Everything you love about a sticky bun (like cinnamon swirls, caramel, and praline pecans) in a super moist coffee style bundt cake!
Some days, inspiration just strikes. And some days, that inspiration comes from laziness. Like yesterday, when I had a craving for some cinnamon rolls or sticky buns, but there was NO WAY I was going to bother with a dough, or waiting for said dough to rise.
So, it had to be a cake. But it also HAD to taste like a sticky bun. First thing to do was make a caramel for the top, which consisted of throwing some brown sugar, honey, and butter in a pot and boiling it for three minutes. Yeah, real tough. While that was boiling I also toasted a cup of pecan pieces, just lightly.
Now, the cake batter is easy, and making it more like a moist coffee cake meant it could be enjoyed as dessert, or as breakfast (that’s right folks, call it a “coffee cake” and you can eat it whenever you want! It’s all in the details.).
But I was still missing something – those cinnamon swirls. So, whisk together some white sugar and cinnamon, and then layer it between your cake batter. It’s time to assemble now.
Here, like this:
Prep your baking pan with some baking spray, or grease it.
Add some of your caramel sauce.
Add your toasted nuts.
Add 1/3 of the batter, and sprinkle on an even layer of cinnamon sugar.
Add half of the remaining batter, and another layer of cinnamon sugar.
Then just top with the last of your cake batter, and smooth it out. See, super easy.
After that you just pop it into the oven, and about an hour later you’ll be staring at an INCREDIBLE sticky bun bundt cake, and your house will smell amazing. It’s a win-win.
Sticky Bun Bundt Cake
Ingredients
Sticky Bun Topping
- 1/2 cup butter
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 3/4 cup heavy cream
- 1/3 cup honey
- 1/4 tsp kosher salt
- 1 cup chopped pecans, toasted
Cinnamon Sugar
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 2 tbsp cinnamon
Cake Batter
- 3 cups flour
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 cup butter, softened
- 2 1/2 cups white sugar
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 tbsp heavy cream
- 6 eggs
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350ºF with a rack in the middle position. Grease a bundt pan and line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil.
Sticky Bun Topping
- Melt the butter in a sauce pan over medium heat. Stir in the brown sugar, heavy cream, honey, and salt.
- Bring to a boil, and then boil for 3 - 4 minutes.
- Remove from heat and set aside.
Cinnamon Sugar
- Whisk together the white sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl and set aside.
Cake batter
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
- Beat the butter and sugar together over medium-high until light and fluffy.
- Add the sour cream, heavy cream, and vanilla and beat until well combined.
- Add the eggs, two at a time, mixing until combined. Scrape the bowl down as necessary.
- Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture, and mix on low speed until just combined. Make sure not to over mix, mixing slowly just until there is no dry flour left.
Assembly
- Pour 1/2 cup of the sticky bun topping into the bottom of the bundt pan. Save the remaining caramel sauce for later.
- Sprinkle the toasted nuts evenly over the caramel sauce.
- Spread 1/3 of the cake batter gently over the topping (dollop on drops of batter, then use a spatula to smooth out).
- Evenly sprinkle on a few tablespoons of the cinnamon sugar.
- Spread on half of the remaining cake batter.
- Sprinkle on another few tablespoons of the cinnamon sugar.
- Spread on the remaining cake batter, smoothing out the top as best you can.
Baking
- Put the lined cookie sheet in the oven on a rack below the one where your cake will be. Some of the caramel sauce may bubble up and over the edge of the pan, and this will catch any drips for you. Don't sit the bundt pan directly on the cookie sheet, or it may cause the topping to burn.
- Bake the cake for about 60 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- As soon as you take the pan out of the oven, invert it onto a cake stand, and then let it cool completely before serving.
- Just before serving, heat up the remaining caramel sauce in the microwave for 30 seconds. Drizzle some of it over the top of the bundt cake, and some over the slices as you serve them.
Erin @ Brownie Bites Blog
Katrina
Renee