Autumnal Swirl Bundt Cake
Autumnal Spice Swirled Bundt Cake—Delicious vanilla bean and spice bundt cake swirled with a mixture of autumn spices and finished with a spiced sugar exterior and creamy icing.
Hi!
Did you know that November 15th is National Bundt Cake Day! Well, if you didn't, you do now!
I recently partnered with Eagle Brand® to bring you something special for #NationalBundtCakeDay. After a lot of careful thinking about what I could "bundt cake," I landed on one of my favorite cakes that I thought I've love to pay homage to, the reduced-fat cinnamon swirl coffee cake from Starbucks!
I have been obsessed with this cake ever since my days being a Starbucks barista; yes, I worked many years at Starbucks, many many years ago! I remember when the reduced-fat cinnamon swirl coffee cake was introduced, and since day one, we've had an intense love affair. I want to state that this recipe is by no means a copy-cat recipe, sorry to those who may have thought it was. I was inspired by that cake's swirl and wanted to use that as the foundation for the autumnal swirl.
I am calling this swirl, Autumnal, as it's a meld of all the spices and flavors I attribute to this season. It's not dominated by one, as they all play there roles in creating the balanced flavors I was hoping to achieve in capturing a swirl of autumn.
I love to bake cakes using Eagle Brand® sweetened condensed milk as it allows the cake to stay tendered and moist yet doesn't overpower with the sweetness.
I love Eagle Brand®, and it's genuinely one of my staple pantry items. After you bake this cake, and if Eagle Brand® isn't a mainstay in your pantry, it will surely become one!
If you do make this autumnal swirl bundt cake, and I hope you do, I'd love to share in that moment with you. Tag me on Instagram @foxandcrane and use my hashtag #foxandcrane so I may see your baking adventures.
xo -Jase
…Good to Knows…
Baking Pans
This recipe is adaptable to any style bundt pan you own, or can be made as a sheet cake in a standard 9x13 pan—If you were to make this a sheet cake, follow the steps as written, and reduce the baking time to 35-40 minutes.
Eagle Brand® Sweetened Condensed Milk in a cake recipe?
I've fallen in love with using Eagle Brand® sweetened condensed milk in cake recipes when the recipe calls for dairy. The concentration of dairy leans such a tenderness to the crumb and allows the cake to stay intensely moist.
Sour Cream
In this recipe, I used full-fat sour cream; however, you can easily swap in a full-fat plain yogurt if you'd prefer. I know not everyone has a use for a container of sour cream in their everyday lives, so yogurt is a great alternative. I have not attempted this recipe with a buttermilk swap, so I can't suggest it as of yet, but when I do, I'll update this section with my results—If you do try buttermilk before I do, please leave a comment below.
Apple Sauce or Apple butter
I developed this recipe with apple butter, as apple sauce or apple butter leans a lovely moisture and slight reduction of butter or oil in cakes. Alternatively, for or this recipe, if you do not have apple sauce or apple butter on hand, you may swap that amount with butter, as I tested with both variations. The more butter will still give the desired results, however the cake will have a much more rich, buttery taste.
Espresso and Cocoa Powders
If espresso powder is not readily available in your kitchen, I suggest either doubling up on the cocoa powder or you may omit it entirely. The cake will not have a strong coffee flavor, I found that I loved the slight bitter of the espresso in the swirl filling, but it’s not critical for an amazing cake! Additionally, the cocoa powder my be left out as well, however the filling will not be as vibrant a color as pictured in this recipe.
…Provisions…
Surface: My Studio
Dish-ware: East Fork Pottery
Bundt Pan: Nordic Ware
For a full list of recipes, check out the Recipe Index
Autumnal Swirl Bundt Cake
…makes one Bundt cake…
…serves 1-16 people …
Bundt Cake
420g (3 1/4 cups) all-purpose flour
1.5 tsp baking soda
1 tsp kosher salt
1.5 tsp allspice
180ml (3/4 cup) sour cream, at room temperature
160ml (2/3 cup) whole milk, at room temperature
113ml (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, at room temperature
100g (1/2 cup) light brown sugar
66g (1/3 cup) granulated sugar
3 large brown eggs, at room temperature
396ml (1 can) Eagle Brand® sweetened condensed milk
60g (1/4 cup) applesauce or apple butter
zest of one orange, medium to large
2 tsp vanilla bean paste, vanilla extract, or the seeds from one vanilla bean pod
Autumnal Spice Sugar Filling
100g (1/2 cup) light brown sugar
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp ground allspice
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp cocoa powder
1 1/2 tsp espresso powder
Icing
120g (1 cup) powdered sugar
45-60g (3-4 tbsp) heavy cream
1 tsp vanilla bean paste, vanilla extract, or the seeds from one vanilla bean pod
1/8 tsp kosher salt
Sugar Coating
50g (1/4 cup) granulated white sugar
1 tsp allspice
…METHOD…
BUNDT CAKE
As always, gather, weigh out, and prepare all ingredients prior to mixing. Preheat the oven to 375˚f/190˚c with rack in the center position.
In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, spices, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
In a small bowl, add sour cream and milk, whisk to combine. Set aside.
In the bowl of your stand mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugar until it is light and fluffy, approx 5 minutes. Now add eggs, mixing one at a time until fully incorporated. On low speed, slowly add Eagle Brand sweetened condensed milk until fully incorporated, followed by apple butter, orange zest, and vanilla. Mix to combine.
Using a rubber spatula, scrape down the sides of the bowl. With the mixer on low, add a third of the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, mixing until just combined. Pour in half of the sour cream and milk mixture, mixing until fully incorporated, then pour in the rest, continuing to mix until the cake batter is velvety smooth. Caution: Do not over mix the batter or your cake will be dense.
AUTUMNAL SPICE SUGAR FILLING
In a small bowl, whisk sugar, spices, cocoa, and espresso powder together. Set aside.
ICING
In a medium bowl, whisk powdered sugar, vanilla, milk, and salt together until combined. Set aside.
SUGAR COATING
In a small bowl, whisk sugar and allspice together. Set aside.
…ASSEMBLY…
Prepare your bundt pan (10 cup or larger) with a non-stick spray. Pour a third of that cake batter into the bundt pan. Top the batter with half of the sugar spice mixture, then repeat with remaining ingredients. Tap the pan on the counter a few times to pop any air bubbles, then place in your preheated oven. Bake for 55-60 minutes, or until a skewer (or toothpick) comes out clean.
Allow your cake to cool in the pan for about 20 minutes, then turn the cake out onto a baking rack. Allow the cake to cool completely (1-3 hours) before sugar-coating and icing.
Place cake on your chosen serving dish, board, or platter. Generously coat bundt cake with melted butter and dose with sugar coating mixture, then allow to cool. Once cool, top with icing — you want this icing to be extremely thick as gravity will slowly allow the icing to drop and settle into place. Once the icing has set, approx 30 mins, it’s now time to slice and enjoy!
…AFTERMATH…
If there are any leftover slices of cake by chance, you may store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator. But trust me, most likely there will be nothing remaining — this cake causes you to ask for seconds.
Delicious vanilla bean and spice bundt cake swirled with a mixture of autumn spices and finished with a spiced sugar exterior and creamy icing.