My childhood was this bundt cake. Ellen made it almost every week, if not every month, and the sensation of getting home from school during the week and walking in the door only to be greeted by the sweet, spicy scent of cinnamon is one that has stuck with me forever.

Convincing Ellen to let me share this recipe with my small audience was a feat. I’ve asked her several times over the years, and she has refused each time up until this very week when she finally caved. Ellen only has a handful of “secret” recipes and, while she’s one of the most giving people I’ve ever known, she’s also a prideful person who enjoys holding onto sacred things. So let’s all take a moment to say THANK YOU, ELLEN! And if you end up making this cinnamon bundt cake, you better post about it, tag me, and thank Ellen so I can shower her in credit and praise because she’s like Tinkerbell in that way—without praise and clapping, she will die (wonder where I get it from).

This cinnamon bundt cake is simple and delicious, which is all you should ever look for in a recipe. Let’s get to baking because you’re gonna want to eat this sooner than later, that much I know.

ellen's cinnamon bundt cake

INGREDIENTS

1 box Betty Crocker SuperMoist Butter Yellow Cake Mix (NO SUBSTITUTIONS)

1/2 cup sugar

3/4 cup vegetable oil

4 eggs

1 8oz. container of sour cream (full fat, henny)

1 TBSP + 1 tsp ground cinnamon & 1 TBSP + 1 tsp sugar (this is your cinnamon sugar mix. PLEASE feel free to double this if you are obsessed with cinnamon like I am.)

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat oven to 350º and grease THE FUCK out of a bundt pan. I use shortening (like Crisco) and apply it with a basting brush, which has proven to be a full-proof method. Make sure you get the center piece really good, too!
Mix cake mix, sugar, and oil in stand mixer or by hand.
Add eggs, one at a time, until all are well-blended.
Add sour cream until well-blended.
Now, mix together your 1 TBSP + 1 tsp of ground cinnamon with your 1 TBSP + 1 tsp sugar to create cinnamon sugar!
You’re going to do this in three layers. Pour 1/3 of the cake mix into the bundt pan, then take 1/3 of the cinnamon sugar mix and sprinkle it over that layer, covering it completely. Repeat this two more times until all the cake mix and cinnamon sugar is in the bundt pan and layered. If you feel you need more cinnamon sugar mix, by all means, make more! I like it to be very cinnamon-forward.
Place cake in the oven for 40 minutes. Check with a knife or cake tester and either take it out at 40 minutes or use your best judgement for how much longer it needs!
Let cake cool on the counter for 10 minutes then, with a knife, work around the outside edges and the inner edges around center of cake to help loosen it from the bundt pan. Give it another 20 minutes after this, then proceed to flip it out onto your plate or bundt cake holder.
HAVE YOUR CAKE AND EAT IT, TOO!