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This is a basic (but delicious!) Vanilla Bundt Cake recipe. It’s a moist and tender butter and sour cream based batter that is delicious as a stand alone dessert with just a little powdered sugar or with some whipped cream and berries. So simple, but certainly a show stopper. Kind of like a cross between my Vanilla Cake and my Lemon Pound Cake, minus the lemon.
What is the Difference Between a Bundt Cake and a Pound Cake?
So, this is an interesting question to answer because lots of different cake batters can be baked in a bundt cake pan, thus making it a ‘bundt cake’, pound cake included. Traditional pound cake is made with butter, sugar, eggs and flour. This is more of a sturdier and extra moist sour cream pound cake.
How to Make Vanilla Bundt Cake
For full recipe details, including ingredients needed and measurements, see the printable recipe card down below. Here is what to expect when making this recipe:
Preheat Oven + Grease Bundt Pan
This might be one of the most important steps in making this cake. You can’t really enjoy your bundt cake it if you can’t get it out of the darn pan.
Grease a 10-cup bundt pan well with nonstick cooking spray and set aside. Preheat the oven.
Can I Use Butter to Grease My Pan?
While butter in theory would work, I find you can never quite get it in all the nooks and crannies, making your cake more likely to stick. It just never works quite as well as cooking spray. If you solemnly swear to use plenty of butter and take your time coating the pan well, then yes, go ahead and use butter. But I stand by my recommendation of cooking spray.
Cream Butter and Sugar
In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar together for a solid 7 minutes. There’s a lot of sugar compared to the butter so it won’t cream completely like it would for a cookie dough, however, getting that butter and sugar smooth before adding in the eggs is key to a smooth bundt cake batter.
Add in Eggs, One at a Time
With the mixer on low, stir in the eggs one at a time until the batter is light and fluffy. Stir in the vanilla. Scrape the sides of the bowl and mix again another 2 minutes until light and fluffy.
Alternate Flour and Sour Cream
Stir in about half of the flour, baking soda and the salt until just combined. Add in the sour cream and stir again. Finish with the last of the flour and continue to stir until just combined. Finish off the batter by scraping the sides and bottom of the mixer and stirring it by hand to ensure a completely smooth batter.
Bake
Pour the batter into the greased bundt pan evenly and smooth the top. Bake until golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean. Cool 15-20 minutes before inverting the cake pan and releasing the cake from the bundt pan.
Top the Cake with powdered sugar and serve with any desired toppings.
When to Invert your Bundt Cake
There is a window of opportunity to get your cake out of its pan in one beautiful cake (as long as you’ve greased it well). You don’t want to cool the cake completely in the bundt pan (will be hard to release from the edges) and you don’t want it to be piping hot either (cake will be too tender to come out in one piece) so a good rule of thumb is you want the cake pan to still be warm but not hot enough that you can’t handle it with your bare hands. That is a great time to release the cake from the pan.
Favorite Toppings
I like to pair my bundt cake with some homemade whipped cream and fresh berries but here are a few more options:
- Vanilla Ice Cream
- Fresh Sliced Strawberries
- Spread with Nutella
- Lemon curd
- Berry Jam
Storing Options
Because this is a nice thick cake, as long as it’s wrapped well with plastic wrap, it should last 3-4 days at room temperature. Of course, the longer it sits, the more likely it is to dry out, but nothing that a little whipped cream or ice cream can’t fix.
To freeze, wrap in several layers of plastic wrap and foil or place into an airtight zip top bag with as much air removed as possible. Freeze for up to 3 months. Freeze in individual slices or as a whole cake.
Love Cake? More Cake Recipes You Will Love:
- Classic Chocolate Cake
- Italian Cream Cake
- Classic Red Velvet Cake
- Favorite Coconut Cake
- Angel Food Cake
So there you have my classic Vanilla Bundt Cake! I hope you love it as much as we all did! Save, bookmark, print, pin or share this recipe because you’re not going to want to lose this family favorite. Have a great day!
Vanilla Bundt Cake
Ingredients
- 1 cup salted butter at room temperature
- 3 cups granulated sugar
- 6 whole eggs at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3 cups all purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup sour cream
- powdered sugar for garnish
Equipment
- 10 cup bundt cake
Instructions
- Grease a 10-cup bundt pan well with nonstick cooking spray and set aside. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
- Cream butter and sugar together for 5-7 minutes. Stir in eggs 1 at a time, mixing well after each addition. Scrape the sides and mix again. Stir in the vanilla. Whip 2 minutes until light and fluffy.
- Stir in half the flour, baking soda and salt. Incorporate the sour cream, then add in the last of the flour. Stop stirring after flour is mixed in. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl and finish stirring the batter by hand to ensure the batter is completely smooth.
- Pour into prepared bundt pan and smooth the top. Bake 75-90 minutes or until golden brown and toothpick comes out clean. (A few moist crumbs are fine.)
- Cool bundt cake on the counter for 15-20 minutes or until you can handle the pan while still warm. Invert cake onto cooling rack to cool completely.
- After completely cooled, transfer to a serving platter and top with powdered sugar. Serve.
Made this with 1:1 gluten free flour for my nephew who has Celiacs. It was a hit all around. I think the sour cream made it!!
This cake is the absolute best I have ever made. I made a vanilla glaze for the top instead of powdered sugar. I’ll be making this for many years to come. Thanks for the great recipe!!
Perfect cake accompanied with tea/coffee. The bundt cakes has a wonderful vanilla flavor and consistency. As suggested garnished with fruit, it’s awesome. This is a definite “make again” . Highly recommend.
Would it be possible to cut back on the sugar without compromising the overall outcome. 🤔
I am thinking about making this cake for a birthday. Do you think it would work in a cake pan? Or springform pan?
It might be too heavy as a layered cake. Certainly dense. And, the baking time on a springform pan would be quite a long time because it would be quite a thick and heavy cake. If you are going to do this as a layered cake, I’d probably do 2 or 3 layers.
Made this for our Christmas dessert. What a fabulously moist cake and the crust that surrounds it is divine! I served with a cinnamon brown sugar side of cream cheese frosting and it was a hit! Thanks so much for the recipe!!