Ahhh. When to eat bundt cake?
Breakfast? Snack? Dinner? Middle of the night?
I’ve done it all. I assume that when Marie Antoinette counseled “Let them eat cake” she meant bundt cake. (OK. OK. I know she probably didn’t say that, but it works here for the narrative.)
This bundt cake is from a Polish baking cookbook Dobre Dobre by Laurel Kratochvila. You can order the cookbook through your local bookstore or on Amazon here. Incidentally, Dobre Dobre comes from a Polish expression “Dobre, dobre, nie za slodkie” which means “Good, good, not too sweet.” This cookbook was named one of best cookbooks of 2025 by The New York Times. And, American-born Berlin-based Laurel Kratochvila was a James Beard finalist. She is also the author of New World Baking.
Bundt cake (or Babka Piaskowa as the author names this cake) is a staple dessert in Eastern and Central Europe. Piaskowa in the name means “sandy” and this delightful cake has an ever-so-slightly sandy texture.
Stories about the origins of bundt cakes abound. The Dr. Oetker site claims Roman origins for the distinctively shaped cakes. In modern times, the cake was repopularized in the 18th Century in Europe and was particularly popular in Vienna.It is reported that Maria Antoinette, the Austrian queen of Louis XVI, brought the bundt cake (or, at least its ancestor the gugelhupf) to the French court from her native Austria when she married.
Fast forward to the 1950s in the United States. The Minnesota-based Nordic Ware company introduced the first commercial bundt pans to American cooks. They have sold more than 70 million bundt pans over the years. So, it is no exaggeration to say that the bundt cake has a strong foothold in American baking.
Here is the recipe as I prepared it in my kitchen.
Bundt Cake (Babka Piaskowa)
Ingredients
- 6 eggs
- 2 egg yolks
- 1 t. vanilla
- 7 oz. sour cream (full fat)
- 2 1/2 C. plus 1 T. all-purpose flour
- 1/2 C. plus 1 T. cornstarch
- 1 t. double-acting baking powder
- 1 t. baking soda
- 1 t. kosher salt
- 1 1/2 C. unsalted butter (cubed and room temperature)
- 2 C. granulated sugar
- 1-2 small baskets of fresh raspberries
- Powdered sugar (for dusting)
Directions
- Step 1 Prepare a heavy bundt pan by creasing it or spraying it with cooking spray and dusting it with 1/2 C. fine bread crumbs. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Step 2 Make an egg batter by combining eggs and egg yolks, vanilla, sour cream. Whisk the mixture until it is smooth. Set aside.
- Step 3 Use a stand mixer. Mix flour, cornstarch, baking powder, soda, and salt using the paddle attachment.
- Step 4 Add the room temperature butter cubes to the flour mixture. Use the paddle attachment. Mix over low speed until the butter is incorporated into the flour. When that happens, increase mixer speed to medium and mix for several minutes. You want the batter to be smooth and fluffy.
- Step 5 On low speed, mix in the sugar.
- Step 6 Continue to mix on low adding the egg batter in three parts. Use a spatula to make sure all of the dry parts of the recipe are thoroughly mixed in. Beat for another minute. Again, you want a smooth and fluffy batter.
- Step 7 Add the fresh raspberries folding them in carefully to avoid breaking them up.
- Step 8 Pour (or spoon) the batter into the prepared bundt pan. Bake in your 3509 degree F. preheated oven for 45 minutes. (My cake took a bit of extra time.) Your cake is done when a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean. Remove the cake from the oven and let it cool. Once cool, sprinkle generously with powdered sugar.
