Yield: 1 sunshine bundt cake // Total Time: 2 hr. 20 min. // Disclaimer: This post includes affiliate links.
My love of bundt cake continues with this bright and sunny sunshine bundt cake. You guys, I am seriously in love with this cake. First off, it is so tender, buttery, and moist. Second of all, it is marbled with lemon and raspberry batter, made by mixing in some fresh lemon zest and a fresh raspberry reduction! Keep scrolling to see the beautiful inside of this cake, and to find out how to make it!
Rodelle’s 2022 Spring Baking Challenge
I am one of the hosts for Rodelle’s 2022 Spring Baking Challenge! The whole goal of this event is to inspire you to bake, whether it’s a new recipe or something you’ve loved for years. I created this bundt to go along with the second prompt, which is “Sunny and Bright.” The event has already begun but there is still plenty of time to join and be entered for the chance to win some goodies. You can check out this post on my Instagram for all of the details on how to join. I used Rodelle’s vanilla paste in this recipe, which you can find here.
Recipe notes for sunshine bundt cake:
Measuring the ingredients
My recipes are all written in grams because it is a more accurate way to bake. When you use a kitchen scale, you ensure that your baked goods turn out as close to the written recipe as possible. Plus, the cleanup is way easier when using a scale! Here is my favorite kitchen scale, and here’s an article about why I use a kitchen scale, and why you should too!
Room temperature ingredients
It is important that the butter, eggs, and buttermilk are at room temperature so that they incorporate properly with the rest of the ingredients. Take out the butter, eggs, and buttermilk at least 30 minutes before starting the recipe. If you are in a hurry and need some tricks to getting room temperature ingredients quickly, you can check out this post here!
Weigh your mixing bowl!
If you want to have even layers in the cake, it is important to weigh your mixing bowl prior to adding any ingredients to it. This way, you can get an accurate weight of the batter. Your batter should weigh ~1,625g. We will split the batter into 5 even layers, weighing ~325g each.
Ingredients and substitutions
Cake batter
All purpose flour: the structure of the cake.
Baking powder: for helping the cake rise.
Salt: for balancing and bringing out the sweetness of the cake.
Unsalted butter: for tenderizing the cake and giving it that classic buttery taste. You can substitute in salted butter, just be sure to reduce the added salt from 3/4 tsp. to 1/4 tsp.
Vegetable oil: for tenderizing the cake. You can substitute in any neutral oil, such as canola, in place of the vegetable oil.
Granulated sugar: for sweetening the cake and keeping it moist. The sugar also helps aerate the butter to give this cake it’s rise.
Eggs: for moisture, structure, and binding the batter together. We will use a total of 2 whole eggs, and 3 egg whites.
Vanilla bean paste: I used Rodelle’s vanilla bean paste. We will use vanilla bean paste in the cake and in the frosting to give this cake a nice vanilla flavor, with some cute little vanilla bean specks!
Buttermilk: for tenderizing the cake and adding moisture. I highly recommend using buttermilk but I know it can be hard or annoying to purchase, especially if you don’t plan on using it for anything else. It won’t be completely the same, but you can make a homemade buttermilk substitute. For this recipe, simply combine 20g of lemon juice or vinegar with 320g of whole milk and use as normal.
Lemon batter
Lemons: you will need the zest of two lemons for making th
Yellow food dye: I used this egg yellow food dye.
Raspberry batter
Frozen raspberries: You can substitute in fresh raspberries if you would like. If you do, I would recommend adding it a small amount of water, enough to coat the bottom of the saucepan.
Granulated sugar: to sweeten the raspberry mixture.
Burgundy food dye: I used this burgundy food dye.
Lemon vanilla cream cheese frosting
Cream cheese: provides a nice tanginess to the frosting and cake.
Lemon: for flavoring, you will need both the zest and some lemon juice.
Powdered sugar: for sweetening and thickening up the frosting.
Vanilla bean paste: for flavoring. I used Rodelle’s vanilla bean paste.
How to store sunshine bundt cake
Because the cake is frosted with a cream cheese frosting, it does need to be refrigerated. If possible, wait until serving to frost the cake so that the cake can stay at room temperature, while the frosting is stored in the fridge. The cake can safely stay at room temperature for up to 2 hours once frosted. It will taste better at room temperature, so if you are serving it has been in the fridge, i would recommend letting it sit out at room temperature for at least 30 minutes.
How to prevent the bundt from sticking to the pan
I use and absolutely love this pan and have never had a problem with the cake sticking. To make sure your cake doesn’t stick, generously butter it, making sure to get all of the crevices. Then, generously pour some flour into the pan and shake it around so that it completely coats the inside. Tap out any excess flour.
Can I make this in a different sized pan?
Yes of course! This batter makes enough to fit in a 12 cup capacity bundt. This means it can also fit dispersed between two 8″ round pans, or a 13 x 9″ pan. Just be sure to keep an eye on it as it bakes, because it may take more or less time!
Tools and ingredients
For a full list of tools, equipment and ingredients that I use and love, you can check out this page here.
Did you make this sunshine bundt cake?
If you made this sunshine bundt cake I would love to see and know your thoughts! Please leave a comment and review down below, and tag me on Instagram @freshbeanbakery. If you have any questions about the recipe I will gladly do my best to answer them in the comments below!
Sunshine Bundt Cake
Ingredients
Raspberry Reduction
- 150 g frozen raspberries
- 50 g granulated sugar
Vanilla Cake Batter
- 405 g all purpose flour
- 4 tsp. baking powder
- ¾ tsp. salt
- 170 g unsalted butter room temperature
- 110 g vegetable oil
- 360 g granulated sugar
- 2 eggs + 3 egg whites room temperature
- 4 tsp. rodelle vanilla bean paste
- 340 g buttermilk room temperature
- zest of 2 lemons
- yellow and red food dye
Vanilla Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting
- 113 g cream cheese room temperature
- zest of 1 lemon
- 120 g powdered sugar
- 1 tsp. vanilla bean paste
- 1 ½ tsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice
Instructions
Raspberry Reduction
- Place the frozen raspberries and sugar in a saucepan set over medium heat. Stir the mixture ocasionally until the berries begin to soften. Smoosh down the raspberries as best as you can, and then strain the mixture to remove the seeds. Return the mixture to the heat and stir often until the mixture has been reduced to ~40g. Remove from the heat and set aside.
Vanilla Cake Batter
- Preheat the oven to 350°F / 175°C. Butter and generously flour a 12 cup capacity bundt pan.
- In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- Weigh your mixing bowl. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the butter, oil, and sugar for 5 minutes until light and fluffy.
- Scrape down the sides of the bowl, and add in one egg at a time, beating for 20 seconds between each addition. With the last egg, beat in the vanilla bean paste.
- Alternate between adding the flour mixture and the buttermilk. Fold in 1/3 of the flour mixture, then 1/2 of the buttermilk, 1/3 of the flour, the remaining 1/2 of the buttermilk, and the remaining 1/3 of the flour.
- Take the weight of the batter and divide it by 5. It should be ~1,625g total, 325g when divided by 5. Place 325g of batter into a medium sized bowl, and another 325g of batter into another medium sized bowl.
- For the lemon batter: add in the zest of 2 lemons to one of the bowls, along with yellow food coloring. Stir just until combined, adjusting the color if needed.
- For the raspberry batter: add in the raspberry reduction to the other bowl, along with red food coloring. Stir just until combined, adjusting the color if needed.
- Scoop ~325g of batter into the bottom of the bundt pan and spread it around evenly. Carefully scoop the lemon batter over the vanilla batter, and spread it around evenly. Top again with some vanilla batter, followed by the raspberry batter, and finally finish it off with the vanilla batter.
- Bake for 50-60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the bundt pan comes out clean.
Vanilla Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting
- In a medium sized bowl by hand or with a hand mixer, beat the cream cheese with the lemon zest until the mixture is smooth.
- Slowly beat in the powdered sugar until it has all been incorporated.
- Add in the vanilla bean paste and lemon juice, and beat for an additional minute until the mixture is glossy and smooth.
Assembling the Cake
- Once the cake has slightly cooled, turn it out onto a clean surface.
- Once the cake has completely cooled, frost it with the vanilla lemon cream cheese frosting. Top with fresh raspberries and lemons if desired. Serve and enjoy!
Karina says
Hi instead of raspberries, can I use strawberries? 🙂
Erin says
I don’t see that being a problem! I’d love to know how it turns out if you do decide to make it and use strawberries. 🙂