This high altitude snickerdoodle bundt cake is so incredibly soft, tender and fluffy. The cake is brushed with melted butter and then covered in cinnamon sugar. With the buttery cake and the crunchy cinnamon sugar coating, this deliciously addictive cake might also remind you of a churro or a cinnamon sugar donut.
You might also love these high altitude recipes for snickerdoodle blondies, snickerdoodle cheesecake bars, and brown sugar cinnamon layer cake.

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Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Tastes Like Snickerdoodle Cookies. By using buttermilk in the cake batter, you not only get a very tender texture, but also the classic tangy flavor of snickerdoodles. And the simple cinnamon sugar coating is all the finish this snickerdoodle bundt cake needs.
Use Any Bundt Pan. You can make a large bundt cake in a 12-cup bundt pan, or scale the recipe down for smaller 6 or 10 cup bundt pans. And you could even make mini individual cakelettes instead of a bundt cake. The cinnamon sugar will look beautiful with so many different bundt pan designs.
Soft, Moist and Fluffy. You can serve this cake warm or at room temperature, and it’s fantastic either way. You’ll love the soft, fluffy texture, and how moist the cake stays for days after baking.
Prize Winning Recipe. While this snickerdoodle bundt cake is new to my site, I’ve based it on my popular high altitude snickerdoodle layer cake recipe, which so many of you have tried and loved over the years. This is a cake that has won first prize at your local baking competitions, and gathered hundreds and even thousands of dollars when donated to charity auctions.
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.
- Sugar. A combination of granulated sugar and light brown sugar adds sweetness and moisture.
- Eggs. The eggs give the cake structure and strength, as well as moisture and a bit of leavening action. I’ve noted in the recipe card that you’ll need 4-5 eggs. Usually, large eggs are about 1/4 cup in volume, but sometimes they can be smaller. So if your eggs are on the small side, you should use enough to fill a liquid measuring cup to the 8-ounce line, whether that takes 4 or 5 eggs. I used 5 eggs in my cake.
- Vanilla. Use a good quality vanilla extract for the best flavor. You can also replace half the extract with vanilla bean paste, or the seeds scraped from a vanilla bean, for a richer vanilla 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. Cake flour can be controversial when used in high altitude recipes, since it has a reputation of not providing as much structure to the cake. However, I’ve used it many times in this recipe and many other of my white and vanilla cake recipes without issue. You can, however, use all purpose flour, too, which will make the cake a bit more dense like a snickerdoodle pound cake.
- Salt. Balances the sweetness and enhances the flavors.
- Baking Powder. Leavening agent.
- Spices. In addition to cinnamon, a classic spice for snickerdoodles, I like to add a little ground nutmeg or cardamom to complement the cinnamon.
- Buttermilk. Use full fat or low fat buttermilk, whichever you can find. I usually don’t have buttermilk on hand, so I almost always make my own sour milk with whole milk and a little vinegar. You can use either white distilled vinegar or apple cider vinegar.
Cinnamon Sugar
- Butter. You’ll need to brush the baked cake with melted butter, to give the cinnamon sugar something to stick to.
- Cinnamon Sugar. Snickerdoodle cookies are always rolled in cinnamon sugar before baking, for a crunchy coating. So you’ll get more of that snickerdoodle essence by covering the whole cake in cinnamon sugar.
Instructions
Cake
- Preheat the oven to 325 F, and position a rack in the center of the oven. Thoroughly grease a 12-cup bundt pan with nonstick baking spray.
- In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, cream cheese, granulated sugar and brown 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. With the mixer on low, add the flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with the buttermilk, 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 50-55 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 and cool for an hour or two, until the cake is just warm or room temperature.
Cinnamon Sugar
- Melt the butter, then use a pastry brush to brush the butter all over the top and sides of the cake. This will give the cinnamon sugar something to stick to.
- In a small bowl, combine the sugar and cinnamon.
- Set the cake, still on the cooling rack, over a baking sheet to catch the cinnamon sugar. The easiest way to cover the cake with cinnamon sugar is to take a dry pastry brush, scoop up the cinnamon sugar with the brush, and drag it up the sides and over the top of the cake. This will coat the cake in an even layer of cinnamon sugar, and is easier than trying to press it onto the cake with your hand. Gather up what falls off onto the baking sheet and brush the cinnamon sugar onto the cake 2 or 3 times until it’s sufficiently covered.
Note: You should not try to pick up the cake to dip it in the cinnamon sugar. The cake is too big, and you’ll end up breaking it apart trying to do this.
- Carefully slide a spatula (or a large cake lifter) under the cake to loosen it from the cooling rack, then gently transfer the cake to a serving plate.
- Serve the cake slightly warm, or completely cooled to room temperature.
Recipe Variations
Smaller Bundt Pans. For a 10-cup bundt pan (such as these Jubilee or Elegant Party bundt pans, scale the recipe down to 3/4. For a smaller 6 cup bundt pan (like these Heritage or Anniversary bundt pans , scale the recipe down to 1/2. You’ll have to experiment with shorter bake times, testing the cake for doneness.
Cakelettes or Mini Bundt Cakes. I love the idea of making mini snickerdoodle bundt cakes or cakelettes, covered in cinnamon sugar and arranged on a pretty serving tray for the holidays. This Nordic Ware Autumn Cakelette Pan and Nordic Ware Tea Cakes Pan would make the most gorgeous mini snickerdoodle cakes for a special occasion.
Sheet Cake. For a snickerdoodle sheet cake, bake the full cake recipe in a 9×13 inch pan, or half the recipe in a 9-inch square pan. Brush the top of the cake with the melted butter and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.
Whipped Cream or Vanilla Ice Cream. While this snickerdoodle bundt cake is fantastic on its own, it’s so good served with cold and creamy vanilla bean ice cream, or lightly sweetened fresh whipped cream.
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 long will this cake stay soft?
Store the leftover cake in an airtight container at room temperature to keep it soft and fresh for up to 3 days.
Can this cake be frozen?
Yes, you can cool the cake, then wrap it in several layers of plastic wrap. Freeze for up to 3-6 months. After thawing the cake, brush it with the melted butter and coat in the cinnamon sugar.
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 snickerdoodle pound cake.
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High Altitude Snickerdoodle Bundt Cake with Cinnamon Sugar
All recipes on Curly Girl Kitchen are developed for high altitude at 5,280 feet. See FAQs for adjusting to higher or lower elevations.
Equipment
- Bundt Pan (12 cup capacity) ("Original" bundt pan design)
- Stand Mixer with Paddle Attachment
Ingredients
Cake
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 4 oz full fat cream cheese (block style), softened to room temperature
- 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
- ¾ cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
- 4-5 large eggs (Use 4 or 5 large eggs to equal 1 full cup of eggs, filled to the 8 ounce line in a liquid measuring cup. My eggs were on the small side, so I needed 5.)
- 4 tsp vanilla extract (you can substitute half the extract with vanilla bean paste or scrape a vanilla bean for a richer vanilla flavor)
- 3 cups cake flour, fluffed, spooned and leveled
- 1 tsp coarse Kosher salt (if using table salt, use half the amount)
- 1 ½ tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp ground nutmeg or cardamom (optional)
- ¾ tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 ⅓ cups buttermilk (or use 1 1/3 cups whole milk + 1 tsp white distilled vinegar or apple cider vinegar)
Cinnamon Sugar
- 3 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 1 ½ tsp ground cinnamon
Instructions
Cake
- Preheat the oven to 325 F, and position a rack in the center of the oven. Thoroughly grease a 12-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, granulated sugar and brown 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. With the mixer on low, add the flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with the buttermilk, 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 50-55 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 and cool for an hour or two, until the cake is just warm or room temperature.
Cinnamon Sugar
- Melt the butter, then use a pastry brush to brush the butter all over the top and sides of the cake. This will give the cinnamon sugar something to stick to.
- In a small bowl, combine the sugar and cinnamon.Set the cake, still on the cooling rack, over a baking sheet to catch the cinnamon sugar. The easiest way to cover the cake with cinnamon sugar is to take a dry pastry brush, scoop up the cinnamon sugar with the brush, and drag it up the sides and over the top of the cake. This will coat the cake in an even layer of cinnamon sugar, and is easier than trying to press it onto the cake with your hand. Gather up what falls off onto the baking sheet and brush the cinnamon sugar onto the cake 2 or 3 times until it's sufficiently covered.Note: You should not try to pick up the cake to dip it in the cinnamon sugar. The cake is too big, and you'll end up breaking it apart trying to do this.
- Carefully slide a spatula (or a large cake lifter) under the cake to loosen it from the cooling rack, then gently transfer the cake to a serving plate.
- Serve the cake slightly warm, or completely cooled to room temperature.
I made a half recipe and baked it in an 11×7 Pyrex pan for 40 minutes. I cut the baking powder by 1/8 teaspoon since I’m at almost 7000′. I used all but about 1 teaspoon of the cinnamon sugar mixture for the top of the cake. It turned out so good! Very moist and with a tender crumb. Delicious! Thank you for sharing this great recipe!
Made this cake and loved it. I used Bob’s red mill egg replacement instead of eggs and it still turned out great!
Delicious cake, no changes to recipe and did use vanilla bean paste (as suggested). Cake was moist, had great flavor and not at all sweet which we prefer. Definitely a “keeper” of a recipe.
Did not get enough rise, but tastes great though. I’ll increase the baking powder and add some baking soda next time.
What altitude are you at? If you’re at a lower altitude, you will probably need to increase the leavening. Also, be sure that it’s not expired.
How much do you increase this by? I’m at 2400ft… I don’t want to overdo it either
This cake looks delicious! When you add the cinnamon-sugar coating at the end, does it make the outside of the cake crunchy? I thought this recipe might be a nice approximation of a churro—the flavor seems like it will be great, but I wondered about the texture of the outer layer. Thanks in advance for any feedback…
Yes, it gives the edges of the cake a sugary crunch.
Perfect! Thank you.
Hi! I love so many of your recipes! Just thought I would let you know that this Bundt was extremely underbaked at 50 minutes. I raised the temp to 350 at the 50 minute mark, and it still took a total of 75 minutes.
I’d definitely suggest checking to be sure that your oven is calibrated correctly. I’ve made variations of this recipe a half dozen times, and it never takes more than 55 minutes at 325F for me.
Fantastic recipe! The flavor is great, but the texture is perfect. I baked in two 6-cup Bundt pans and it took 50 minutes. I usually let my bundts cool exactly 10 minutes, but I flipped one at 10 and one at 15 and the second came out better. The only changes I made was to brown my butter for the exterior. I just slapped the cinnamon sugar on with my hands, my silicone pastry brush wouldn’t pick anything up. I’ve never worried too much about altitude at 6200 ft, but I do sometimes struggle with cakes (though bundts are pretty forgiving). This is my second of your cake recipes that I’ve made and they’ve both been great.
Mmmm, I love the idea of the browned butter. I’m so glad you loved the cake!
Hello! I am planning to make this cake this week. I live in Texas so no altitude issues here. Do I need to make any adjustments to the ingredients.
Thanks so much!
Please see my FAQs: https://curlygirlkitchen.com/baking-faqs/
THANK YOU!