Caramel Bundt Cake with Brown Sugar Cinnamon Swirl

Whole caramel bundt cake with a slice cut out.

Caramel Bundt Cake with Brown Sugar Cinnamon Swirl

Caramel cake, with its signature thick, slow-cooked, candy-like frosting, has been a Southern staple for generations. This version features a moist, yellow cake baked in a Bundt pan with a ribbon of cinnamon swirl running through the center, which makes for a pretty presentation when sliced. I've thinned out the caramel frosting slightly to make it Bundt-friendly, but it still maintains the texture and taste of other classic recipes.

Prep Time 40

Cook Time 1

Servings

5 from 3 votes

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Equipment

1 12-cup Bundt pan (I've linked my most-used pan, here!)
1 stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or handheld electric mixer

Ingredients

Cake

3 cups cake flour, sifted
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
1½ cups granulated sugar
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
½ cup canola, vegetable, safflower or melted coconut oil
5 large eggs, room temperature
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 cup sour cream (see Notes)

Brown Sugar Cinnamon Swirl

1 cup packed light brown sugar
1½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ cup sour cream

Caramel Icing

1 cup dark brown sugar, packed
¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup evaporated milk
½ cup unsalted butter
1½ cups confectioners' sugar
3-4 tablespoon heavy or whipping cream

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Instructions

Prepare the Cake

Preheat your oven to 350℉. Spray a 12-cup Bundt pan with nonstick baking spray.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or using your hand mixer and a large mixing bowl, beat the sugar, butter, and oil on medium speed for 4 minutes, or until very fluffy and light in color.
Beat in the eggs, one at a time, stopping to scrape the sides of the bowl as necessary with a rubber spatula. Add the vanilla and beat for 2 minutes more.
With the mixer on low speed, alternately beat in the flour mixture with the sour cream, making three additions of four and two of sour cream, amd beating until incorporated.
Make the Brown Sugar Cinnamon Swirl: In a small bowl, stir together brown sugar, cinnamon, salt and sour cream until blended and smooth.
Transfer half of the cake batter to the prepared Bundt pan and smooth the top. Spread the cinnamon swirl mixture evenly over the batter and top it with the remaining batter. Smooth the top.
Bake the Bundt in your preheated oven for 55 to 65 minutes or until puffed and golden brown and a tester or thin knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Let the cake cool in the pan for 10 minute, then carefully invert the cake onto a wire rack to cool completely (see Notes.)

Make the Caramel Icing

In a medium saucepan, stir together the brown sugar, salt, evaporated milk and butter over medium-low heat until melted and smooth.
Increase the heat to medium and bring the mixture to a gentle boil. Reduce the heat and boil gently, stirring, for 25 to 30 minutes or until thickened and glossy (mine tends to take the full 30 minutes.) Remove the mixture from the heat and let it cool, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes.
Whisk in the confectioners' sugar and 3 tablespoon (45 mL) of the cream until smooth. Whisk in more cream if necessary until the glaze is thick but pourable.
Immediately pour the glaze over the cooled cake, letting it drip down the sides, Let the glaze set for at least 20 minutes before serving.

Notes

For an optimally moist cake, use full-fat sour cream. You can substitute low-fat but I do not recommend fat-free.
I like to bake the cake one day in advance, let it cool, and then store it overnight, tightly wrapped, before glazing. This gives the crumb a chance to settle or "tighten", which makes the cake easier to slice.

Nutrition

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