Snickerdoodle Bundt Cake

For the last few days I've been wracking my brain trying to figure out what I could bring to a little Ladies Only PJ Party I was invited to. I wanted to make something that would appeal to crowd, but needed to be easy to whip together after work. I was leaning toward a Bundt cake because I knew it would be speedy and usually tastes good warm (I knew I'd be dashing to the party the moment the cake was done), but other than that, I was at a loss.
I started digging around AllRecipes.com and came across Honey's Butter Cake. After reading the recipe and several of the comments, it occurred to me that the cake was a bit similar to my Snickerdoodle Blondie recipe. That's when the light-bulb went on! I could tweak the recipe in just a few places and I'd have myself a Snickerdoodle Cake so that's exactly what I did. I added a sugar crust, swapped a cup of white sugar for light-brown, and upped the vanilla flavor. I was a little nervous about the crust idea as I knew it had to be spot-on to be able give it the Snickerdoodle name.

(Isn't this the coolest picture of the cake's crust?)

I'm happy to report that this cake was a success! The outside of the cake had the crispy shell I had hoped for and the inside was moist and snickerdoodly! As an added bonus, this cake makes the whole house smell like a big snickerdoodle cookie while it's baking. Yummmm!

Snickerdoodle Bundt Cake
Yield: It really depends on how big you cut the slices. Traditionally a 9" Bundt should serve about 12, but if you cut the slices smaller, you can feed about 18 to 24.

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 cup white sugar
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup white sugar
1 cup light brown sugar
3 eggs, at room temperature
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup full-fat sour cream, at room temperature

In a small bowl, combine 1 cup of sugar and 2 teaspoons of cinnamon. Mix together really well and set aside.

Preheat oven to 325F.

Here's the exact way I made the crust: Using a spray product like Pam with Flour (I LOVE this stuff -- seriously its changed my life!), generously spray a 9 inch Bundt pan, being careful to cover all the nooks and crannies, as well as the center tube. Don't forget the tube, I almost did. Note: If you don't want to use Pam with Flour, you can just grease the pan with shortening. Gently dust the entire inside of the pan with the sugar and cinnamon mixture. You should only need about 1/4 to 1/2 cup of sugar, but you want to try and evenly coat the inside surface of the pan, including the tube. Don't rush. Save the remaining sugar and cinnamon mixture and set everything aside.

Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

Beat just the butter on medium speed for one full minute. Add the white sugar and mix for 3 minutes, until light and fluffy. Scrape down the bowl and blade and add the brown sugar.

Mix for 2 minutes until the mixture looks light brown and uniform in color. Add the eggs one at a time, beating each for 1 full minute. Stir in the vanilla. Add the flour mixture alternately with the sour cream; beat well.

Spread half of the batter into the prepared pan. Sprinkle with 1/4 to 1/3 of a cup of the cinnamon sugar mixture over top the cake. Spread the rest of the batter into the pan and sprinkle any remaining sugar mixture over the top. (If you run out of cinnamon sugar, you can mix just 1/4 cup of sugar + 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon together for the top of the cake. It should be more than enough.)

Bake in the preheated oven for 55 to 65 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean. Allow to cool for 10 minutes before inverting onto a wire rack to cool completely.

If you like this recipe, please be sure to try my cult classic Snickerdoodle Blondies or my Pumpkin Pie Snickerdoodle Bars.