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Patriotic Bundt Cake

Patriotic bundt cake with a vanilla base swirled in red, white, and blue batter for a festive, sliceable centerpiece. Creamed butter-and-sugar crumb stays soft, while gentle swirling keeps the colors bold instead of turning gray.
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Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 55 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 15 minutes
Servings: 12 servings
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Calories: 430
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Dry ingredients
  • 2.5 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 tbsp baking powder
  • 0.5 tsp salt
Wet ingredients
  • 1 cup unsalted butter, softened softened to room temperature
  • 2 cup granulated sugar
  • 4 large eggs
  • 1 tbsp vanilla extract
  • 1 cup buttermilk
  • 0.1 Red and blue gel food coloring use enough to tint batter red and blue
  • 1 cup powdered sugar for glaze
  • 2 tbsp milk for glaze; add more as needed
  • 0.25 Patriotic sprinkles for topping

Equipment

  • 1 sheet pan
  • 1 bundt pan

Method
 

Prep the pan and dry mix
  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F and generously grease a bundt pan so the cake releases cleanly.
  2. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt, then set aside.
Make the vanilla batter
  1. Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes, scraping the bowl as needed.
  2. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition, then mix in the vanilla extract.
  3. Alternate adding the flour mixture and buttermilk to the batter, mixing just until combined to keep the crumb tender.
Swirl with red, white, and blue
  1. Divide the batter into three bowls: leave one plain, tint one red, and tint one blue.
  2. Spoon the batters into the bundt pan in alternating dollops, then swirl gently with a knife—don’t overmix, or the colors will blend into gray.
Bake and finish with glaze
  1. Bake for 50–55 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean and the center springs back lightly.
  2. Cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then invert onto a wire rack to cool completely and prevent sogginess.
  3. Whisk the powdered sugar with milk to make a glaze, then drizzle it over the cooled cake.
  4. Top with patriotic sprinkles before serving for a bright finishing touch.

Notes

Pro tip: keep swirling gentle and stop mixing as soon as the batter is combined to preserve strong color bands (overmixing can mute them). Store covered at room temperature up to 3 days or refrigerate up to 5 days. Freeze baked cake (un-glazed or glazed) up to 2 months; thaw overnight in the fridge. For a dairy-light swap, use lactose-free buttermilk and dairy-free butter to keep the texture similar.