Friday, January 16, 2009

Cinnamon Swirl Buttermilk Pound Cake


Here's another recipe from one of my new favourite cookbooks, The Cake Book. I've only made bundt cakes once and those were mini bundts and I got it stuck in my head that I wanted to make a regular size bundt. I just bought a pan from the grocery store since I wasn't sure how often I'd end up using it anyway and came home to make this yummy cake!


The cake was very moist and perfectly dense. The orange was a nice addition but you could definitely omit it if you want it to be all about the cinnamon (yes I'm thinking of you Grace). I loved the streusel and think it's the best I've found but I'm not sure it's right for this cake as it seemed to be too "wet" in the final cake if that makes sense. Maybe the streusel should have less flour. Anyway, this cake is supremely addictive and I know I'll be making more bundt cakes!

If this sounds good, you might also like:
Mom's Banana Apple Bread
Cinnamon Raisin Bread
Chunky Peanut Butter and Oatmeal Chocolate Chipsters
Russian Grandmother's Apple Pie-Cake


Cinnamon Swirl Buttermilk Pound Cake
Adapted from The Cake Book

I only made one small adaptation, to use cinnamon in the pound cake instead of cardamom. I also didn't sprinkle on confectioner's sugar before serving it. I'm also thinking the cake in the pan on a wire rack to cool needs to sit longer than 15 minutes so it doesn't stick - or maybe I need to butter and flour my pan better!

Makes one 10 inch bundt cake, serving 12

Cinnamon Streusel Swirl
1/2 cup (60 g) all purpose flour
1/3 cup (72 g) firmly packed light brown sugar
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
pinch of salt
3 tbsp (1.5 oz) unsalted butter, melted

Buttermilk Pound Cake
2 cups (242 g) all purpose flour
1/2 cup (57 g) cake flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp ground cinnamon
1 cup (227 g/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
2 cups (400 g) granulated sugar
3 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp finely grated orange zest
1 cup (240 mL) buttermilk

1. Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 325F. Grease the inside of a 10 inch Bundt pan. Dust the pan with flour.

Make the Cinnamon Swirl
2. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt, breaking up any large lumps of brown sugar. Add the melted butter and stir until blended and crumbly.

Make the Pound Cake
3. Sift together the flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon into a medium bowl. Whisk to combine, and set aside.

4. In the bowl of an electric mixer, using the paddle attachment, beat the butter at medium speed until very creamy, about 2 minutes. Gradually add the sugar and beat at medium-high speed until well blended and light, about 4 minutes. At medium speed, add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary. Beat in the vanilla extract and orange zest. At low speed, add the dry ingredients in three additions, alternating with the buttermilk in two additions and mixing just until combined.

5. Scrape half of the batter into the prepared pan and smooth it into an even layer. Sprinkle the streusel mixture evenly over the batter. Scrape the remaining batter on top and smooth it into an even layer.

6. Bake the cake for 65 to 75 minutes (note: I baked mine for 60), until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool the cake in the pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes.

7. Invert the cake onto the rack and cool completely.

35 comments:

LizNoVeggieGirl said...

Moist & dense cake = pure bliss.

La Cuisine d'Helene said...

Would be perfect with my coffee. Looks so perfect.

kickpleat said...

oh wow, that looks so amazing and strangely shiny! i'd love a big slice :)

Steph said...

I love bundt cakes, mostly because of the nice browning on the outside. It can be so hard to find the right textured cake sometimes. It looks like you have a nice tight crumb!

Unknown said...

This looks delicious! I love how moist it looks.

The Food Librarian said...

Yummy! This looks fantastic!

Brad and Ahnah said...

I don't know what looks yummier, the cheesecake or bundt cake......

Amy said...

Looks wonderful!

Anonymous said...

That looks yummy! My mom made a bundt cake the other night and my husband saw it and shouted "IS THAT A GIANT DONUT?" He's crazy.

Sara said...

Your cake looks perfect, I love the swirl in the middle. I need to pull out my bundt pan and get baking!

Mary said...

Wow, I really could use a slice of this cake right now! I love bundt cakes!

Jacqueline Meldrum said...

It is a very attractive cake with that lovely smooth finish to it, isn't it? I am liking the sound of the cinnamon too!

Anonymous said...

ooooh that looks so moist!
and i love the cinnamon streusel inside! wish i could be eating that for breakfast right now.

Anonymous said...

Perfect flavor combination! And the cake looks beautiful--love the swirl in the middle.

Linda said...

I'll take a delicious bundt cake over any other cake/cupdake anytime. Yours looks so delicious and moist!!!

Pam Walter said...

This looks fantastic! Does it taste as good as it looks? http://blog.sweetservices.com/sweetscandyblog/

CookiePie said...

That looks fantastic - I would like a big hunk with a steaming-hot cup of coffee, please!

grace said...

yes...heaven forbid the orange upstage the cinnamon (of which i would have to add more). :)
streusel is a marvelous component of any muffin or cake, whether inside or on top--great cake!

Snooky doodle said...

oh this cake looks great ! I love the cinnamon swirl. I must taste amazing :)

Joanna said...

WOW- that cake is amazing. you make cake look so good. you'd be an excellent food photographer for a magazine if you ever decided to try it.

Cookie baker Lynn said...

Good call going with the cinnamon. This bundt cake looks perfect!

Fitness Foodie said...

Nice pound cake... the swirl is perfect.

Bunny said...

I LOVE this cake, you can see from the picture how moist this is!

Cakespy said...

This is a voluptuous and sexy cake, no doubt about it!

Anonymous said...

awesome pound cake! love the cinnamon!

Usha said...

Wow this cake looks fantastic :-)

Valerie Harrison (bellini) said...

I'm glad you revealed what's inside this tasty cake. I can imagine the cinnamony aroma coming from your kitchen.

Sarena Shasteen - The Non-Dairy Queen said...

Seriously, I was looking all over yesterday for something to bake. Sometimes I get in those moods where I have no idea what to bake because I have too many options and I always seem to stick with the tried and true! Well, you just answered that question with this cake. I am making this one today!

Deborah said...

What a perfect bundt cake!

Anonymous said...

I made this last week, and it was a hit. So moist and delicious. I was kind of sad that the streusel didn't stay in a pretty layer like yours did--it sank unevenly to the top of the cake. I guess I'll layer it higher up next time.

Maybe said...

The shape is just perfect,and it looks delicious (I love cinnamon) !!

What's for Supper? said...

I can't tell you how much we enjoyed this one. I am so sorry that I was late. Last week was crazy!! Mine certainly didn't turn out as pretty as yours but it tasted out of this world!!

AntBee said...

Cake looks delicious!

Has anyone made the cake in a regular tube type poundcake pan, and if so how did it look as far as presentation?

Thanks again~

Melissa said...

I ended up here from doing a Google search for a buttermilk coffee cake. The recipe sounded like what I was looking for, so I baked it today for my Bible study group this evening. It was a big hit and there were no leftovers! I omitted the orange like you suggested as a possiblity, because it's not my favorite. Awesome recipe, thanks for sharing. :o)

Anonymous said...

I wanted to make a cake for my Dad and he wanted cinnamon in it so I googled but I didn't have much time. After twenty minutes, I discovered this blog. I made this last night and we both enjoyed it.

Thanks for sharing this adapted recipe which I adapted a bit myself. I added more cinnamon and also added nutmeg and allspice with a little bit of rum. I omitted the orange. Well, I actually didn't have any on hand.

The cake was delicious and I'll make it again.