One Bowl Vanilla Bundt Cake

I always enjoy a good one-bowl dessert recipe. What is a one-bowl recipe? It’s a recipe that can be mixed up in just one bowl! I’ve made brownies and muffins, among other treats, but this One Bowl Vanilla Bundt Cake is a new favorite. This easy-to-make bundt cake only takes a couple of minutes to put together and the moist, tender cake is a crowd-pleaser every time I bake it.

The cake starts with very simple ingredients, with vanilla being the star of the cake. Vanilla extract works very well in this recipe, however if you have vanilla bean paste, I recommend using that. With the vanilla bean paste, you’ll get to see those beautiful flecks of vanilla in each piece, in addition to getting a lovely vanilla flavor.

The key to making this cake a success is careful mixing of all the ingredients. You want the cake to remain tender, which means that you need to avoid over-mixing the cake. As a result, I like to put together this recipe by hand using a whisk or a spatula, rather than a mixer. While a mixer will save you a little bit of time, you may also run the risk of over-mixing the cake and making the crumb a little bit too firm.

Once everything is mixed together, simply pour the batter into a greased and floured bundt pan and bake. I finished this cake with a drizzle of vanilla frosting. It is also good with a dusting of confectioners’ sugar, but the drizzle dresses it up and adds a bit of additional sweetness to each piece. I must confess that you will need a second bowl to make the vanilla frosting for this cake – although you could simply wash and resuse the initial bowl if you want to really stick to the “one bowl” idea.

One Bowl Vanilla Bundt Cake
3/4 cup butter, melted and cooled
1 1/4 cups sugar
2 large eggs
1 tbsp vanilla extract (pref. vanilla bean paste)
2 2/3 cup all purpose flour
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 1/4 cups milk (pref. whole)

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease and flour a 10-cup bundt pan.
In a large bowl, whisk together butter, sugar, eggs and vanilla extract.
Add 1 cup of all purpose flour, along with baking powder and salt, into the sugar mixture and stir to combine. Stir in 1/2 of the milk, followed by another cup of flour. Stir in the remaining milk, followed by the rest of the flour. Mix until no streaks of dry ingredients remain.
Bake for about 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, or with only a few moist crumbs attached.
Allow cake to cool in the pan for 15-20 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
When cooled, drizzle with vanilla frosting.

Makes 1 cake; serves 12

Vanilla Frosting
2 cups confectioners’ sugar
1 tbsp butter, room temperature
2 tsp vanilla extract (or vanilla bean paste)
2-3 tbsp milk

In a medium bowl, whisk together sugar, butter, vanilla and 2 tbsp of milk until smooth. If necessary, whisk in an additional tablespoon of milk to thin frosting to a drizzle-able consistency.
Drizzle on cooled cake.