Very Vanilla Bundt Cake
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I first tried this cake at our weekly play group. The mom that brought it had a couple other small bundt cakes to try as well. Talk about going all out! And guess what? It was her birthday & she brought all the cakes! I think that was so sweet because we should have been the ones treating her to a special dessert! I have amazing friends, what can I say? And this friend of mine, Rochelle, is a foodie like me! She has her own cookie business here in Utah called Mamma Crimin’s Cookies, so if you are in Davis County, check her out. You might also recall my story about the friend that brought the Copycat RUMBI to play group. Yeah, same gal. She loves to try new foods just like I do! Great times!
Anyway, this was the most moist cake I had EVER tasted that I had to get the recipe. You don’t need any frosting or glaze! This cake is so moist & perfect as is, that it melts in your mouth! I love it! Plus, it is a very versatile recipe that can be changed & made into one of your own. Think of all the cake mix & pudding combinations you can come up with….yep! Plus, take a look at the list of ingredients & you see one of my favorite ingredients for moist, delicious food…SOUR CREAM! Love it!
Very Vanilla Bundt Cake
Ingredients
- 1 box French Vanilla Cake Mix *SEE NOTES FOR IMPORTANT INFO!
- 1 small (3.4oz) box instant french vanilla pudding mix
- 1 cup sour cream
- 4 large eggs
- 1 cup water
- 3/4 cup vegetable/canola oil
- 1 cup white chocolate or vanilla morsels
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 350* F. Grease & flour a 12-cup bundt pan well. Set aside.
- Combine everything but the morsels in a large bowl. Beat for 2 minutes at medium speed. Fold in vanilla chips & pour into the prepared bundt pan. (*I had a little problem with my chips being stuck to the bottom of the pan, which ends up being the top once it is turned out, so maybe pour in half the cake batter in then sprinkle with the chips, & then pour the remaining batter.)
- Bake for 38-43 minutes or according to the time frame on the box of cake mix. Cake is done when it springs back after being touched. Allow to cool for 20 minutes before turning out onto a plate. Slice & serve!
Notes
- IMPORTANT NOTE: This recipe was written when cake mixes had 18.25 oz in them. They have since switched to 15.25 oz. To ensure this recipe will work for you, please add these additional ingredients to the cake mix:
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 Tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- OR buy two boxes of cake mix and add 1/2 cup of extra cake mix to the recipe.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 16Amount Per Serving: Unsaturated Fat: 0g
45 Comments on “Very Vanilla Bundt Cake”
Hi Amber, This recipe is the best! It is my go to for all cake flavors. Lemon Bundt-YUM! However, I have found that I need to add 3 ozs more dry ingredient for it to turn out with the correct texture, and to rise beautifully.
This recipe was posted 2013, near the time that cake mixes changed from 18.25 oz to 15.25 oz. The loss of 3 ozs dry ingredient creates an imbalance for the amount of liquid in recipes that use 18.25 oz cake mix, as an ingredient.
To remedy, Anne Byrn (Author of The cake Mix Doctor) said to add 1/2 c flour, 1/8 c sugar, and 1/2 teaspoon baking powder. This works perfectly. However, I read about another fix, which I find to be easier, and works beautifully.
Buy 2 cake mixes and add 1/2 cup of the extra mix to the recipe. Reserve the remaining mix for future recipes.
I now keep a jar of cake mix, just for this purpose. 1/2 cup of white, yellow or vanilla can be added to any flavor recipe where 18.25 oz mix is an ingredient.
I hope this info will be helpful, and prevent others from having the many fails I suddenly began to have, from my favorite desert recipes.
Happy Baking!
Hi Julie! Thank you so much for taking the time to share your experience with the recipe and the fix for the difference in cake mix sizes. I appreciate it so much! I have added the information in the notes of the recipe to help others. Thanks again!
Flavor wise the cake is good. But mine flopped coming out of the pan. Fell apart. The pan looked greasy. The chips never melted. Would probably not make this again.
Today was determined to use the French Vanilla cake mix I had on hand. Only had one-half cup sour cream. I used whole milk in place of water and added an extra egg yolk to make up for the loss of the half cup of sour cream. My vanilla morsels turned out to be very old and dry, so I had to omit them. I used a chocolate glaze which isn’t necessary. Best served with fresh fruit. The cake is absolutely delicious. I will make again.
This is amazing!! My first attempt at a Bundt cake and I couldn’t have been happier. I baked one two days ago and have already had 3 people ask for the exact same thing. I used ghirardelli white chocolate chips because I really think good chocolate makes a difference. Also, I substituted the water with half whole milk and half buttermilk.
Yum! Love the idea of using buttermilk. So glad it was a hit, and I totally agree about using good quality chocolate. Thanks for your review Alison!
Mine collapsed also even tho I baked it an extra 15 minutes
Bummer! This is a very moist/dense cake and altitude can play an effect in bake time. Next time try the toothpick method to test the doneness of the cake before pulling it from the oven.
This really is the best cake!! You don’t need the white chips! It is delicious without
I’ll have to try it without! Thanks for your review Paula!
I just stuck this in the oven with a white cake mix and white choc pudding mix. Added 1T vanilla paste and some Valrhona white choc discs and it smells AMAZING! I was going to add 1/4 t almond extract but forgot. WAH! LOLOL
Gonna make either white choc ganache thin stripes or van/almond opaque glaze, what do you think?
Hi Lisa! I hope it turned out wonderfully! Vanilla paste sounds amazing! I’m sure you already decided what to top it with (sorry I’m late replying), but I’m always a sucker for ganache. What did you decide?
Thanks again for another wonderful recipe. This cake turned out just perfect for me and tasted great with strawberries and whipped cream. I am quite a fan of your site 🙂
OOH! I will have to add strawberries and whipped cream next time I make this! Thanks for your review Karen! So glad you are enjoying my recipes!
I made this and it totally collapsed after removing from the oven. I guess I will remake from scratch.
Hi Melissa,
If it collapsed it must have been underbaked. Try a wooden skewer or toothpick in the thickest part of the cake to make sure it comes out dry. You can also press the cake with your finger and if it springs back, it’s done, if it jiggles or leaves an indent it needs longer time. Hope this helps!
Best recipe EVER!
Yay! So glad you liked it Tiffany!
I just love this recipe but there issometimes is a gummy part in the middle. I’ve even cooked it longer. In other words my cake’s inside doesn’t look like the picture!
Hmm, that’s interesting Debbie. This cake is really moist, but it shouldn’t be gummy. You can try cooking it even longer. Use a wooden skewer to get down in there to check the doneness. Everyone’s oven cooks differently, so I hope you can get it to work better for you.
Hey Amber. Followed your directions perfectly. The cake stuck to the pan and broke apart. Also, the texture was “rubbery” to eat. I made it for my family, so they atecit, but it just didn’t turn out well.
Hi Cindy,
I’m so sorry to hear that! I’m wondering if you used cook and serve pudding instead of instant, and if so, that’s totally my fault. I didn’t specify. I have updated the recipe for future reference. Sorry again!
This cake is on point! !! Best cake I have ever made
Oh, I’m so glad to hear that Shannon! Thanks for sharing your review!
I have tried to make this cake twice and both times it came out gummy and I dont know why. I love anything vanilla but cant seem to make this one. I use my Nordic bundt pan. I have been making cakes from scratch for years and this one keeps flopping. Any ideas cause I really want to make this one.
That is so weird! The only thing I can think of is that you may need to cook it longer; your oven could not be calibrated correctly. This cake is SUPER moist, but the cake should spring back when touched to know that it’s fully baked. I hope that helps! This is one of our favorites, and you can switch up the flavors with different cake mixes and puddings.
This sounds delicious. Going to try it. I am not a huge cake maker person and the last time I went to the store to get box cake mix the standard sizes had changed. My recipe called, I think for the 18.25oz. All of them, almost all brands are now a little smaller than that, like 15.25 or something like that. Does that really matter? I know baking is more exact than other cooking.
I’ve used both sizes for this recipe and they both work just fine. Good question though!
Our cakes are smaller, layers thinner and sheet cakes not as thick. There is a cake mix “Up-sizer” posted online at food.com. I haven’t tried it, but plan to mix up a big batch when price of flour is reasonable again.
I am trying out the bundt cake for my son’s 19th birthday. I divided the batter into thirds; put the plain batter in the bottom, added 1 small package grape jello powder to the next layer and lime to the final layer. He loves quirky things and I think he’ll like this. I am going to use the Duncan Hines supreme icing, melt it, divide into thirds again and tint 1/3 purple and 1/3 green and drizzle it over the cake like a glaze.
That sounds like one fun cake!
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Oh yum I love cake. However I don’t like feeling guilty after I eat it so many times I find myself substituting fruits and veggies such as bananas applesauce and pumpkin or squash in place of eggs and oil for a healthier sweet treat .
Hi Amber, am thinking any instant pudding flavor that we can match to a cake flavor will work (omitting chips), could be some very yummy alternatives. Hersheys has a white choc instant pudding, might be good with a white or choc cake mix, and so on – gonna have to try some diff combos, TFS:)
Exactly! This recipe is so versatile!
Hi Amber, not sure how to leave a comment so I just found one with your name on it. I did sign up on the site. Anyway I did make the cake and although it tasted good it took forever too cook and the taste was kinda bland. I used a bunt pan and followed directions, mine looked more like a bread than a pound cake. Maybe it’s because I individually blended the ingredients. The dry goods, then the other. I didn’t want the chocolate so I omitted that, I just wanted to have a plain vanilla pound cake. What do you think happened?
Hi Lorrie! Did you use instant or cook and serve pudding? If it seemed too dense try omitting the pudding. It’s kind of a heavier cake, but super moist.
I made this last night to sell at a bake sale my daughter’s Girl Scout troop is having today. After trying a piece when I was cutting it up to package, I ended up sending my husband out for more ingredients to make another one so we could have some for us to eat. This cake was so easy to make and sooooo good!
My husband actually thought it was a pineapple cake because he said it tastes like a pineapple upside down cake.
If you toss your chocolate chips in flour before adding them to the cake, they won’t sink in the cake. An old trick my grandma taught me!
Thanks for the tip!!!
thanks for sharing this on Foodie Friends Friday Linky Party and I hope you will join us again next week with more great recipes.
Bundt cakes are perfect! So easy to serve and dress up. I collect bundt pans–can one have too many pans!
I have such a hard time with your ‘prove your not a robot’. I get frustrated when I have to try several times to leave you a comment.
I need more bundt pans. They are so cute. I’m sorry about the word verification Cindy. I have had a lot of spam comments, so that’s why I turned it on. I can try turning it off again for a little bit & see if I have a problem still.
This looks wonderful. Found you on weekend re-treat. Would like to invite you to our linky party this weekend.
http://marlys-thisandthat.blogspot.com/2013/04/foodiefriendsfriday-linky-party-and.html
Following you on bloglovin now.
Hi Amber! I love a good bundt cake and this one looks scrumptious! Can’t wait to try this recipe. Pinned 🙂
Michelle @ michellestastycreations.com