My new challenge for 2023 is to bake as many recipes from Bundt by Melanie Johnson.

You can read all about this in an introductory post here:

Bundt- The New Challenge For 2023.

I wasn’t sure which recipe I’d like to make first so I put it to the vote. It was a choice between Snickerdoodle, Chocolate and Vanilla Marble and a Carrot Bundt Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting. I asked on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram and it was interesting to see how each of the three cakes were more popular than others on each of the social media sites. But I counted the votes overall and the Snickerdoodle Bundt came out with the most votes. Now whether that was because some people thought the cake contained Snickers Bars, I really don’t know.

I have heard of Snickerdoodle cookies before and have made them. They are cinnamon and vanilla flavoured cookies but are rolled in cinnamon dusted sugar before they are baked. I could eat a whole batch in one sitting if someone left me to it. Hopefully not going to do the same with this cake!

The Snickerdoodle Bundt cake is made in the Nordicware 6 Cup Anniversary Bundt pan which is it’s most iconic and recognisable design. When you think of a bundt cake, this is the pan which sticks in your mind. My 6 cup pan was bought in Lakeland a few years back when they sold a couple of bundt pans alongside their own cake tins. I was pleased I’d get to use it again. It’s last outing was last year when I baked my New Year’s Day Sticky Toffee Pudding.

After greasing the pan and pre-heating the oven (mine is a fan one which was at 160oC) I started to make the cake batter. First was to cream together some softened butter and caster sugar. Then to add beaten eggs one by one, followed by some vanilla extract.

All the recipes in Bundt have factored in some extra butter and flour for greasing and lining your bundt pan. I have had many a mistake in the past from not being thorough enough in greasing the pan before. I thought using Cake Release type products would be ok but this wasn’t always successful. If it wasn’t for half of it sticking to the pan and the rest sliding out, there would be frustration banging the bundt pan on a wire rack to make it come out. I was hoping that using more butter and also the addition of flour would do the trick.

For the next part, I then had to add buttermilk and self raising flour, along with some ground cinnamon. This was done in stages alternately so that everything was incorporated evenly. When all the batter was mixed together, the mixture was ready to be spooned into the pan.

The mixture only filled half of the tin which was a bit of a surprise as most of my bundt recipes I’ve used take up three quarters of the tin. I was really hoping there would be some rise or it would be a very small cake!

The baking time stated it would be in the oven from 25-30 minutes. As my oven bakes on the quick side, I was keen to look at the cake at the earliest time possible. It was still sticky and not springy when I opened the oven door after 25 minutes, so it had the full suggested time of 30 minutes.

Now for the test! Would the bundt come out of the pan in one piece? Would I be using a knife around the inside edge of the pan to get it out? Would I be cursing and swearing? Let’s hope not.

I’m pleased to say my Snickerdoodle Bundt slid out of the pan in one piece without any effort whatsoever and it looked lovely. I was so pleased with it.

To finish the cake off and to give it its classic Snickerdoodle flavour, I melted some butter and brushed it all over the outside of the bundt. This has to be done while the cake is still warm. Then I put caster sugar and cinnamon onto a plate and mixed it ready to dust onto the cake. The cake had to be rolled in the cinnamon sugar but I found it tricky to keep it on the cake in some parts.

The aroma coming from the cinnamon wafted throughout the downstairs of my house and it was so delicious. I know it’s January but I always associate cinnamon with Autumn/ Fall so I guess I’ll be baking the Snickerdoodle as often as I can as it was such a quick and easy bundt cake to bake.