One-Bowl Jam Doughnut Cake
Updated February 3, 2025
Linda Xiao for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Monica Pierini.
- Total Time
- 3 hours 20 minutes
- Prep Time
- 20 minutes
- Cook Time
- 3 hours
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
FOR THE TOPPING
¼ cup/57 grams unsalted butter, melted
½ cup/100 grams sugar
2 teaspoons/4 grams ground cinnamon
FOR THE CAKE
¾ cup/180 milliliters whole milk
½ cup plus 2 tablespoons/141 grams unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 ¼ cups/250 grams sugar
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon fine sea or table salt
1 teaspoon grated fresh nutmeg
2 ½ cups/313 grams all-purpose flour
¾ cup/180 milliliters thick berry jam (such as blackberry, blueberry, raspberry or four fruit)
Nutritional analysis per serving (10 to 12 servings)
64 grams carbs; 88 milligrams cholesterol; 475 calories; 7 grams monosaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 14 grams saturated fat; 23 grams fat; 1 gram fiber; 268 milligrams sodium; 5 grams protein; 40 grams sugar
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Using some of the melted butter for the topping to generously brush the inside and sides of a Bundt pan.
- Step 2
Make the topping: In a small bowl, whisk together the sugar and cinnamon. Use about a third of the cinnamon sugar to generously coat the inside of the buttered pan, reserving the rest of the melted butter and cinnamon sugar for finishing the cake.
- Step 3
Make the cake: In a large bowl, whisk together the whole milk, melted and cooled butter, eggs and vanilla extract until well combined. Whisk in sugar, baking powder, fine sea salt and nutmeg until smooth. Finally, whisk in the flour until just combined.
- Step 4
Use a spatula to scoop half of the batter into the buttered and sugared pan. Use a spoon to create an indent or hollow in the middle of the ring of batter. Spoon the jam into the hollow (there should be batter on both sides of the jam), making sure none of the jam touches the sides of the pan. (The cake may stick otherwise.) Spoon the remaining batter on top to cover the jam.
- Step 5
Bake for 40 to 50 minutes, until the top is golden brown and springs back when lightly pressed. A cake tester should come out without any wet batter clinging to it. (There may be crumbs and jam adhering to the tester, and that’s fine.) Let cake cool in the pan on a rack for 10 minutes. Use a knife or offset spatula to loosen the cake from the pan and carefully flip upside down on a rack.
- Step 6
Brush the warm cake with the remaining melted butter and generously dust with more of the cinnamon sugar. Let cool for at least 2 hours before serving.
Private Notes
Comments
I thought this was wonderful. Per the suggestion of others, I put almost all of the batter in the pan before I added the jam. I reserved just enough batter to barely cover the jam, and it came out perfectly with the jam in the middle of the cake. For those of you who have issues with the cake sticking to your Bundt pan, I always chill the Bundt pan thoroughly before brushing it with melted butter. This allows the butter to harden a bit and stick in place in all of those nooks and crannies. I used half cinnamon and half cardamom in my sugar, and the taste was wonderful. I think next time I would add some lemon zest to the batter as well.
So some of the jam sank to the bottom of the Bundt pan and stuck. It wasn't a crisis, simply pried those bits loose, reattached, flipped cake over and the taste was wonderful. Next time, I think I'll put more than half of the batter on the bottom in an attempt to avoid this issue.
This cake has a nice flavour, much like a coffee cake, and is moist. The outside has a crispness which is more like a buttermilk doughnut than a jelly doughnut. I think adding some lemon juice or zest to the batter would add a nice touch, as well as a lemon sugar glaze instead of the butter and cinnamon sugar. I had so much butter and sugar leftover after brushing the finished cake, I think that could be cut by 1/2 or more.
Many thinks to love about this recipe, but it definitely needs some tweaking. First, lemon zest in the batter, non-negotiable. Second, it’s noticeably dense/chewy. With a ton of melted butter (not creamed), a lot of flour, and just a little milk, the poor baking powder is literally doing all the heavy lifting alone, and it’s just impossible. Next time I’ll add as much sour cream or yogurt as milk, with 1/2 tsp baking soda. And perhaps I’ll give up on melted butter entirely and just cream the thing with a hand mixer. The reality is that there are no shortcuts to aeration…
I made this last night and it was delicious but visually a disaster. I put more than half of the batter in, then the jam, and I got leakage above and below. Miraculously, I was able to get it out of the pan ok. Not sure what the issue was, but I served it my book club anyway (a friendly crowd) and everyone loved it. I'll make it again and hope for a prettier cake next time!
Has anyone frozen this cake?