Old-Fashioned Doughnut Bundt Cake Recipe (2024)

Long ago I learned the trick of buttering/greasing pan and then sugaring ,not flouring, it. Cakes always release easily, or if there's any reluctance, a short spin on a warm burner solves it. This also lends a very slightly crunchy caramelized note.....maybe not always desirable, but hey, I've never had a complaint.

Erin’s not kidding when she says to grease the pan liberally...I thought I’d done a good job but, alas, a quarter of the top of the cake stuck to the pan! I managed to scrape it out in chunks and replace it. The butter and sugar were a good camouflage.Don’t be afraid to get your hands in the sugar and rub the sugar along the sides. I found it helpful to butter a smaller section at a time and add the sugar immediately rather than buttering the whole cake and then adding the sugar afterwards.

The key to this cake IMO is resist the temptation to eat it straight out of the oven or even after it's cooled the same day. Wrap it up and eat it the next morning with coffee for maximum donut enjoyment. It was a very different cake the next day. And yes, it freezes well. I freeze all my baked goods in portion controllled sizes.

I made this over the summer and it was quite good, and then made it again this evening in order to self-soothe two days after Trump extremists tried to take down the Capital, fomented by Trump himself. This, plus a strong drink, helped a little bit.

I realized a little too late while making this recipe that I had run out of nutmeg, but swapped it with two teaspoons of apple pie spice and ended up with a decadent oversized “apple cider donut” cake that I’ll be sure to make again!

This cake was delicious and everyone loved it. I don't think that the sticking problems come from how people are greasing the pans as much as they are caused by leaving the cake in the pan for 15 to 20 minutes. Nordic Ware recommends turning out the cake after cooling for 10 minutes. I've always done that and never had a cake stick - and I have made a ridiculous number of bundt cakes.

I was looking for a recipe to try out with a new Nordic Ware mini-bundt pan. Cut the recipe in half, wound up with six little beauties. I brushed a mixture of melted butter/canola oil/flour (instead of cooking spray) in the pans, baked 22 minutes, rested 15, and the cakes released perfectly. Since I had mini-bundts I was able to put them gently into a ziploc bag with the cinnamon sugar, after brushing with the melted butter, and got a very nice even sugar coating on them. Nicely moist when cut.

Muffins!!!! After making this a couple times, and loving it, I decided to try something new and adapt it for muffins. This was a massive success. Before baking I put 1/4 tsp cinnamon sugar in the bottom of each cup then another on top. Once out of the oven I brushed them with butter then added another 1/2 tsp sugar topping. This way there’s more of the sugar and they are ready to eat sooner than the cake which needed a day or two to settle. One full recipe made 2 dozen muffins. Seriously, try it

Excellent! Flavor is very reminiscent of old fashion doughnuts. Very moist. It is difficult to get the sides of this coated with cinnamon sugar. Several observations. A number of people talk about how dry this is. Imperative that you use kitchen scales when measuring out the flour as the grams are nowhere near the same as the cup quantity, it's actually a lot less. Sugar is the same, less using grams. 45 minutes is dead on. Used vanilla paste instead of extract. Same amount. Big hit. Thanks!

I use Pam baking spray with flour in my metal bunds pan. My cakes never stick. . By mistake I once used cooking spray, and my cake stuck. Must use BAKING spray.

I find the absolute best cooking spray to use for bundt cakes is Bakers Joy. It has flour in it and, knock on wood, I always have a perfect bundt cake when I flip the pan over. You can buy it at Walmart or Shoprite or Amazon.

I made this as cupcakes and added some jam in the middle for my workplace holiday potluck. Everyone loved them - they tasted great and were very flavorful.

I discovered I only had three eggs so made 3/4 the recipe in an 8x8 square pan

I made this cake and used yogurt w whole milk for the buttermilk since I did not have buttermilk. Additionally, I used 2 T melted butter for the topping and sprinkled the cake with 1 T cinnamon sugar. The result is a scrumptious cake with a perfect sugar balance. I adjust the sugar with everything I bake. Enjoy!

I thought this was good, but not great. I didn't have any issues with it sticking to the pan or with getting the cinnamon sugar to adhere, but I thought the crumb of the cake itself wasn't as moist as I would've liked (surprising, given the amount of butter in the cake and then added to it, plus the buttermilk). It also wasn't the most flavorful. I would recommend adding some kind of sauce to serve alongside it like a caramel or fudge to amp up the flavor.

The cake turned out amazing. I prepped the pan with melted butter and sugar, came out beautifully after cooling for a little less than 15 min. I brushed the melted butter on the cake with a pastry brush in small segments and added the cinnamon sugar with a spoon to regulate where it went. Definitely not too dry, I know others have had some issues with it, but as a cup of flour can vary greatly in weight I followed the weight of flour not just the cups of flour and turned out delicious.

This cake is fantastic, and a hit even with non-cake fans. It makes a good breakfast cake, and is perfect for afternoon tea. Does anyone know if I could substitute in self-raising flour for the all-purpose soda powder combo?

Beware that Step 2 of the recipe never tells you to add the buttermilk.

Really boring with little flavor even after boosting the vanilla. I only made it because I had leftover buttermilk and needed to make a dessert. Hence I didn’t heed to the lukewarm reviews but they are accurate.

Loved the recipe. I felt there was too much nutmeg but my guests disagreed. I also added a 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon to the cake recipe. And, I tried blending the melted butter with the sugar and cinnamon and then spreading them together as someone suggested. This made a marvelous frosting!!

I’ve made this cake twice now. Couple of tweaks. Number one: it’s better the day or two later. Cool and wrap tightly. It’s just next level. Second, I added nutmeg to the cinnamon coating. Third, I browned the butter a bit before slathering on the baked cake. All enhancement mods.

This cake was SO GOOD. PERFECT!

Hands down - prepared and baked as written - this recipe is phenomenal, either as a desert or a decadent breakfast treat. This is one of the best recipes I have had the pleasure of trying on the NYT cooking app. Making it again for the holidays upon family demand.

I followed the recipe, generously greasing the pan with a no stick vegetable oil. Baked for 57 minutes. Came out great! Five stars!

Comforting and simple! Followed exact instructions, weighing the ingredients for accuracy.

Replace half of the buttermilk with 4 cups apple cider reduced to 1/2 cup.

I baked this using Bob's Red Mill gluten free flour (the one without xanthum, bc some Celiac people can't process xanthum). Was worried about it being too dense... it was GREAT. Added more vanilla and nutmeg to try to hide the garbanzo bean flour taste... can't wait to make this again with regular a.p. flour.

Agreed with others: the only way this cake will be dry is if you don't weigh your ingredients. Do that and follow the mixing instructions precisely and this will be perfect.A local spice purveyor here in Boston, Curio, has a premixed blend of cinnamon and maple sugar. I use that for the outside coating and it's brilliant. the slight maple note makes it taste even more like a classic New England cake doughnut. (Upping the nutmeg to as much as double the amount helps with that as well.)

Everyone really liked it. Two things for me though. This batter does not "pour" exactly. More like, scoop. I felt the sugar cinnamon combo was easily halved and covered just fine.

Really lovely cake that's happily a doughnut. Instead of butter for the glaze at the end, try rendered bacon fat. My grandmother would fry her homemade doughnuts in bacon fat --it's like no other!