This brown sugar bundt cake is warm, cozy, and tastes like a brown sugar cookie in cake form, topped with a thick brown sugar glaze that hardens as it cools into the most incredible caramel-y shell. It’s easy enough for beginner bakers but impressive enough to bring to any gathering, and honestly? It’s a year-round situation.

A brown sugar cake with brown sugar glaze on a white plate on a brown surface.
Such an easy but show stopping dessert!

At the beginning of the year I polled my readers on what they wanted to see more of, and the answer was loud and clear- more brown sugar recipes. So here we are, and I have to say, this cake might be my favorite thing to come out of that poll.

I started with my vanilla bundt cake which is a 5 star reader favorite. I tweaked it to really lean into brown sugar. Since the base was already perfected, this one came together beautifully on the first try, which honestly doesn’t happen as often as I’d like to admit! I did make it a second time to make sure it wasn’t a fluke. Happy to report it was just as delicious the second time around.

The secret to getting that rich brown sugar flavor throughout is using dark brown sugar for a deep caramel flavor. And also using both butter AND oil in the batter. 

As a trained pastry chef, this is one of my favorite tricks. Butter gives you that delicious buttery flavor, and a little bit of oil keeps the texture perfectly moist and tender. Together they make a cake that tastes warm and cozy, like a brown sugar cookie in cake form. Seriously, it’s that good.

And then there’s the brown sugar glaze. Oh, the glaze. 

It’s a cooked brown sugar glaze that goes on thick and glossy and then hardens as it cools into this beautiful caramel-y shell on top of the cake. It sets quickly so once you pour it on, it starts doing its thing right away which also means your cake looks stunning without any extra decorating effort. 

The only thing is that you want to glaze the cake on the serving piece you are serving on because if you try to move the cake after you glaze it, the glaze will crack and it wont be as pretty (speaking from experience here!)

A slice of a brown sugar cake cut out and lying next to the full cake on a white plate.
The texture of this cake is fluffy and thick, not so dense!

Bundt cakes are honestly one of my favorite things to make because the pan does all the decorating work for you, and this glaze takes it completely over the top.

This is the kind of cake that looks like you spent way more time on it than you did, which is always the goal around here!

How to make it

Butter, brown sugar, and white sugar creamed well in a mixing bowl.
Add the softened butter, brown sugar, and white sugar to a mixing bowl with a paddle attachment. You can use a hand mixer too. Cream on med-high speed till combined well.
A mixture of butter, sugars, oil, and eggs to make a cake batter.
Add the oil and eggs one at a time slowly with the mixer on low- med speed. It will look curdled- thats ok, once you add the rest of the ingredients it will be fine.
The finished batter for brown sugar cake in a mixing bowl.
Combine the dry ingredients in one bowl or on a piece of parchment paper. Combine the milk and vanilla in a measuring cup. Slowly alternate adding the dry and wet ingredients mixing well in between. Start and end with the dry ingredients. The batter will be thick and not look curdled anymore.
Brown sugar cake batter in a bundt pan.
Heavily spray the bundt pan with baking spray and fill the pan with the batter. Level it with the back of a spoon then bake.

Cooling and Glazing

Let the cake cool for just 15 minutes in the pan before turning it over onto a wire rack. You want to make sure the cake has cooled just slightly so that it wont fall apart if you flip it over but not cooled SO much that the sugar has hardened and its hard to release from the pan.

15 minutes seems to be the sweet spot for me.

Do not make the brown sugar glaze until the cake is cooled completely and it’s ready for you to glaze.

The glaze hardens really quickly so you can’t make it in advance and then wait for the cake to cool down. Only make it right before you are ready to drizzle.

A slice of a brown sugar bundt cake standing up on a plate.
A brown sugar cake with brown sugar glaze on a white plate on a brown surface.
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Easy and Moist Brown Sugar Bundt Cake

Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 50 minutes
Total: 1 hour
Servings: 10 people
This brown sugar bundt cake is warm, cozy, and tastes like a brown sugar cookie in cake form, topped with a thick brown sugar glaze that hardens as it cools into the most incredible caramel-y shell. It's easy enough for beginner bakers but impressive enough to bring to any gathering, and honestly? It's a year-round situation.
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Ingredients

  • 1 cup butter , 227 g, unsalted, softened at room temperature
  • 1 cup brown sugar, 200 g
  • 1/2 cup white sugar, 100g
  • 1/4 cup vegetable oil, sub avocado oil
  • 3 eggs, large
  • 2 3/4 cup all purpose flour, 330g
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp kosher salt
  • 3/4 cup whole milk
  • 1 tbsp vanilla extract

Instructions
 

  • Preheat the oven to 350 F. Heavily spray a 10 cup bundt pan with baking spray.
  • In the bowl of a hand or stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment add the 1 cup butter, 1 cup brown sugar, and 1/2 cup white sugar and mix on low-medium speed for 2 minutes.
  • Slowly add the ¼ cup vegetable oil and mix again until combined. Add the eggs one at a time on medium speed, mixing in between.
  • In a separate bowl combine the 2 ¾ cup flour, 1 tsp baking powder, ½ tsp baking soda, and ½ tsp kosher salt and mix lightly.
  • In a measuring cup add the 3/4 cup milk and 1 tbsp vanilla extract.
  • Alternate adding the dry and wet ingredients by thirds starting and ending with the dry ingredients.
  • Pour the batter into the prepared bundt cake pan and smooth evenly.
  • Bake for 45-55 minutes or until the cake is set and the sides are pulling away from the pan.
  • Cool for 15-20 minutes, then flip the cake over a cooling rack to release and cool completely.
  • Make the brown sugar glaze when the cake is cool and drizzle immediately.

Notes

Storing and Freezing

Storing: This cake can be made in advance and stored at room temperature covered tightly for up two days. You can also store it covered in the fridge for up to one week.
Freezing: To freeze, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and aluminum foil then place it in a freezer-safe bag for up to two months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before serving.
Serving: 1slice, Calories: 492kcal, Carbohydrates: 59g, Protein: 6g, Fat: 26g, Saturated Fat: 13g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g, Monounsaturated Fat: 7g, Trans Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 100mg, Sodium: 392mg, Potassium: 119mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 33g, Vitamin A: 668IU, Calcium: 83mg, Iron: 2mg
Course: Bundt Cake, Cakes, Dessert, desserts
Author: Sam Adler
Cuisine: American
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