A bundt cake is essentially a cake baked in a special bundt pan, which gives it its sharp and distinctive shape. The shape is similar to a traditional European cake called the gugelhupf. But the bundt cake is just a shape and has no single recipe to be followed, and there are many ways of making it. The bundt cake recipe below is an easy one to make, whether you're a beginner or an experienced baker. Follow this detailed guide and you’ll have a delicious bundt cake on your hands.
Ingredients:
- 226 gm unsalted butter softened
- 170 gm cream cheese brick, not the spreadable kind
- 500 gm granulated sugar
- 6 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 375 gm all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 78 ml whole milk
For the glaze:
- 250 gm powdered sugar or Icing sugar
- 2 tablespoons melted butter, unsalted
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 tablespoons milk, plus more as needed
Directions:
- Preheat the oven to 350°F or 177°C.
- Grease a bundt pan with butter and sprinkle some flour on the base and around the sides. Tap out the excess flour. Set aside.
- In a bowl, add the butter, cream cheese and sugar and beat with a handheld mixer or a stand mixer with a paddle attachment. Beat until everything is well combined. The batter should be light in colour.
- Add the eggs, one at a time, to the bowl, stirring well after each addition. Scrape down the sides and drop that back in the middle, so that it mixes evenly throughout.
- Then add the vanilla extract and mix well. The mixture will be smooth and light. Set aside.
- In another bowl, add the flour, baking powder and salt and whisk together until well combined.
- Now slowly add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture. Add a spoon or two, mix well, then add more. In this way, slowly add the dry ingredient mixture until all of it is well combined.
- Then add the milk to the bowl and mix well.
- Pour the batter into the bundt pan.
- Bake for about an hour. The exact time will depend on the machine you’re using. You’ll know it's done when a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
- Remove from the oven and let it cool for half an hour. Then invert the cake onto the cooling rack to cool completely.
- While it's cooling, make the glaze. In a bowl, add the sugar, butter, vanilla extract and milk and whisk well. Add the milk one spoon at a time and be mindful about how much is needed. It should have a thin consistency, enough that when the whisk is inserted in it and then pulled out, the glaze falls off in ribbons.
- Now place the bundt cake on the serving plate and drizzle the glaze on top. Let it fall off the sides. Let the glaze set for an hour.
- Then serve cool.
- Leftover cake can be stored at room temperature for about five days or frozen for up to two months.
Notes, tips and tricks:
- If you’re using salted butter, skip the pinch of salt. But it's better to use unsalted butter and then add the salt since it brings out the flavors strongly.
- It's best to use whole milk for this recipe. But if you need to, you can also use skimmed milk or 2% or even a nondairy alternative like almond milk, oat milk or anything else you prefer.
- If you want a chocolate glaze instead, add less sugar and substitute it with cocoa powder. Mix well and use.
- The glaze is what the cake is traditionally topped with. But you can also play around with that. Add chocolate sauce instead, or caramel sauce, peanut or almond butter, or a jam or fruit compote. You can also experiment with vanilla or hazelnut syrup on top. If you prefer, you can serve the cake with ice cream or whipped cream. You can sprinkle chopped nuts, sprinkles or any other decorative and fun topping on the cake. You can also add slices of fresh fruit like bananas, apples, strawberries or any other fruit that you prefer. Remember that while the bundt cake has a distinctive shape, it's essentially still a cake and can be topped with anything you’d like to experiment with.