This moist cream cheese spice cake is a delicious bundt cake with a cream cheese glaze and is an easy fall dessert recipe made using a box cake mix.
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Hey there! Before you scroll, there’s lot’s of important stuff in the post!…including the FAQ section, which may answer any questions you might have about this recipe. Enjoy!
Spice bundt cakes are the perfect cake to bake for fall get-togethers. They’re easy to mix up and I personally love that they don’t have to be decorated and that makes things so much easier, especially around the holidays.
This recipe makes a simple spice cake mix into something really special and delicious.
What’s special about this cake?
- Super moist
- Insanely easy, yet impressive
- Warm fall spices
- Perfect for holiday get-togethers
- No decorating needed
How to make this cake:
(The full printable instructions are in the recipe card below.)
Step 1:
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Grease and flour a 9-10 inch bundt pan very well.
Step 2:
Add the butter, cream cheese and extract to a medium sized bowl and mix with an electric mixer on medium to medium-high speed until completely smooth.
Add the remaining ingredients and mix on medium to medium-high speed until well incorporated. The batter will be thick.
Step 3:
Add the batter to the prepared pan and smooth it evenly.
Bake at 325 degrees F for 50-55 minutes. A toothpick inserted into the cake will come out clean or with a few moist crumbs on it but no raw batter.
Step 4:
Cool in the pan on a wire rack for about 20 minutes.
Step 5:
Turn out of the pan onto the wire rack and cool completely before adding a glaze or powdered sugar.
Step 6:
In a mixing bowl, mix the butter and cream cheese well with an electric mixer on medium to medium-high speed until smooth.
Add the confectioner’s sugar, vanilla and three tablespoons of milk. Mix well.
Spoon on the glaze, or use a piping bag or squeeze bottle to drizzle it onto the cooled cake.
Note About Recipe Measurements: I write recipes using volume (cups) measurements because here in the U.S., this is what people are more familiar with and I don’t want anyone to feel intimidated when baking. For metric/weight measurements, click the ‘metric’ button under the ingredients in the recipe card below. The weights are converted by a program, not me, and it’s just a best guess. I can’t guarantee that weighing the ingredients will produce the exact same results, since I test recipes using volume measurements.
Recipe:
Easy Cream Cheese Spice Cake (with a cake mix)
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature (2 sticks)
- 1 8 (ounce package) cream cheese, room temperature (1 block)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 (13.25 or 15.25) ounce box spice cake mix, dry – see notes
- 1 (3.4 ounce) box cheesecake pudding mix, dry (you could also use butterscotch or vanilla)
- ¼-1/2 cup all-purpose flour – see notes
- ¼ cup sugar
- 4 large eggs
- ⅓ cup milk
- ¼ cup water
For the glaze:
- ½ cup unsalted butter, room temperature (1 stick)
- 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, room temperature
- 3 cups confectioner’s sugar
- 3 tablespoons milk or cream (can use up to 4 tablespoons)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
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Instructions
For the cake:
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Grease and flour a 9-10 inch bundt pan very well.
- Add the butter, cream cheese and extract to a medium sized bowl and mix with an electric mixer on medium to medium-high speed until completely smooth.
- Add the remaining ingredients and mix on medium to medium-high speed until well incorporated. The batter will be thick.
- Add the batter to the prepared pan and smooth it evenly.
- Bake at 325 degrees F for 50-55 minutes. A toothpick inserted into the cake will come out clean or with a few moist crumbs on it but no raw batter.
- Cool in the pan on a wire rack for about 20 minutes, then turn out of the pan onto the wire rack and cool completely before adding a glaze or powdered sugar.
For the glaze:
- In a mixing bowl, mix the butter and cream cheese well with an electric mixer on medium to medium-high speed until smooth.
- Add the confectioner's sugar, vanilla and three tablespoons of milk. Mix well.
- If the glaze is too thick, add milk by the teaspoonful, mixing after each addition and checking the consistency. Add only a small amount at a time. If it's too thin, it will run off the cake and pool around the bottom.
- Once the desired consistency is reached and the cake is cooled, spoon on the glaze, or use a piping bag or squeeze bottle to drizzle it onto the cake.
Notes
If your cake mix is 13.25 ounces, use ½ cup of all-purpose flour.
If your cake mix is 15.25 ounces, use ¼ cup all-purpose flour instead. How to Store: This cake should be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator and can last up to 5 days. How to serve: Most cakes are best served close to room temperature as the texture is softer. If the cake is cold, set it out to come closer to room temperature for about 20-30 minutes before serving. You can also pop a slice in the microwave to warm up a bit. For other questions: Make sure to check out the TIPS & FAQs section in this post, which should answer other questions you may have about ingredients, substitutions, other pan sizes, etc. Nutritional values are an estimate. *This recipe card may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Nutrition
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FAQs:
yes, you can use vanilla flavored pudding mix or even butterscotch pudding mix.
No, do not prepare the pudding. Add it dry to the cake batter.
No. This cake is still good without the glaze, but it does add a nice touch. If you do prefer it without a glaze, you could leave it plain or add a sprinkling of confectioner’s sugar on top.
This cake is fully baked when a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out with either a few moist crumbs on it or clean.
Yes, cool the baked cake, then wrap in plastic wrap very well and place in the freezer up to two months.
To thaw, let the cake set out, still in its wrappings, at room temperature, for several hours. Once thawed, remove the wrappings and add the glaze.
This cake should be stored in an airtight container or covered well in the refrigerator and can last up to five days.
I have not tried this recipe using layer cake pans. It may work however I cannot be 100% sure as I haven’t tried it. If you do try it, use two, 8-inch round cake pans and start checking for doneness at around 35-40 minutes although it may take a bit longer. Please note that this cake recipe was written to be more of a pound cake texture, so that may, or may not, translate to cake layers.
I have not tried this recipe as cupcakes. It might work just fine, however they would be more of a pound cake texture, than a fluffy cupcake since this cake has more of a pound cake texture.
I have not tried this cake recipe baked in a loaf pan, but I think it would work, however you would need to use two, 8-inch loaf pans and the baking time would likely be a bit shorter, so start checking at about 30 minutes although it may take a bit longer.
I think there would be too much batter for a 13×9 inch pan, so that probably would not work.
Feel free to add chocolate chips or white chocolate chips to the batter.
This cake is best eaten either at room temperature or warm. If you add the cream cheese glaze, it will need to be refrigerated. So, if the cake is cold when you’re ready to eat or service it, just set it out about 20 minutes to allow it to come closer to room temperature. Alternatively, you can cut slices and microwave them for a short amount of time to warm them up.
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