Oatmeal Pumpkin Bundt Cake with Maple Caramel Sauce
Fall in Virginia is in full swing, as evidenced by the leaves changing colors and falling to the ground. I’ve been spending my afternoons outside with Clara, watching her toddler feet crunch the leaves as she squeals excitedly.
After burning so much energy playing outside, she’s almost always ready for a snack when we come in. We try to keep our snacks healthy, usually opting for fruit, cheese and crackers, or vegetables and hummus, but after walking in to the fragrant smell of this Bundt cake cooling, I couldn’t resist sharing some of it with her (and having a slice myself).
Photo by Courtney Champion
This was a snack that, while not her typical variety, I still felt good giving Clara. I reduced the amount of sugar in the cake and swapped out raw cane sugar for the granulated sugar called for in the original recipe. This Bundt cake is full of pumpkin flavor that isn’t drowned out by sweetness.
The combination of oats and pumpkin is a new favorite of mine, and, in this recipe, the oats add a delicate texture that differentiates it from other cakes I’ve made.
While powdered sugar is the standard topping for many a Bundt cake, I decided to make a maple caramel sauce to top this one, turning it into a decadent treat. Toasted, salted pumpkin seeds add crunch and just the right amount of saltiness to balance the caramel.
Oatmeal Pumpkin Bundt Cake with Maple Caramel Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 cup rolled oats
- 1/4 cup boiling water
- 1 cup butter softened, (2 sticks)
- 1 1/3 cups raw cane sugar
- 4 large eggs
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 Tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- Maple Caramel Sauce recipe below and toasted (shelled) pumpkin seeds, for topping
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350° F. Grease a 12-cup Bundt pan.
- Place the rolled oats in a small bowl. Pour the boiling water over the oatmeal and stir to moisten all the oats. Allow to sit for 10 minutes.
- Place the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer. Beat on low speed until light and fluffy.
- Add the eggs, one at a time, and continue mixing until incorporated. Add the pumpkin, oat/water mixture and vanilla, and beat on low speed until well blended.
- With the mixer on low speed, add the flour one cup at a time. Then mix in the pumpkin pie spice, baking soda and salt.
- Pour cake batter into prepared Bundt pan. Bake for 60 minutes or until a knife inserted into the center comes out with clean or with only a few moist crumbs.
- Allow to cool in pan for 10 minutes then invert onto a large cake plate. If desired, top with maple caramel sauce and toasted pumpkin seeds.
Notes
Nutrition
Photo by Courtney Champion
While standard caramel sauce would also be good to top this Bundt cake, the maple and pumpkin flavors go wonderfully together and make this cake perfect for fall. You only need half of what the recipe makes to top the cake, but the leftover caramel is perfect for drizzling over your favorite ice cream or stirring into cold brew coffee.
Maple Caramel Sauce
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup pure maple syrup
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan, heat the cream and salt over medium heat until bubbles just begin to form around the edges.
- Stir in the vanilla and maple syrup and bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce heat to medium. Stir constantly with a rubber spatula until the mixture reaches 235-240ºF on a candy or infrared thermometer.
- Set aside to cool slightly (the caramel will thicken as it cools), then drizzle about half of the sauce over the cooled Bundt cake. Store the remaining sauce in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
Notes
Nutrition
What’s your favorite fall activity?
That sauce looks especially awesome! Yum!
Now this is my kind of cake! How gorgeous!!
That cake looks so good and I like the use of the oatmeal!
Beautiful Cake, I love that you put oats in it!
This cake looks amazing! My favorite fall activity is picking apples at an orchard. 🙂
Sarah M
Sounds and looks amazing!!
This looks amazing and so perfect for the season
I love that there is actual cooked oatmeal in this cake, everything must be totally moist and delicious! Plus, how can you go wrong with a maple-caramel sauce?!?!
Ohhhhhh. I want this cake asap!! Great fall flavors 🙂
That maple caramel sauce sounds divine! I’m going to try it with coconut cream to make it dairy free. Oats and pumpkin go well together indeed; I look forward to trying this recipe of yours soon!
That’s a fabulous idea! I’d love to hear how it turns out whenever you make it!
Mmm.. I could use a slice of this with my morning coffee! Delicious!
Looks so decadent! Love the maple caramel sauce. Oh my 😀
Old Fashioned rolled oats or quick cooking? Will it matter? I typically have the old fashioned oats. I am definitely making this over the weekend. Thanks!
Rolled oats is the same as old fashioned. 🙂 Don’t use quick cooking! Happy Baking!
Yes, I used old-fashioned oats in this recipe. Those are the only kind I keep in my pantry, and they worked perfectly. Hope you enjoy baking it this weekend!
Love that you used oatmeal in this! Great-looking cake, Aimee! 🙂
If i use regular sugar, do I need to use the same amount as the raw sugar?
Yes, you can use the same amount.
Beautiful cake and that Maple Caramel Sauce is delightful!
I love that this recipe has wholesome ingredients that I can easily buy and use. Thanks for sharing your recipe. It looks wonderful.
I am using this as the base for a cake-crust cheesecake recipe. The pumpkin oat combo will be the perfect foodie foil to my sweet bourbon cheesecake topping!
Can this be adapted for muffins? I really like your oatmeal-base muffins recipe, but I didn’t see a pumpkin variation for it, so I thought this might work. . .