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Serves a Crowd

Sweet Cream Bundt Cake

by:
May  7, 2021
3.6
30 Ratings
Photo by James Ransom
  • Prep time 30 minutes
  • Cook time 25 minutes
  • Serves 12
Author Notes

I don't know what the origin of this cake is, but I got the recipe years ago from a neighbor, who didn't know where it originated from either. If any of you readers out there have heard of this cake and have any idea of its origin—please let me know! In any event, this is seriously the easiest, moistest cake I have ever made and, despite its simplicity, I have received the most compliments and requests for this recipe over any others. The taste of this delicious bundt has been compared to honey, or honey cruellers. I like to serve this cake drizzled with a simple maple icing but to be honest the cake really doesn't need anything! It is absolutely delicious and makes an excellent coffee-time treat or a light after-dinner dessert. I have even served it to my kids for breakfast with a little maple syrup—it is just that versatile. —BrendaZ

Test Kitchen Notes

WHO: BrendaZ is a mom who sometimes serves her kids cake for breakfast.
WHAT: The definition of a show-stopping dessert.
HOW: Make what seems to be a standard cake batter, and bake it in a bundt pan. Then, when the cake is just out of the oven, pour cream, butter, and sugar on top of it until it all absorbs. Drizzle with icing.
WHY WE LOVE IT: What is there not to love about a light, springy bundt cake, that happens to have a hefty dose of cream and butter poured on top of it until it's so moist it's almost melting? Yeah. You should make this as soon as possible, and eat it at every opportunity. —The Editors

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Ingredients
  • The cake
  • 1 1/4 cups sugar
  • 1 1/4 cups flour
  • 2 tablespoons baking powder
  • 4 large eggs
  • 1/2 cup cold water
  • 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • Maple drizzle
  • 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
  • 2 tablespoons butter, melted
  • 2 teaspoons maple extract
  • 2 tablespoons milk, plus more as needed to yield a thin icing
Directions
  1. The cake
  2. Preheat oven to 350° F and grease your bundt pan.
  3. Into a batter bowl, add the 1 1/4 cups sugar, flour and baking powder and give it a quick stir with a fork to mix. In another bowl, whisk the eggs and water until smooth. Pour the egg mixture into the flour mixture and whisk until smooth.
  4. Pour batter into the greased bundt pan and bake for 25 minutes or until golden brown and a toothpick tests done.
  5. As soon as you take the cake out of the oven, pour the heavy cream into a glass measure and add the butter and the 2 tablespoons sugar. Heat this in the microwave until it is very hot but not boiling. Stir cream mixture and slowly pour it over the hot bundt cake. (It will seem like a lot, but it will all absorb!). Let sit for 15 minutes.
  6. After the cream has absorbed but before the cake cools completely gently loosen the edges by sliding a small spatula between the cake and the pan in a few spots. Invert the pan onto a serving plate and release the cake.
  7. Let cool completely. At this point you can serve the cake as it is (you won't believe how moist it is!) or you can drizzle with a but of icing, below.
  1. Maple drizzle
  2. Whisk all ingredients together until smooth, adding milk a teaspoon at a time until desired consistency is reached. Drizzle over cake.
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100 Reviews

Write a Review
Roman L. February 17, 2023
I Like Cake!
grhues@gmail.com December 8, 2022
Not sure why the stars are so low. This is my favorite cake. So moist it’s almost a pudding.
SS May 8, 2022
This cake was delicious! I read through the reviews prior to baking this so make the cake with only 1 tbsp of baking powder (instead of 2) as recommended. I also didn't have a bundt pan so made this in a 9" spring form cake pan (which is perhaps why I didn't have any issues with sticking/taking the cake out of the pan).

In any case the cake was delicious, not too sweet (though I forgot to make the glaze) and very light. Next time I'll serve it with whipped cream and berries!
Regine May 9, 2022
Good you reduced the baking powder to 1 tbsp. This is a delicious cake but can be « finicky » with the original amount of baking powder. It also likes to stuck in the bundt pan but lots of baking spray and maybe unmolding the cake and then putting it back in pan prior to pouring the sauce can prevent cake from sticking in pan. I love this cake served with raspberries.
Marques July 18, 2021
Gave this fave another go for summer’21, using an intricate Bundt mold. Portions of the cake stuck in the mold, giving it a Frankenstein effect. Flavor and texture were totally fine. Was planning to serve w strawberries and whipped cream, so instead sliced/chopped cake and made parfaits. BEST SAVE EVER. Because it’s a wet texture, I constructed parfaits just before sitting for dinner and stuck in the fridge — they were perfect. Added two big dollops of Greek yogurt to whipped cream, which stabilized cream, cut the sweetness and gave a nice hit of acid. Huge hit. Truly is the cake that just keeps giving.
Carolin B. May 7, 2021
Experienced baker here: made this according to the recipe, cake needed about 7 min longer in the oven but otherwise behaved well, the cream soaked right in and it released from the pan beautifully and kept its shape. And yet: what a waste of ingredients. This is more pudding than cake, too wet for my liking and with off-putting texture in the places where the cream has pooled. I admire everyone in the comments who keeps re-making this cake in an effort to make it better. I definitely won‘t.
Kat March 29, 2021
After reading the reviews I was highly skeptical, but decided to try the recipe anyway. I baked it in a 13x9 pan instead of a bundt, and instead of making the maple glaze I added a tablespoon of instant espresso to the soak. It turned out to be EASILY one of the best cakes I've ever made, and I'll definitely be making it again.
elizab March 21, 2021
I made this cake for a birthday, and was surprised at how low it baked, but proceeded with the hot cream and let it sit for 15 minutes before tipping it onto s serving plate. It was a nice texture, and everyone at the party loved it. It reminded some of us of a cassava cake, which is really moist and dense. I had no leftovers. PS I skipped the maple drizzle, didn't really need it.
A. R. February 27, 2021
Like Regine, I can't help but try again. This time I did 1/4 teaspoon less than 1 T of baking powder and it rose fine and had lots and lots of holes for the cream to seep into. I also added 1 T vanilla to the water/egg blend. It tastes edible, maybe even good, but some bites are still so strongly flavored of baking powder. Because I'm at high altitude, I reduced the sugar by 1/4 and cooked it at 340*. Next time I will cook it for 30 minutes instead of 25 to see if it comes out of the pan more smoothly. This time, with a lot of sliding between the cake and the bundt pan it came out fine except for a few spots right on top - the spatula I use is a super super thin, hard plastic that is very flexible, not the sticky rubbery material I use for scraping batter out of pans, and that seems to make a huge difference. It came with my Vitamix a million years ago.
Regine February 28, 2021
A.R., mine with the 3 tsp (1 tbsp) baking powder had no taste of baking powder and it tasted wonderful. But I guess things r different at high altitudes. I myself live in Gaithersburg Maryland which is not a high altitude area (for lack of a better word). I like the way you said it. You couldn’t help but try again. 😎
Regine February 25, 2021
I remade this cake successfully for the first time after failing 3/4 times, but the secret is to cut the baking powder by half from 2 tbsp (6 tsp) to 1 tbsp (3 tsp). the cake came out perfectly. I baked it for abour 35/40 minutes. I also let it cool a bit and removed it from the pan, then put if back in the pan before pouring the cream. Many people complain this cake is
finicky but I believe that if you reduce the baking powder, you will succeed. Also, reducing it does not cause the cake to be less tall or less spongy.
Regine January 9, 2021
Although I made this cake so many times and succeeded at it only once, I am again tempted to redo it. It looks like a majority of the reviews shows that cake does not turn out well and collapses. The recipe calls for two tbsp of baking powder which is a lot. The equivalent of six tsp of baking powder. I think that cutting it in half to only 1 tbsp or 3 tsp will accomplish two things. First, cake is likely not going to collapse. Second, cake is likely still going to be spongy. Last, less people will complain about it not turning out well. Stay tuned. 😎 I will make it soon and let you know if i am right.
A. R. November 19, 2020
I adjusted the recipe for high altitude, although it still sunk a little in the middle. I poured the cream on, set a timer for 10 minutes and it came right out of the mold. However, this cake is terrible, it tastes like nothing but baking powder (unsurprising based the ingredients, but the reviews are so positive I thought there must be some chemical magic that eliminated the baking powder taste). I made the icing but with vanilla instead of maple and twice as much of it to try to mask the taste of the baking powder but to no avail. It's truly terrible. That said, my oldest son loves it, though the younger agrees with me.
RalphO November 16, 2019
I also had the same experience as others as my cake fell apart when I tried to take it out from the mold. The taste of the cake is good, my son is a picky eater and eats the “debris” without reservation. I have to agree with others that I won’t make this cake.
Marques May 26, 2019
Just made twice in one week — great the first time, though I tried to turn out too early, and top broke off. For the 2nd, I added 1/2c more cream for the big pour, and the resulting texture was otherworldly. Festive occasions, so served both with pile of mixed berries in the center topped with a cloud of whipped cream (gilding the lily, I know, but it helped hide the broken top the first time). I let the 2nd cake cool longer before turning out. Recipe is a true winner and so easy!
Nadia J. May 12, 2019
Bad instructions!! 25 minutes was definitely NOT enough for the cake to cook all the way.
Amy April 20, 2019
I'm not a "novice" baker by any means. I made this twice and both times it completely fell. It's also way too moist. Maybe the original recipe was for a good cake, but whatever recipe this is, it's not good. Won't do this one again.
Charles U. December 27, 2019
Mine too! It was awful and a waste of ingredients
P March 31, 2019
Cake crumbled & adding the cream mixture only seemed to make it worse. Thought about making cake balls but would've been much too sweet & a lot of hassle. Won't make again.
Daniel S. February 6, 2019
Made this cake for a quick dessert for Tuesday nite Chicken / Chili stew. As is, it was easy, quick and the cake came out perfect. Wasn’t too crazy about the maple flavor as in the bio, it may have been an alternative for donuts as it’s more of a “breakfast cake” I substituted vanilla with orange zest and threw some blueberries on the side with a little whipped cream and they ate it up, Thanxs for the recipe. 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
Cindy January 11, 2019
What a disaster. The cake fell. Will not make this again.
Ginfay December 8, 2018
Like other posters, I made this cake four times. The first time it came out perfectly. Every other time, the cake didn’t come out of the bundt pan intact. It’s git or miss. I sprayed Pam on the bundt pan to help it come out intact but it still fell apart.
Regine December 24, 2017
Strange cake turns out well sometimes but not always. Scratching my head.