This Brown Sugar Cinnamon Bundt Cake is such a quick and easy dessert to throw together if you’ve got to take a dessert somewhere.

A photo of a slice of brown sugar bundt cake with a cinnamon sugar topping on the outside and swirls of brown sugar and cinnamon in the middle.

It is also a major crowd pleaser! The flavors are simple, warm and inviting. And a bundt cake always looks so fancy and gorgeous.

The cinnamon sugar, once the cake has been turned out creates a crackly cinnamon sugar topping that’s delicious with those swirls of brown sugar…yowza!

Let’s Get this Party Started

This brown sugar cinnamon bundt cake is all about the brown sugar cinnamon pockets you scatter throughout the cake. I always make the brown sugar bits first because it needs to be cold when it is added to the batter. Mix the cold butter, brown sugar, flour and cinnamon together and then stick it into the fridge to chill while you make the cake batter.

A photo of a slice of brown sugar bundt cake with a cinnamon sugar topping on the outside and swirls of brown sugar and cinnamon in the middle.

Bundt Pan Prep

Making a bundt cake can be fear-inducing! You know that moment of truth when you turn the pan over and just pray to the bundt gods that that cake comes out clean. We honestly have found that thoroughly spraying the pan with nonstick cooking spray does the trick the best. For this cake, we coat the pan with a cinnamon and sugar mixture. Once baked, the cake comes out with a beautiful crystallized sugar coating on the outside that makes this cake sing! Letting the cake cool completely also helps with the cake coming out clean and perfect.

A photo of a slice of brown sugar bundt cake sitting on a wire cooling rack with a swirls of brown sugar and cinnamon in the middle.

Brown Sugar Obsessed

I’m going to let you in on a little secret – I’m completely obsessed with brown sugar. It is SO. DANG. GOOD! Whenever I get out the brown sugar, I always search around for the little bits that have clumped together and then eat them. That is how this cake is. Little clumps of brown sugar goodness pop up in ever bite.

What Exactly is in a Cake Mix?

The batter for this cake starts with a white cake mix. Using a boxed cake mix simply cuts out some measuring of dry ingredients. A white cake mix contains flour, super fine sugar, baking soda, and salt. This recipe is all about keeping things simple so boxed cake mix it is!

A photo of a slice of brown sugar bundt cake with a cinnamon sugar topping on the outside and swirls of brown sugar and cinnamon in the middle.

Why Pudding?

When a boxed cake mix is used, it is quite often paired with a pudding mix as well. Adding pudding to a boxed cake mix adds flavor and moistness to the cake. For this recipe, we like to use the French vanilla instant pudding. It add so much substance and flavor to the cake. It also gives the cake a beautiful moist texture. Make sure the pudding mix is the instant pudding and not cook and serve, and go ahead and skip the sugar free stuff. That just won’t turn out right.

The cake mix and pudding packets are all the dry ingredients. Those are mixed together and then wet ingredients are added (eggs, water and oil). Make sure to mix everything thoroughly but to not over mix it. Pour half of the batter into the prepared bundt pan and then add the brown sugar butter bits. Top with the rest of the batter and bake!

A photo of a slice of brown sugar bundt cake sitting on a wire cooling rack with a swirls of brown sugar and cinnamon in the middle.

We love this simple cake, and it really does get devoured whenever we take it anywhere. The good news is that if you keep pudding mixes on hand, then you probably have everything you need for this cake in your pantry already. You’re going to love this one!

More Delicious Bundt Cake Recipes

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Brown Sugar Cinnamon Bundt Cake

4.14 from 74 votes
Servings: 12
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 35 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes

Description

A vanilla bundt cake with brown sugar swirls

Ingredients 

  • 1/2 Cup Brown Sugar
  • 1/4 Cup Butter, cold, cut in cubes
  • 1/3 Cup Flour
  • 1 teaspoon Cinnamon
  • 2 Tablespoons Cinnamon Sugar
  • 1 Cake Mix, white
  • 3 ounce Pudding, French vanilla, instant
  • 4 Eggs, large
  • 1 Cup Water
  • 1/2 Cup Oil

Instructions

For the Brown Sugar

  • In a bowl, using your fingers, mix together the brown sugar, butter, flour and cinnamon, set aside in the fridge.
    1/2 Cup Brown Sugar, 1/4 Cup Butter, 1/3 Cup Flour, 1 teaspoon Cinnamon

For the Cake

  • Heat the oven to 375 and spray a bundt pan with nonstick spray.
  • Sprinkle the Cinnamon Sugar in and set aside.
    2 Tablespoons Cinnamon Sugar
  • In a bowl, stir together the cake mix and pudding powder.
    1 Cake Mix, 3 ounce Pudding
  • Add remaining ingredients and pour half into the bundt pan.
    4 Eggs, 1 Cup Water, 1/2 Cup Oil
  • Take clumps of the brown sugar mixture and drop into the bundt.
  • Add the rest of the batter on top and bake for 35-40 minutes.
  • Allow to cool and turn out on a platter to eat.

Notes

Bundt cake can be frozen for 1 month.

Nutrition

Serving: 1gCalories: 200kcalCarbohydrates: 15gProtein: 2gFat: 15gSaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 65mgSodium: 59mgPotassium: 36mgFiber: 1gSugar: 12gVitamin A: 197IUCalcium: 27mgIron: 1mg
Author: Sweet Basil
Course: Easy Cake Recipes For Beginners
A photo of a slice of brown sugar bundt cake with a cinnamon sugar topping on the outside and swirls of brown sugar and cinnamon in the middle.