Tessa’s Recipe Rundown
Taste: Tons of sweet, complex butterscotch flavor.
Texture: The cake is moist and tender without being too delicate, while the glaze is rich and luscious.
Ease: Simple and straight forward.
Pros: Beautiful and scrumptious cake, perfect for fall!
Cons: None!
Would I make this again? Yes.
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I feel like butterscotch is an underutilized flavor in the world of baking. Caramel, specifically salted caramel, seems to get all of the love and attention.
Caramel is the Marcia of sweets, while poor butterscotch is the Jan. I think it’s time to change that a little.

Butterscotch is equally as delicious and usually even easier to make or incorporate into baking from scratch. Take this Butterscotch Bundt Cake for example.

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Its cake base is made from a high ratio of brown sugar to granulated sugar, which lends that complex deeply sweet flavor that I crave so often. The glaze is where the true butterscotch flavor shines. It’s so easy to make. We basically combine butter, brown sugar, and cream in a saucepan and cook it for a few minutes. No thermometer required, no difficult steps.
The only thing you have to be wary of? The glaze thickens and sets fast, so it needs to be poured onto the cooled cake soon after making. If it sets before you can use it, just reheat until it’s nice and pourable again.
I added just a hint of cinnamon to this cake as well to accentuate how perfect it is for autumn baking. It smells like an absolute dream while baking! If you want to give this recipe a go, be sure to read through my baking tips below first.

Bundt Cake Recipe Tips
Bundt Cake Pan
This recipe calls for a 10-inch bundt pan with a 10 to 12 cup capacity. I used this Wilton Bundt Pan with success. If you’re using a nonstick pan, be sure to hand wash it gently to preserve the nonstick coating. Even if the manufacturer says you can place in the dishwasher I would avoid it. I find hand washing extends the life of the pan and the integrity of the nonstick coating, which is so important with bundt cakes!
Make Ahead & Storage
The bundt cake can be made ahead of time and stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days. You can use a pretty cake stand with a glass lid to cover your cake if it’ll be on display, or a plastic cake carrier which works better for transporting.
How to Prevent a Bundt Cake from Sticking
There are a few tips to prevent your bundt pan from sticking horribly to the pan so you can get as clean of a release as possible. Of course, it’s not the end of the world if a few pieces stick because the glaze can disguise this a bit. I’d suggest watching the below video completely so your bundt cake never sticks:

Tip #1: Use a good quality nonstick bundt pan without any scratches or damage to the nonstick coating. See more about the pan just above. The first time I made this recipe it released from the pan perfectly. I used my go-to bundt pan which I’ve had for years. The second time I used a friend’s bundt pan and it stuck to the pan a little. That’s why I recommend following tip #2 below if you ever have trouble with sticking.
Tip #2: Coat your pan in whatever way works well for you to get a clean release. If you experience sticking, then generously coat your bundt cake pan with nonstick cooking spray OR melted shortening only. Use a pastry brush to really get into all of the nooks and crannies with the grease, including that center column. Do this just before you pour your batter in, so the grease doesn’t have time to slide down the sides and pull in the bottom of the pan. If you feel the need to flour your pan, a nut flour like almond flour works best.
Tip #3: Once you remove the pan from the oven, let it rest right side up for a few minutes, then flip it onto a wire rack to cool some more. The upside-down position will help the cake slowly release from the pan, and it might just release on its own without much effort from you. The wire rack will prevent condensation from building on the cake itself due to the residual heat, which is why you should avoid doing this on a flat surface. Once the pan is cool enough to handle you can use a small plastic offset spatula (don’t use metal which may scratch the nonstick coating) to gently loosen the cake from the pan if needed before flipping onto your cake stand or serving platter.

If you make and enjoy this Butterscotch Bundt Cake, be sure to snap a picture and share it on Instagram, tagging #handletheheat, so we can all see your creations!

More Bundt Cake Recipes You’ll Love:

Butterscotch Bundt Cake
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 2 1/4 cups (286 grams) all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2 sticks (227 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 1/2 cups (300 grams) packed light brown sugar
- 1/2 cup (100 grams) granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 cup (227 grams) sour cream
For the icing:
- 4 tablespoons (57 grams) unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup (100 grams) packed light brown sugar
- 1/8 teaspoon fine salt
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- 1/4 cup (30 grams) powdered sugar, sifted
Instructions
Make the cake:
- Preheat the oven to 325°F. Thoroughly grease a ten-inch bundt pan with nonstick cooking spray or melted shortening. To ensure the cake won’t stick, use a pastry brush to spread the grease into all the nooks and crannies.
- In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugars on medium high speed until very light and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Add the vanilla then the eggs, one at a time, until well combined. Add the sour cream and flour mixture in alternating additions, beating between each addition, until just combined.
- Pour batter into prepared pan and tap against the counter to release any air bubbles. Bake until golden brown, with a cake tester coming out clean, about 50 minutes to 1 hour. Flip the cake in the pan onto a wire rack and allow to cool for about 30 minutes before removing from the pan entirely.
Make the icing:
- In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the sugar, salt, and cream and whisk to combine. Bring to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes, whisking occasionally. Remove from heat and stir in the sifted powdered sugar. Drizzle over the cake immediately. Let stand for 20 minutes, or until the icing is set, before serving. Store the cake covered at room temperature for up to 2 days.
Recipe Notes
Nutrition Information
Photos by Sarah Fennel.
Excellant choice. I plan to make it again and again.
That’s so wonderful to hear, Marilyn!
This cake was moist and made a pretty presentation! I did double the cinnamon because we like the flavor. After reading other reviews I let the glaze sit for a couple minutes to firm up a bit before pouring over the cake. This gave me the desired effect and didn’t run off the cake.
Can I use a regular cake pan with this ?
We haven’t tried that! Please let us know how it goes if you do.
Can’t wait to try this! But why is it called Butterscotch when there is no butterscotch in the recipe?
Hi Amy! This recipe includes ingredients that make a homemade butterscotch flavor, nothing store bought 🙂 Combining the butter, brown sugar, and cream together makes the most delicious homemade butterscotch icing that goes perfectly with the brown sugar sour cream cake. I hope that helps! Let us know what you think when you give this recipe a try!
Hi Tessa! Loved the recipe!! Only one question! How can I replace the sour cream? Should I use plain cream and add to it a little bit of lemon juice?
Thank you!!
Hi Fran, I actually haven’t tested this recipe without the sour cream so I can’t say for sure how it would turn out with a substitution. Please let me know if you experiment with this and how it turns out!
Tessa, I just tried the recipe with Greek Yogurt instead of sour cream and it came out amazing!!!
Can I use silicon bundt pan?
It’s delicious! One question though: even though I was moving quickly, the glaze was setting as I was pouring it over the cake, so it came out a lot thicker and didn’t really drizzle down the sides…what did I do wrong?
What can we use instead of sour cream…….if no replacement than how can we make sour cream in case its not available.
i used 1cup of mayo to replace the sour cream and I haven’t gone back to the original since
I ALWAYS make the chocolate sour cream bundt cake. I had everything on hand to make this one today. It was a lot easier to make and the family liked it. To me it isn’t so much a cake, but more like a quick bread. Wondering if I could incorporate the cheesecake into it like the cheesecake version of the sour cream chocolate bundt cake? And how would I flavor those if possible? Thanks
The most delicious cake ever!
This is my all time favorite recipe, so simple and delicious! My friends always request that I make it!
WONDERFUL DEFINATELY A KEEPER