and saves time. I find the fresh has a deeper caramelized flavor since it’s not boiled like the canned. But canned is a totally legitimate shortcut.
- No bourbon — what do I use? A nice gold rum is a good swap if you don’t have bourbon. For alcohol free, apple cider, straight swap on amount gives nice flavor. But you can also use apple juice or milk. You lose a little warmth and deeper flavor, but the cake is still quite special.
Bourbon Pumpkin Gingerbread Bundt Cake with Goat Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
Bourbon Pumpkin Gingerbread Cake
- 1 ½ cups whole wheat pastry flour or Bob's Red Mill Gluten-Free 1 to 1 All Purpose Flour
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- ½ tsp allspice
- ½ tsp cloves
- ½ tsp cardamom
- ¾ tsp salt
- 2 tbsp butter softened
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 1 tbsp fresh ginger finely grated
- ¾ cup Greek yogurt
- ¼ cup bourbon the good stuff
- 1 cup pumpkin purée
- ½ cup molasses
Goat Cheese Frosting
- 5 oz goat cheese room temperature (the soft kind)
- 4 oz cream cheese room temperature (use the reduced-fat kind for less fat)
- 1 tbsp butter room temperature
- ¾ tsp vanilla use the real stuff
- 1 to 1 ½ cups of confectioner’s sugar base on your levels of sweetness
Instructions
Bourbon Pumpkin Gingerbread Cake
- Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C).
- Spray your Bundt pan with cooking spray (or wipe down with veggie oil) and dust lightly with all-purpose flour. Set aside until needed.
- In a medium-size bowl, whisk together the flours, spices, baking powder, and soda and salt. Set aside until needed.
- Using a stand mixer, cream together the butter and sugar – the mixture will look a bit grainy.
- Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each.
- Add the fresh ginger, yogurt, bourbon, pumpkin purée, and molasses, mixing well to combine.
- Add the flour mix in increments, scraping down the sides of the bowl, as needed. Beat mix until flour is well combined.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for about 45 to 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Do not overbake or you risk drying out the cake.
- Allow the cake to cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then invert onto a wire rack to finish cooling.
Goat Cheese Frosting
- Using a stand mixer, beat the goat cheese, cream cheese, and butter until well combined.
- Start adding the confectioner's' sugar, about 1/2 cup a time, beating well until incorporated, scraping the bowl sides as needed.
- Check the sweetness of the frosting after you've added one sugar of the sugar. Continue adding sugar until you've reached your desired sweetness.
- Keep frosting in fridge until about 30 minutes before frosting the cake.
Frosting the Cake
- Since it's a Bundt cake, I slightly warmed the frosting in the microwave for about 20 seconds and then poured over the cake. If you want more of a light glaze, heat the frosting more. Or for a thicker frosting, use a knife and cover the cake.
- Finish the cake, by topping with toasted nuts or dried fruit (I topped mine with toasted walnuts).
- Slice and serve. If you have extra frosting, serve on the side for those who want a bit more.