Snickerdoodle Bundt Cake

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This flavorful Snickerdoodle Bundt Cake is sure to become an instant favorite.

Slice of Snickerdoodle Bundt Cake on a plate.

Inspired by the snickerdoodle cookie, this moist vanilla bundt cake has a delicious ribbon of brown sugar and cinnamon in every slice. This is such a winning combination of flavors.

Our Pumpkin Snickerdoodle Bundt Cake is a great fall version of this recipe.

Ingredients or Snickerdoodle Bundt Cake

Here is a quick look at the star ingredients for today's recipe. (These are ingredients for just the bundt cake itself as the glaze is optional.)

Snickerdoodle Bundt Cake Ingredients.

Cake Flour: Many of our cakes (from Lemon Cake to Marble Cake and more) contain cake flour. This is a low protein flour which means that it will produce less gluten. This results in a softer, more tender cake.

Unsalted Butter: We use unsalted butter so that we know exactly how much salt we are putting into the cake batter. If you are using salted butter, you can omit the salt from the recipe.

Light Brown Sugar and Cinnamon: Our bundt cake wouldn't be Snickerdoodle without the cinnamon and brown sugar! This combination adds wonderful flavor to the recipe. It makes the "ribbon" or swirl of cinnamon and sugar which can be seen in every slice.

Sour Cream: Sour cream not only adds richness to the cake recipe but also enhances the texture of the cake. We love cakes with sour cream (as with our Lemon Blueberry Pound Cake, our Sour Cream Pound Cake, and even our WASC Cake mix recipe!)

Why we Love It

There many reasons to love this Snickerdoodle Bundt Cake. Here are just a few!

How to Make Snickerdoodle Bundt Cake

You can find the full, printable recipe card for today's cake recipe at the bottom of this post. Here is a quick look at our steps!

  • Combine the cinnamon and brown sugar in a small bowl and set aside for later. We will use this after adding half of the cake batter to the bundt pan.

FOR THE CAKE BATTER

  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F, grease and flour a bundt pan. We used a bundt pan with a 12 cup baking capacity, 10 inches across.
  • In a medium sized bowl add the cake flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Whisk to blend, set aside.
Bowl of dry ingredients for the snickerdoodle bundt cake.
  • In another bowl or measuring cup add the sour cream, milk, vegetable oil, and vanilla extract. Blend with a fork and set aside
Measuring cup of wet ingredients for snickerdoodle cake.
  • In the bowl of your mixer, mix the softened butter until smooth. Gradually add the sugar and mix on medium speed for 3 to 5 minutes until it is lightened in color and fluffy.
Butter and sugar mixture in mixing bowl with paddle attachment
  • Add the eggs one at a time, mixing after each until the yellow of the yolk has blended.
  • With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture and the sour cream mixture alternately, beginning and ending with the flour mixture (We did 3 additions of dry ingredients and 2 of wet). Mix just until combined.
Mixing bowl of vanilla batter for snickerdoodle cake.
  • Add about half (approximately 3-3.5 cups) of the cake batter to the prepared bundt pan. Then, sprinkle the cinnamon and brown sugar mixture on top of it.
Half of cake batter in the bundt pan, sprinkled with the mixture of cinnamon and brown sugar.
  • Top with the remaining cake batter and gently smooth with the back of a spoon. Tap the filled cake pan on your counter a few times to make the air bubbles rise.
Snickerdoodle Cake Batter in bundt pan.
  • Bake at 350 degrees for45-50 minutes and then check for doneness-it may need additional time. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean or with just a few crumbs attached. Allow the cake to cool in the pan, on a wire rack for 10 minutes before turning out.
Freshly baked Snickerdoodle Cake on a cooling rack.

Vanilla Glaze

We dressed the cake in an easy vanilla glaze! This is a simple combination of vanilla extract, confectioners sugar, and a bit of milk.

Bowl of Vanilla Glaze.

Decorating the Cake

After cooling the Snickerdoodle Bundt Cake, drizzled it with the vanilla glaze. This can be spooned over the cake if you'd like. However, for more control, you can apply it using a disposable piping bag with the tip snipped away.

Sliced Snickerdoodle Bundt Cake on a pedestal.
Moist, flavorful Snickerdoodle Cake with a swirl of cinnamon and brown sugar.

Recipe FAQs

No, this Snickerdoodle Bundt Cake is fine to leave a room temperature in an airtight container or under a cake dome for a few days.

Yes! Just as with our Buttermilk Pound Cake, Chocolate Bundt Cake, Strawberry Bundt Cake, and more, this cake freezes perfectly!

After the cake has cooled to room temperature (or slightly warm), place on a foil wrapped cake board for support and then wrap the cake tightly in plastic wrap followed by aluminum foil.

The cake will stay fresh in the freezer for up to three months.

Since bundt cakes and pound cakes are larger than cake layers, they take longer to thaw. For this reason, we prefer to move the wrapped bundt cake from the freezer to the refrigerator the day before we need it.

Then, the next morning, move it to the kitchen counter and allow it to warm to room temperature.

Snickerdoodle cakes are inspired by snickerdoodle cookies. These are a type of sugar cookie that are rolled in cinnamon and brown sugar.

The name "Snickerdoodle" is from unknown origin but some say that the cookie dates back to Germany in the 1800s, and that snickerdoodle is a play on the word Schneckennudel. Others say its simply a nonsense word from the New England tradition of "whimsical cookie names".

We used light brown sugar for the swirl in today's cake, but dark brown is fine also! Dark brown sugar contains more molasses and therefore has a deeper color and flavor.

Cake flour contains less protein than all purpose flour. Lower protein means less gluten development in the cake batter, resulting in a softer, more tender crumb.

Just a few examples of cake recipes that call for cake flour are: Pear Cake, Vanilla Buttermilk Cake, Strawberry Cake, and more.

More Cakes

We've made many cakes over the years that have wonderful flavor from cinnamon or brown sugar (or both)! Some of our favorites are Pineapple Upside Down Bundt Cake, Maple Pound Cake, Caramel Cake, and Cinnamon Roll Cake.

While these cakes are crowd favorites any time of year, brown sugar and warm spices are perfect for fall! Don't miss our full collection of favorite fall cake recipes.

Slice of Snickerdoodle Bundt Cake on a plate.

Snickerdoodle Bundt Cake

This moist Snickerdoodle Bundt Cake is a delicious vanilla bundt cake with a ribbon of cinnamon and brown sugar in every slice.
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Course: Dessert
Servings: 15 servings
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Ingredients

  • 2 sticks unsalted butter, softened (226g)
  • 2 cups sugar (400g)
  • 3 large room temperature eggs (place the eggs in a bowl of warm water for 5 minutes if in a hurry)
  • 3 cups cake flour- if you do not have cake flour see substitution below (342g)
  • 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder (7g)
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda (3g)
  • ½ teaspoon salt (3g)
  • 1 cup sour cream (242g)
  • ¼ cup vegetable oil (54g) (we use canola oil)
  • cup milk (80g)
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract (8g)

For the Cinnamon Swirl

  • ½ cup (108g) light brown sugar, packed
  • 1 teaspoon (2g) cinnamon

Easy Vanilla Glaze

  • 2 cups (230g) Confectioners Sugar (see notes)
  • 3 to 4 Tablespoons milk (45 to 60g) Add more if needed for the consistency you like
  • Pinch of salt (Approximately ¼ teaspoon)
  • 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract (4g)

Instructions

For the Cinnamon Mixture

  • Combine the cinnamon and brown sugar in a small bowl and set aside for later. We will use this after adding half of the cake batter to the bundt pan.

For the Cake Batter

  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F, grease and flour a bundt pan. We used a bundt pan with a 12 cup baking capacity, 10 inches across. See notes re: pan size
  • In a medium sized bowl add the cake flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Whisk to blend, set aside.
  • In another bowl or measuring cup add the sour cream, milk, vegetable oil, and vanilla extract. Blend with a fork and set aside
  • In the bowl of your mixer, mix the softened butter until smooth. Gradually add the sugar and mix on medium speed for 3 to 5 minutes until it is lightened in color and fluffy.
  • Add the eggs one at a time, mixing after each until the yellow of the yolk has blended.
  • With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture and the sour cream mixture alternately, beginning and ending with the flour mixture (We did 3 additions of dry ingredients and 2 of wet). Mix just until combined.
  • Add 3.5 cups(about half) of the cake batter to the prepared bundt pan.
  • Then, sprinkle the cinnamon and brown sugar mixture over the batter. We recommend not carrying the mixture all the way to the edge of the pan or to the center tube/core of the pan. (We explain this in the notes.)
  • Top with the remaining cake batter and gently smooth with the back of a spoon. Tap the filled cake pan on your counter a few times to make the air bubbles rise.
  • Bake at 350 degrees for 45-50 minutes and then check for doneness-it may need additional time. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean or with just a few crumbs attached. Allow the cake to cool in the pan, on a wire rack for 10 minutes before turning out.
  • Makes 7 cups of cake batter

Easy Vanilla Glaze

  • Combine the confectioners sugar, milk, vanilla extract, and a pinch of salt in a small bowl and stir until smooth.
  • Drizzle over the cooled pound cake. (I spooned mine into a piping bag with the tip snipped away for more control.) If the glaze is too thin, add a bit more powdered sugar. If it is too thick, add a bit more milk.

Notes

Substitution for Cake Flour

Using all purpose flour (plain in UK) to make Cake Flour: For each cup of flour in a recipe, remove 2 Tablespoons of flour and replace with 2 Tablespoons cornstarch (cornflour in the UK). This recipe has 3 cups of flour so you will measure out 3 cups of all purpose flour, remove 6 Tablespoons and replace with 6 Tablespoons cornstarch, whisk to blend

Bundt Pan Size

Our bunt pan has a baking capacity of 12 cups and is 10 inches across. (This recipe makes 7 cups of batter). Your bundt pan may be smaller or larger than ours which can effect the bake time. If it is a larger pan, the batter will be more shallow in the pan and will bake more quickly. The opposite is true for a smaller pan.
If using a smaller bundt pan, be careful not to fill more than ⅔ full (Or allow at least 1-1.5 inches space from top of batter to top of pan. You can make cupcakes with any extra batter ;0)

Freezing:

When tightly wrapped in plastic wrap and foil, this cake can be frozen for up to three months! To thaw, move to the refrigerator the night before serving. Then, remove the next morning, and allow to warm to room temperature on the kitchen counter. Allow several hours to thaw completely.
5 from 8 votes (6 ratings without comment)

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12 Comments

    1. Hi Kim, this is similar in some ways to our white almond sour cream cake recipe (but made with the traditional creaming method rather than reverse creaming). It should work fine-- You may also like our Vanilla Buttermilk Cake and Vanilla Velvet Cake recipes!

      1. Thx for getting back to me!
        I prefer sour cream over buttermilk and I like the regular creaming method best .. I’ll give this a try in 2 8 inch pans. Love your recipes.. thanks!

  1. Oh my goodness!! So delicious! I used a cream cheese frosting instead of the vanilla to get a cinnamon roll feel. I think next time I make it I’ll try adding some cinnamon to the cake batter for a little more cinnamon love because let’s be honest, can you have too much cinnamon? :)
    My only question, in the directions it says not to put the brown sugar mix up against the pan and see notes for details but I didn’t see anything there. Mine went to the edges and the cake didn’t bake together. When I cut it the top isn’t connected to the bottom layer. Don’t affect taste just harder to eat.

    1. Hi Krysti! Thanks so much or your review, happy that you enjoyed it! I'm sure the cream cheese was great with it.

      Not sure what caused the top and bottom separation that you mentioned, but I meant to make a note about the mixture. One of our trial runs had the brown sugar mixture mounded up against the center core/tube of the bundt pan in some places.

      When we sliced it, there were some pieces of brown sugar mixture that were firmer in those areas that touched the center tube. So, we try to minimize the amount of sugar mixture that is in contact with the pan (especially the center opening).