My dad recently turned 83 and wanted a chocolate cake with chocolate frosting and chocolate chips inside. The chocolate cake recipe calls for a cup of buttermilk and the smallest size I can buy is one quart. Not to knock buttermilk but, I can’t drink it straight, yuck. It was time to find something besides Aebleskivers to make. Then I remembered a cake recipe I’d found on Pinterest that called for buttermilk. It took a few minutes to find it, apparently I pin a lot of cake recipes. Oh happy day when I found it!
I used to make Bundt cakes when I was a kid. My dad was a big fan of the mix that had a fudgy pudding center and I made it a lot. That Bundt pan moved with me when I married Mark but was lost in our move to Arizona. I have a tube pan but it’s not the same as a pretty Bundt pan.
We’ve made monkey bread in the Bundt pan that is so easy and so good. We’ve also made a scrambled egg dish that was supposed to be “the breakfast centerpiece” that was not. Bundt pan cakes are still my favorite.
Which brings me to this pretty slice of deliciousness. It’s a perfect Independence Day BBQ dessert! You can swap out the coloring gel and have a very festive St. Patrick’s Day dessert as well. If Mark made this for me as our Valentine’s Dessert, I think I would weep with joy.
Let’s get some notes out of the way:
- While it’s completely doable in the RV, you might want the extra space your home kitchen has the first time you make it.
- Let the eggs, buttermilk and cream cheese come to room temperature, about two hours.
- Gel food coloring works best. Americolor is what is recommended in the recipe. I use Americolor when I decorate sugar cookies.
- The recipe calls for you to sift the cocoa powder and flour together before transferring it to a mixing bowl. I messed that up the first time I made this by putting the flour and cocoa powder straight into the mixer then mixing them together. The cake came out fine. Still sift the powdered sugar for the glaze.
- Whenever I glaze a dessert, I put the wire rack on top of big pieces of foil with the edges folded up. It’s so much easier for cleanup and one less dish to wash by not using a cookie sheet. An added bonus is as the baker, you are entitled to scoop up as much of the leftover glaze as you want.
Now let’s get to baking!
If you’re following correctly, sift the flour and cocoa powder together into a large mixing bowl. If you misread the instructions like I did, then put the flour and cocoa powder into your large mixing bowl and run the mixer on slow until they are completely combined. Add the baking soda and salt and mix again for several seconds until it’s well incorporated.
In another bowl, mix the buttermilk, oil, vinegar, and eggs until well blended. Add the vanilla and red gel coloring and mix until completely blended and a nice red color.
With the mixer on low, add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Scrape the bowl then mix again. Don’t overmix. Pour the batter into the prepared Bundt pan.
Bake at 350° for 40-45 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean. Leave in pan on wire rack for 10 minutes then invert the cake onto the wire rack until completely cooled.
To make the glaze, beat the softened cream cheese on high until fluffy, about one minute. Sift the flour onto the top of the cream cheese. Mix on low to incorporate then on high until smooth. Add vanilla and milk and mix well. Glaze should be a pourable consistency. If it’s too dry, add a little milk. If it’s too wet, sift a little more powdered sugar and mix in well.
Now for the fun part, glazing!
Put two large pieces of foil on the counter, folding the edges up to catch any stray drippings. Put wire rack with cake on the foil. Pour the glaze onto the cake in any pattern you like. I went back and forth making lines from the inside to the outside of the cake. Add sprinkles.
Store in the refrigerator until ready to serve and store any leftovers the same way.
Click to print recipe.
Red Velvet Bundt Cake
Adapted from Stephanie’s Sweet Treats
- 3 cups flour
- 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 cups sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 1 1/4 cup buttermilk at room temperature
- 3/4 tsp vinegar
- 3 large eggs at room temperature
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 1 1/2 tsp red food coloring gel. Americolor is a good brand.
- 4 oz. cream cheese at room temperature
- 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
- 3 Tablespoons milk
- 1/2 tsp vanilla
- Multi-colored sprinkles, as much as you’d like.
- Preheat oven to 350°. Spray the Bundt pan really well with non-stick cooking spray.
- Sift the flour and cocoa powder together. Add sugar, baking soda and salt. Mix on low for several seconds until well mixed.
- In a separate bowl, mix the oil, buttermilk, vinegar, eggs, vanilla, and red food coloring. Mix until it is combined and bright red.
- Slowly add the wet ingredients into the dry. Then, scrape the bowl. Mix on low. Scrape the bowl again and mix again, don’t overmix.
- Pour batter into the Bundt pan. Bake for 40-50 minutes. The cake is done baking when a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let the cake sit in the pan for 10 minutes. Then, flip cake out onto wire rack to cool completely.
Make the glaze
- Use a hand mixer and beat the cream cheese on high for 1 minute. Add in the sifted powdered sugar. Mix on low until combined. Mix on high until smooth. Add in milk and vanilla. Mix again until combined. It should be a pourable glaze consistency.
- Place cake on a cooling rack with foil underneath to catch the glaze. Pour glaze all over cake. Add sprinkles for a festive look. Store cake in refrigerator until ready to serve.