Cinnamon Buttermilk Bundt Cake

It’s the simple things in life that are so damed good sometimes.

Like Bundt cakes. Bundt cakes make me happy. Giddy, really. It’s kind of goofy, but by now you know that goofy comes with the Moore Sweets, Please package. (I don’t know if there is a site called More Serious Sweets, Please, but if you’re turned off by Disasters and goofiness then maybe you could start that site on your own. All boring.)

Let’s break it down, bakers:
- Flashback Moment of the Post: one of my favoritest birthday cakes ever (made by Mother from the box of lemon cake mix with the extra packet of lemon pudding, no less) was baked into its lemony glory in the Bundt shape. So that’s an easy explanation why I’m so partial to the Bundt. (I WILL recreate this recipe one day, just like how I WILL recreate the Butterhorn [cinnamon danish] recipe that I chowed down on from the A&P when I was in my formative, dessert-mongering years).
- I still use the same Bundt pan the aforementioned Mother used in the baking of the aforementioned Lemon Birthday Bundt cake. (Insert “awwwwww” sound here.) That thing has been around the block, let me tell you, and it performs better than the newfangled things that the kids are coming out with these days (see my Silicone Sucks post, where I dissed silicone terribly until I realized it had its place in the most delectable Chocolate Banana Cupcakes with Chocolate Banana Truffle Frosting recipe).
- Bundt cakes have a hole in their freaking middle, begging to be filled up with icing. Forget the childhood memory bullshit. This is where the real happiness comes from.
So go forth and make yourself happy- the kind of happy that only a Bundt cake can bake into your life.

Adapted from Cooks.com’s recipe…

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ginger

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg, freshly grated (if possible)

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 cup brown sugar, packed

3/4 cup white sugar

1 egg, lightly beaten

3/4 cup vegetable oil

1 cup buttermilk

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup pecans, toasted and chopped

1 cup raisins

1/4 cup Turbinado sugar (such as Sugar-in-the-Raw)

ICING:

2 cups confectioners’ sugar

3 tablespoons buttermilk
1. Preheat oven to 350° and grease a Bundt cake pan.
2. In a large bowl, combine first nine ingredients (flour through sugar) and set aside.
3. In a medium bowl, lightly beat egg and stir in oil, buttermilk and vanilla. Pour wet ingredients into large bowl with dry ingredients, and combine until well mixed.
4. Pour half of the batter into the Bundt pan, then sprinkle pecans, raisins and Turbinado sugar over batter, focusing on center of batter tunnel. Pour remaining batter overtop, and smooth with a spoon or spatula.
5. Bake for 40 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean of crumbs. Place on a cooling rack and turn out of pan after 10 minutes or so. Cool completely before icing.
6. ICING: stir confectioners’ sugar and buttermilk together until smooth (adding more sugar or buttermilk until icing is the consistency of honey). Pour over top of cooled cake and allow to drip down sides of cake.
Tips:
- Prefer something other than pecans? Walnuts would be amazing, too… I think I used pecans because I had some toasted ones leftover from another recipe. Use any nut you’d like, by all means. (If you use hazelnuts, add a teaspoon of Frangelico to the batter and a few drops to the icing… and same with almonds- use 1/2 teaspoon of almond extract in the batter and a bit in the icing.)
- Toast your nuts! I sound like a broken record, but it really makes a dessert taste better if the nuts have that toasted flavor. Just spread them on a baking pan and toast in your hot oven for about 8 minutes or so. Be careful.
- No Turbinado sugar? It’s okay, this time. You can sprinkle dark brown or light brown sugar instead… but do buy some, as it’s great to sprinkle over scones, cookies, etc. And The Husband uses it exclusively in his morning Americano, so there. (Well, I use it exclusively in the Americano I make and serve to The Husband every morning. Just to clarify.)
- No buttermilk? It would be really really great if you had real buttermilk, but I know how it is to have a recipe in your hands (er, on your screen) and really really want to make it n o w- with the ingredients you happen to have on hand. So make your own buttermilk here: pour almost a cup of milk in a measuring cup (less a tablespoon), and add a tablespoon of lemon juice or vinegar to the milk. Allow to sit for about 5 minutes until clumpy and gross. Voila.
- The icing: make sure you end up with a pool of icing in the center of the Bundt cake, because it’s so much fun to slice a piece and then scoop some of the oozing icing goodness onto the plate of the lucky recipient. Yum… icing.
- I totally freeze this cake and just thaw it in the fridge or on the counter like nothing ever happened.
- Enjoy!
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January 30th, 2014 | More Sweets Please | 2 Comments | Tags: Cakes, Cinnamon, Icing

2 Responses and Counting...

Sharon 01.30.2014

Everything I have read says not to use vegetable or canola oil…not even organic canola oil. So, I don’t, but have you tried another oil?
More Sweets Please

Hi Sharon,
I read conflicting reports all the time about baking with oil- it’s confusing to keep up with. Canola oil is generally a good one to use… and I don’t mind using veggie oil every now and then instead of butter. I really try not to use shortening and certainly avoid margarine. If you’re set against veggie or canola oil though, you can try olive oil (use extra virgin)- look up the Lemon Olive Oil Cake I made last year as a reference. If it works out, please let me know!