High Altitude Glazed Old Fashioned Sour Cream Donut Cake

This high altitude glazed old fashioned sour cream donut cake will satisfy all your doughnut cravings, but in an easier-to-make cake recipe. A soft, moist and fluffy sour cream bundt cake is glazed with sweet vanilla bean icing, and tastes just like an old fashioned sour cream cake donut.

You might also love these high altitude bundt cake recipes for snickerdoodle bundt cake with cinnamon sugar, banana walnut bundt cake, and chocolate bundt cake.

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Why You’ll Love This Recipe

Easier Than Frying Donuts. My all time favorite donuts are old fashioned sour cream cake donuts. I love their fluffy, cakey texture and their crisp, fried exterior that’s generously glazed in vanilla icing. These are the donuts I will always order when they’re available. They are a bit time consuming and labor intensive to make, though, and today’s sour cream donut cake recipe has all the flavor and textures of a delicious old fashioned donut, but with a lot less effort.

Moist for Days. With butter, cream cheese, whole milk and sour cream in the cake batter, you can be sure this cake stays flavorful and moist for days after baking.

High Altitude Tested. I develop all the recipes on my site for Denver’s altitude of 5,280 feet. If you’re at a lower or higher elevation, please see my FAQs for guidance on adjusting recipes for your altitude.

See the recipe card at the end of the post for the full ingredients list and instructions.

Ingredients

Cake

• Butter + Cream Cheese. The high fat content of the butter and cream cheese makes a rich, velvety, flavorful cake that you’ll just love.
• Granulated Sugar. Adds sweetness and moisture.
• Eggs. The eggs give the cake structure and strength, as well as moisture and a bit of leavening action.
• Vanilla Extract. Flavor.
• Flour. For an incredibly soft, light texture in your snickerdoodle bundt cake, I recommend using Swans Down Cake Flour. With its lower protein content, cake flour makes very soft, tender cakes.
• Salt. Balances the sweetness and enhances the flavors.
• Baking Powder. Leavening agent.
• Spices. Cardamom and a small pinch of nutmeg adds depth and warmth to the cake, and complements the vanilla icing.
• Milk + Sour Cream. Use whole milk and full fat sour cream for a tender, flavorful cake. You can also replace the milk and sour cream with buttermilk.

Icing

• Powdered Sugar. Sweetens and thickens the icing.
• Meringue Powder. Stabilizes the icing and helps it to set into a firm glaze that isn’t sticky or runny.
• Vanilla Bean Paste. If you don’t have vanilla bean paste, you an also use vanilla extract.
• Milk. Thins the icing to a drizzly consistency.

Instructions

Cake

• Preheat the oven to 325 F, and position a rack in the center of the oven. Thoroughly grease a 10-cup bundt pan with nonstick baking spray (or use your favorite go to combination of butter/shortening and flour to grease and dust the pan, getting it in all the nooks and crannies.)
• In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, cream cheese and granulated sugar on medium speed (#4-6 on a Kitchen Aid mixer) for 7 minutes. Scrape the bowl down several times while mixing.
• Beat in the eggs, 1 at a time, beating in each egg on medium speed for 1 full minute before adding the next egg. Add the vanilla.

• In a bowl, sift together the flour, salt, baking powder and spices. Separately, stir together the milk and sour cream.With the mixer on low, add the flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with the milk/sour cream, starting and ending with the flour. Increase speed to medium and beat for 15 seconds.

• Spread the batter into the prepared bundt pan. Bake for about 40-45 minutes, until a cake tester inserted in the cake comes out clean.
• Set the pan on a cooling rack, and cool for 15 minutes. Invert the cake onto the cooling rack, remove the pan, and cover the cake loosely with a clean kitchen towel. Cool for an hour or two, until the cake is just warm or room temperature.

Icing

• In a bowl, combine the powdered sugar and meringue powder. Add the vanilla bean paste and milk, and stir until smooth and drizzly.
• Place the cake on a serving plate, and drizzle generously with the icing, until the cake is covered with glaze. The glaze will start to set and crust over within a few minutes.
• Serve the cake slightly warm, or completely cooled to room temperature.

Be sure to read all of my BAKING FAQs where I discuss ingredients, substitutions and common baking questions, so that you can be successful in your own baking!

Frequently Asked Questions

How should I store leftover cake?

Store the leftover sour cream donut cake in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. You can also freeze leftover cake for up to 3-6 months, to keep it fresh and moist.

Will this recipe work in a larger bundt pan?

This cake doesn’t quite fill a 10-cup bundt pan, so for a larger cake, just double the recipe and bake in a 12-cup bundt pan for about 50-55 minutes.

Can I use all purpose flour instead of cake flour?

You can use all-purpose flour instead of cake flour.  Cake flour will make a lighter, fluffier, more tender cake, while all-purpose flour will make it a bit more dense, like a donut pound cake.

What bundt pan did you use?

I used the Nordic Ware Elegant Party Bundt Pan with a 10-cup capacity.

Can I make the icing without the meringue powder?

You can leave the meringue powder out, but your icing might stay a little stickier, instead of setting firm and dry to the touch.

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