Cinnamon Swirl Bundt Cake

August 25, 2017

Servings: 10-12

Prep: 25 min

Cook: 55 min

Total: 1 hr 20 min

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My go-to for an early morning playgroup or coffee date. Super simple and tasty to boot!

By: A Wholesome New World

Ingredients

• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
• 2 cups sugar
• 4 eggs
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 cups (16 ounces) sour cream
• Swirl Layers:
• 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
• 1/4 cup sugar

Directions

• Step 1 In a mixing bowl, cream together butter and 2 cups sugar until light and fluffy.
• Step 2 Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. I kept my mixer on low to keep a constant churn and this allowed the eggs to fold in seamlessly. Beat in vanilla.
• Step 3 Combine flour, baking soda and salt in another bowl. Mix in the dry ingredients to the batter slowly, alternating with ~1/4 cup scoops of the sour cream to keep the batter smooth. Once again, I left the mixer on low during this whole step.
• Step 4 Spoon a third of batter into a greased bundt pan. Sprinkle cinnamon and sugar evenly over the batter in the pan and swirl with a spatula. Repeat these layers two more times, ending with a layer of cinnamon/sugar on top.
• Step 5 Bake at 350° for 55-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool for 15 minutes before removing from the pan. My cake slid right out of the bundt pan when I flipped it over. Cool completely on a plate or wire rack and then sprinkle with powdered sugar.

I’ll be the first to admit, baking is not my strength.  Marc far excels over me in this domain.  But now that we’re trying to get our blog up and running, I’ve been determined to start challenging myself more in the kitchen.  And that means it’s time give baking another shot.  For my son’s first playgroup (as if hosting that wasn’t a challenge in itself!), I mulled over the menu for days – I knew I wanted to serve something homemade, but didn’t know what I could pull off.  It had to be something simple, something I could whip up the night before but still taste fresh and look good the next day.  I had been looking for a good excuse to use my bundt pan since we got it as a wedding gift (yes, 5 whole years ago!) so I settled on a bundt cake, but wanted to put a breakfast-y spin on it.  Thus, the cinnamon swirl bundt cake was born!  Half coffee cake/half pound cake, it’s the perfect thing to serve as a mid-morning treat.  And with a prep time of 25 minutes tops, you aren’t slaving away in the kitchen all night either.  As a busy working mom, what’s not to love about that!?

The batter comes together pretty quickly, especially if you utilize your KitchenAid standing mixer.  As you pour the batter into the pan, you alternate between layers of batter and layers of cinnamon + sugar.  We are huge cinnamon connoisseurs and highly recommend the use of Ceylon Cinnamon, also known as the “True Cinnamon.”  See more about this in an upcoming post about stocking your spice rack!

After baking for 55 minutes, my “bundt in the oven” looked like perfection (and my kitchen smelled like a bakery!).  I was quite pleased with the way it looked, but knew the true test would be once I did “the flip.”

Let this baby cool for about 15 minutes and then (if you greased your pan well), it should slide right out.  Put your serving plate over the pan and flip the cake over carefully.  Voilà – you have a luscious bundt cake just waiting for you to devour.  Just look at those beautiful swirls!  Top with some powdered sugar for added effect.