Chai Cinnamon Swirl Bundt Cake

and buttery chai spice cinnamon bundt cake Chai Cinnamon Swirl Bundt Cake

I made this bundt cake 5 times in 1 month.

Do you know how much butter that is??

Don’t remind me.

and buttery chai spice cinnamon bundt cake Chai Cinnamon Swirl Bundt Cake

I baked this chai cinnamon swirl bundt cake so often because I was testing the recipe to perfection. Not only this, I wanted to have slices frozen for when we have friends visiting little miss Noelle this fall. (Jude and Noelle are legit BFFs.) I’m a firm believer that you can never have too many baked goods in the freezer. Case in point.

But testing the recipe is the main reason this bundt cake was on repeat. Once I finally got the recipe right, I overbaked it. Forgot to set the oven timer, went upstairs, and came back down almost 2 hours later. Pregnancy brain, perhaps? My well done bundt cake (and patience) immediately went into the trash. I nearly gave up because the amount of butter I used in all this recipe testing was ridiculous. But I persevered! You might call it determination or perfectionism, but let’s call a spade a spade and refer to it as a serious addiction to all things cinnamon swirl.

Even better if that cinnamon swirl includes chai spices. Why choose a cinnamon swirl when you can have a CHAI cinnamon swirl? ♥ ↓ ♥ ↓ ♥ ↓ ♥

and buttery chai spice cinnamon bundt cake Chai Cinnamon Swirl Bundt Cake

Here’s why this recipe works:

This bundt cake is buttery and thick with a tight crumb and a sticky sweet cinnamon-chai swirl. It’s dense, but not overly heavy. The base of this cinnamon swirl bundt cake is creamed butter + sugar. So there’s tons of buttery goodness at the heart of it. Instead of flavorless granulated sugar, I sweeten the cake with brown sugar. Tastes remarkable with the thick swirl of warm chai spice flavors. Since they’re quite large, bundt cakes have the tendency to be a little dry– so I add enough moisture to compensate. We’ll use 5 large eggs, sour cream, and milk. This trio of wet ingredients guarantees a super-moist, soft, and tender bundt cake.

Just don’t overbake it. You’ll sabotage all your efforts in keeping it moist. Trust me, I know from experience!

and buttery chai spice cinnamon bundt cake Chai Cinnamon Swirl Bundt Cake

Now what about that swirl?! Hidden inside the cake is a generous blanket of brown sugar and chai spices including ginger, cardamom, allspice, and– of course– cinnamon! The same spices we enjoy in frosted chai snickerdoodles and baked chai spice donuts. (omg try those donuts ASAP.)

Simply layer in the chai spice mixture, like so:

and buttery chai spice cinnamon bundt cake Chai Cinnamon Swirl Bundt Cake

Then bake!

(And, um, don’t forget your oven timer.)

and buttery chai spice cinnamon bundt cake Chai Cinnamon Swirl Bundt Cake

I don’t normally say this, but this cake is undeniably delish even without the chai spice swirl in the center. And without icing too! You know how I love my “stuff” in desserts, so this is truly saying something about the bundt cake itself. If you’re ever looking for a plain pound cake/bundt cake, this should be your go-to. I know I’ve mentioned it like 20x already, but this cake is soooo buttery and moist!

Regardless, I never pass up an opportunity for icing.

and buttery chai spice cinnamon bundt cake Chai Cinnamon Swirl Bundt Cake

*Brown butter icing* to be exact.

Equally yum: a drizzle of salted caramel or a shower of maple icing.

and buttery chai spice cinnamon bundt cake Chai Cinnamon Swirl Bundt Cake

So after about 5 times baking this bundt cake, I can say with 100% confidence this is a recipe you HAVE to try. It’s a giant cake, for sure, so invite a bunch of friends and family over to help you gobble it up! You’ll fall in love with the chai spice flavor, one we often associate with this time of year. (It’s finally cooling down here on the east coast. Yay!)

Before you bundt:

I love this bundt cake pan. I’ve had it for 4 years and it’s the only bundt pan I use. It’s nonstick, but I still always add a little coat of butter or nonstick cooking spray to grease it. The bundt cake releases so easily. NEVER a crumb stuck. Plus, the shape is pretty.

The wet ingredients in the batter will look somewhat curdled before you add the dry ingredients; this is completely normal and due to the ranging temperatures of the ingredients. The butter may be warmer than the eggs, the sour cream may be colder than the butter, etc. Have no fear! It will all come together when the dry ingredients are added.