14 Beautiful Bundt Cakes That Are Surprisingly Easy to Make at Home

Serve these gorgeously shaped cakes at brunch or for dessert—either way, they're guaranteed showstoppers.

strawberry swirl bundt cake
Credit: Marcus Nilsson

Bundt cakes have captivated bakers for generations. Inspired by a traditional European cake called a Gugelhupf, these fluted cakes were popularized in the United States when the Minneapolis-based Nordic Ware company began crafting their signature pans in the 1950s. However, the crowd-pleasing creations you're about to see are anything but a nostalgia trip. With our mold-breaking recipes, Bundt cakes are the shape of things to come. What's more, a Bundt cake can dazzle for dessert (put any of these cakes on a pedestal and serve as your meal's sweet ending), charm at teatime, or take the coffee cake route and be a hit at brunch.

A Bundt pan produces beautiful cakes with more curves and crevices than a mountain range, which means these treats don't need a lot of decoration to wow—the shape of the cake itself is more than enough to catch everyone's eyes. If you really want to gild the lily, go ahead and top your Bundt cake with pools of whipped cream or a glossy chocolate ganache.

For a little slice of heaven (or a big one!), bake up one of our irresistible Bundt cakes. You'll be pleasantly surprised at just how easy they are to make in your own kitchen.

01 of 14

Lemon-Rhubarb Olive Oil Cake

Lemon Rhubarb OliveOil Bundt Cake
Credit: Marcus Nilsson

A knockout for looks and for flavor, this tangy Bundt cake doesn’t need any decoration. It sparkles straight out of the pan thanks to a coating of sanding sugar used for pan prep. This technique helps to define the shape of a Bundt and helps the cake come out of the mold cleanly.

02 of 14

Vanilla Bundt Cake with Chocolate Cream Cheese Filling

vanilla bundt cake with chocolate-cream cheese filling
Credit: Kate Mathis

We like to think of this spectacular dessert as a giant vanilla pound cake stuffed with chocolate cheesecake. A shiny chocolate ganache glaze makes it stand out even more.

03 of 14

Glazed Lemon Blueberry Coffee Cake

lemon blueberry coffee cake
Credit: Mike Krautter

Martha considers this Bundt a coffee cake and serves it with coffee in the morning when she has company. Serve it with a scoop of ice cream and it’s dessert. The cake has a buttermilk batter that gets lemon flavor from the juice and zest of several lemons, then amps up the citrus with a simple lemon sugar glaze.

04 of 14

Mini Pistachio Bundts

mini pistachio bundts recipe
Credit: Marcus Nilsson

These small wonders are made with half flour and half ground pistachios, then flavored with pistachio extract and aromatic orange-flower water. An orange-flower-water glaze and a sprinkling of chopped nuts and rose petals nod to the Middle Eastern desserts that inspired these treats.

05 of 14

Orange-Cardamom Bundt Cake

orange-cardamom bundt cake recipe
Credit: Marcus Nilsson

Will you serve it for brunch or afternoon tea? This cardamom-scented sunburst gets a double dose of an orange-liqueur-spiked syrup: It's soaked into the bottom through skewer-poked holes and brushed on top to harden into fine, crackly glaze. We like it with a cup of chai.

06 of 14

Coconut Lemon Bundt Cake

coconut lemon cake
Credit: Bryan Gardner

It’s moist and tender thanks to a zingy lemon syrup that’s brushed on this Bundt cake after baking. And it’s packed with coconut flavor thanks to canned coconut cream in the batter.

07 of 14

Kentucky Bourbon Brown Butter Cake

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Credit: Stephen Kent Johnson

Three flavor bombs come together to create this crowd-pleaser: nutty brown butter and tangy buttermilk in the batter and spicy Kentucky bourbon in the glaze.

08 of 14

Chocolate Bundt Cake

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Credit: Con Poulos

Chocolate lovers, rejoice! This decadent Bundt cake can be baked a day in advance, and the ganache glaze makes it fancy enough for a dinner party.

09 of 14

Apple-Cider Doughnut Cake

apple cider donut cake
Credit: Jonathan Lovekin

Move over, apple-cider doughnuts! There's a bigger, better-for-you dessert in town—a Bundt cake made with cider, applesauce, and whole-wheat flour.

10 of 14

Strawberry-Swirl Bundt Cake

strawberry-swirl bundt cake recipe
Credit: Marcus Nilsson

Chocolate and vanilla swirls are a classic, but we riffed on strawberry shortcake for this rosy update. Egg whites and cake flour make the batter super-white and tender. For the pink part, flavor one-third of the batter with ground freeze-dried strawberries. Pour in plain batter, strawberry, then plain again, and swirl a knife through everything a few times. To serve, fill the center with whipped cream and macerated berries.

11 of 14

Key Lime Bundt Cake

sliced glazed lime streusel bundt cake
Credit: Marcus Nilsson

Our cross between coffee cake and Key lime pie is brought to you by streusel. The cinnamon-scented nubbins (a blend of ground graham crackers, brown sugar, and butter) get scattered in the pan, layered in the middle of the batter, and sprinkled on top before baking. As for the lime, a full cup of tart juice flavors the batter, a syrup that infuses the cake, and a lip-smacking coating that will be devoured lickety-split.

12 of 14

Triple-Citrus Bundt Cake

citrus bundt cake on cake stand
Credit: Christopher Testani

The trifecta of freshly squeezed juice, grated zest, and fruit segments gives this Bundt plenty of orange and lemon flavor. The final flourish of whipped cream and candied lemon zest takes it to another level.

13 of 14

German Chocolate Bundt Cake

german chocolate bundt cake recipe
Credit: Marcus Nilsson

German chocolate cake is defined by its iconic coconut-pecan frosting; we've bucked tradition and tucked it inside this irresistible Bundt cake. Here's the trick: Transfer the batter to the pan, then spoon on the gooey goodness—we used a small ice cream scoop for easy release and evenly distributed dollops. It settles into the middle while baking, so when you cut through that glossy ganache, a scrumptious surprise awaits.

14 of 14

Apple-Walnut Bundt Cake

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Caramelized apples in the batter and an apple-cider glaze set this spice cake apart. It can be made up to three days in advance and stored at room temperature.

Updated by
Victoria Spencer
Victoria Spencer, senior food editor, decorvow.com
Victoria Spencer is an experienced food editor, writer, and recipe developer. She manages the decorvow recipe archive and is always curious about new ingredients and the best techniques. She has been working in food media for over 20 years.

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