Easy Cinnamon Swirl Bundt Cake with Delicious Warming Chai Spices

Fluffy, buttery, and deliciously spiced, this easy bundt cake is perfect for brunch or afternoon tea.

Photo: © Mary Ann Rollano - Cinnamon Swirl Bundt Cake

Bundt cake recipes are plentiful and probably the easiest cake you’ll ever make. The problem with most bundt cakes is they are very dense and often dry. But not this recipe. I've adapted it from an Italian lemon bundt cake recipe by Mamma Agata, famous for her cooking school in Ravello, Italy. Legend has it her renowned lemon cake was a favorite of Humphrey Bogart.

Mamma Agata’s bundt cake is light, fluffy, and lemony. Everything about it brings back memories of visiting the Amalfi Coast. What a glorious place on earth—with bounties of lemons growing everywhere. Ravello is a little slice of heaven. Just writing about it makes me want to visit again.

…a land suspended between the sea and the sky — a place some can only dream about and we are so fortunate to be able to share this with you!

— Chiara Lima, Mamma Agata: Simple and Genuine Italain Family Recipes

Back to the bundt cake. This bundt cake is unique because the cinnamon swirl filling includes chai spices. The cinnamon swirl turned chai cinnamon swirl takes it over the top. You'll be amazed at how easy this light and moist cinnamon bundt cake is to make.

A cinnamon swirl cake is delightful enough, but adding a few chai spices to the swirl brings it to another level. Masala chai cake, anyone?

Chai spices come from masala chai, the famous Indian spiced tea drink. Masala chai is a powerful blend of tea, herbs, and spices cherished for centuries in India.

Masala means 'mixture of spices' in Hindi. Chai rhymes with 'pie.' Chai is the word for tea in many parts of the world. So when we commonly say 'chai tea' in America, we are really saying 'tea tea.' Masala chai means spiced tea.

Even though I'm calling this cake chai, I'm referring to the spices in a masala chai, not the tea itself. I say this because most Americans are more familiar with the term chai than masala.

In addition to the brown sugar and cinnamon, I've added ground ginger, cardamom, nutmeg, and cloves. These are the traditional spices of masala chai. The cardamom flavor makes it!

How to make cinnamon swirl bundt cake

Bundt cakes are the easiest cake you can make. Layering in the chai-spiced cinnamon swirl is super simple. The secret to this cinnamon swirl bundt cake is the creamed butter and sugar.

Pro Tips:

• Bring the butter to room temperature so it's nice and soft.

• Whip the butter on high speed for at least two minutes.

• Add the sugar and continue to whip it into a soft cream.

I like to use an Italian very fine flour for the flour (type "00"). I use it in all my recipes. Italian "00" flour has a smoother, silkier texture to it. My family also seems less sensitive to it compared to American flour.

Pro Tips:

• Mix the blended ingredients on high for no more than five minutes. The batter will have a consistency similar to that of a mousse.

• Use a non-stick bundt cake pan or coat with butter and flour to create a non-stick surface.

• Keep the oven door closed while baking so the bundt cake will rise properly.

Vanilla glaze

I've used a basic vanilla drizzle glaze made from confectioners' sugar and added a strong brewed black Assam tea for the icing. You can find Assam black tea at any specialty tea shop or use a good English Breakfast tea traditionally made from a blend that includes Assam black tea.

The cinnamon swirl cake has all the flavors and ingredients of a traditional Indian masala chai.

Pro Tips:

• Use whole milk for a thinner glaze. To adjust for thinness, add more milk or less confectioners' sugar.

• For a thicker vanilla glaze, use heavy cream instead of milk. Then, adjust the cream and confectioners' sugar for thickness.

I used a thin vanilla tea glaze for this recipe and drizzled it while the cake was still slightly warm. I wanted the cake to absorb some tea glaze, so I drizzled a little at a time and let the glaze seep into the cake. I repeated this three times.

Bundt cake batter like mousse, brown sugar chai swirl, baked bundt cake, vanilla drizzle

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Cinnamon Swirl Bundt Cake Recipe