Easy Cream Cake: Simplicity At Its Sweetest

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This beautiful dessert was inspired by desperation: a glass of heavy cream that was about to go bad!

Vertical top-down image of a whole bundt in powdered sugar on a wire rack next to flowers, with text on the top and bottom of the image.

When I come back from a typical busy Sunday afternoon of working out (sometimes), running errands, and meeting friends for brunch, I usually jump into relaxation mode for a little while before I start working from home: I kick off my shoes and take a long nap, with huge blankets piled high, and the windows open with the fresh breeze flowing in.

But instead, for several weeks in a row now, I’ve done no such thing. Instead (go figure), I’ve been baking.

Vertical close-up image of the designs of a bundt covered in confectioners sugar.

It all started with a caramel cake recipe I tried, to spruce up my classic vanilla recipe. Then, there was the homemade yogurt I wanted to try to use in a marmalade yogurt cake. And then, it was the crazy weekend of making cake pops and royal icing cookies for two of my friends’ back-to-back baby showers.

Oof.

Most recently, it was because I had a cup of heavy cream in the fridge that was dangling over the precipice of turning rancid, and I didn’t want to waste it!

Vertical top-down image of part of a bundt dusted in sugar.

This was certainly a simple excuse to make yet another dessert – but what can I say? Cakes are simple and satisfying, just like cookies.

They don’t take much work to make, and I am notoriously bad at turning them down, even when those fluffy blankets and my comfy couch that’s caved-in the middle are calling my name.

Vertical image of a baked good dusted with powdered sugar on a white stand on a towel with white flowers.

There’s nothing complicated about the recipe: make the batter in a stand mixer with simple ingredients: eggs, sugar, flour, baking powder, salt, vanilla extract, and heavy cream.

You mix all of these ingredients together in just a few short steps. Easy.

Vertical close-up image of a bundt cake with a slice out of it on a white plate with crumbs.

It’s the cream that gives the batter its irresistible consistency, which will make you want to lick the spoon and bowl clean: thick and velvety, the kind that holds its shape when you lift it from the bowl.

Vertical top-down image of brown plates with slices of a light yellow cake next to flowers.

But after you spread it in the pan like frosting and bake it for half an hour, it will emerge as something entirely different: a modest white cake with a light, airy texture and subtle vanilla fragrance.

I like to bake this batter in a beautiful bundt pan. The stunning designs gift this simple sweet with an understated elegance.

Vertical close-up image of slices of cake on brown plates dusted with confectioners' sugar.

The bundt pan will be your saving grace if you aren’t too confident with your decorating skills (although we can certainly help with that) – it does all the hard work for you!

Nordic Ware Platinum Collection Heritage Bundt Pan, available on Amazon

Serve this effortlessly gorgeous creation dusted with a fine coating of powdered sugar, and savor every light, sweet bite.

Print
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Horizontal top-down image of a whole bundt dusted with sugar on a wire rack, next to white flowers and white towel.

Easy Vanilla Cream Cake


  • Author: Nikki Cervone
  • Total Time: 1 hour, 35 minutes
  • Yield: 12 servings 1x

Description

Have some extra heavy cream in the fridge that you’re desperate to use up? Make a simple and elegant cream cake dusted with powdered sugar.


Ingredients

Scale
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/4 cup powdered sugar, for decorating

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour a 10-cup bundt pan.
  2. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the eggs and granulated sugar until a thick, light yellow, lightly whipped mixture forms.
  3. In a separate medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
  4. In another separate small bowl, mix together the heavy cream and vanilla.
  5. On low speed, alternate adding the dry ingredients and wet ingredients to the egg mixture, beginning and ending with the dry mix. Beat just until a thick batter forms, without overmixing.
  6. Spread batter evenly in the prepared bundt pan. Transfer to the oven and bake for 25-30 minutes, until the top is puffy and light golden brown, and a tester inserted in the center comes out clean.
  7. Transfer the pan to a cooling rack and let cool in the pan for 45 minutes before inverting and removing from the pan. Let the cake cool completely on the wire rack.
  8. Once cooled, dust a light coating of powdered sugar on the top of the cake and serve.
  • Prep Time: 10 minutes
  • Cook Time: 25 minutes
  • Category: Cake
  • Method: Baking
  • Cuisine: Dessert

Keywords: heavy cream, cake, vanilla, bundt cake

Cooking by the Numbers…

Step 1 – Prep

Horizontal image of assorted white ingredients in white bowls and eggs in a white bowl and a bundt pan on the side.

Preheat your oven to 350°F. Make sure the oven rack is positioned in the center, for the most even baking.

Generously grease and flour a 10-cup bundt pan. Make sure that you are coating all of the nooks and crannies of any intricate designs in the pan – you don’t want the cake to stick to any secret spots!

You can also choose to use round pans, as well – this recipe turns out beautifully for a layered cake. Prep two 8-inch round pans instead of the bundt option.

Step 2 – Mix Egg and Sugar

Horizontal image of a liquidy egg and sugar mixture in a metal pan.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the eggs and granulated sugar until a thick, smooth, light yellow mixture forms.

Because there is no butter to cream in this recipe, mixing the eggs to the right consistency in this step is ultra-important, in order to aerate the batter.

Make sure you mix the eggs and sugar enough until you achieve a lightly whipped texture.

Step 3 – Alternate Adding Dry and Wet Ingredients

Horizontal image of a thick light yellow batter in a messy silver bowl.

In a medium-sized bowl, sift together the all-purpose flour, baking powder, and salt. In another separate small bowl, mix together the heavy cream and vanilla.

On low speed, alternate adding the dry ingredients and wet ingredients to the egg mixture, beginning and ending with the dry mix. Beat just until a thick batter forms, without overmixing.

Step 4 – Transfer to Pan

Horizontal image of thick batter in a bundt pan.

Spread the batter evenly in the prepared bundt pan. It will be thick, so you could use either a spatula or a cookie scooper to distribute the batter.

If using two 8-inch pans, divide the batter evenly between the two.

Step 5 – Bake

Horizontal image of a baked cake in a bundt pan.

Transfer to the oven and bake for 25-30 minutes (about 20-25 minutes for the 8-inch pans), until the top is puffy and a light golden brown, and a tester inserted in the center comes out clean.

Step 6 – Cool

Horizontal image of a bundt on a cooling rack on a wooden surface.

Transfer to a cooling rack and let cool for 45 minutes in the pan. Don’t get hasty and remove the cake from the pan prematurely – it needs this time to set and cool before you remove it.

After cooling in the pan for the appropriate amount of time, invert the cake out of the pan and onto the cooling rack. Let it cool completely on the cooling rack.

If it still feels like it is sticking, run a paring knife around the edge of the pan before trying to invert again.

Step 7 – Decorate and Serve

Horizontal image of a whole bundt covered in powdered sugar next to a strainer with more powdered sugar, all on a cooling rack.

Once cooled, dust a light coating of powdered on the the top and sides before carefully transferring to a platter and serving.

Horizontal image of a slice of a vanilla baked good.

Cut into thick slices, and enjoy!

OMG, My Cake Broke Coming Out of the Pan?!?

Yeah. That happens sometimes with bundt cakes.

And you know what? It’s 100% your fault. Let me explain.

From personal experience, there is usually one main reason why you may have difficulties with removing it from the bundt pan:

Other than not greasing the pan well enough (which you know you should do for the standard cake prep!), you were just too darn impatient to wait for the cake to cool properly before making the silly, premature attempt to remove it.

I get it. It’s irresistible, that feeling, that insatiable craving of wanting to see how pretty the designs are, to see all of your glorious work displayed right before your eyes. You want to touch the cake. You want to release the cake from its metal confines and let it be free.

My advice? Don’t.

Horizontal top-down image of a whole bundt dusted with sugar on a wire rack, next to white flowers and white towel.

Resist that urge, resist! The cake has to cool for a significant amount of time in the pan before you remove it. A long cooling time will help the cake to set, and will make it easier to release from the pan without it falling apart if it’s still warm and vulnerable to breaking.

Not to worry, there are still plenty of things that you can do with a cake that fell apart or didn’t rise properly. Check out our tips! Might I suggest a delicious trifle?

Whatever you do, don’t let it go to waste. And if you follow my instructions to be as patient as you can, you’ll turn out a gorgeous dessert next time.

Once you flawlessly remove the cake from the pan, how will you decorate it? Dusted with powdered sugar? Or served with homemade whipped cream, maybe with fresh berries on the side?

Do whatever you like, whenever you’d like – Sunday afternoons or otherwise, and let me know what you decide in the comment section below!

For more cake recipes that will bake perfectly in bundt pans, try these:

Photos by Nikki Cervone, © Ask the Experts, LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. See our TOS for more details. Originally published by Shanna Mallon on May 28, 2009. Last updated: December 28, 2019 at 7:56 am.

Nutritional information derived from a database of known generic and branded foods and ingredients and was not compiled by a registered dietitian or submitted for lab testing. It should be viewed as an approximation.

About Nikki Cervone

Nikki Cervone is an ACS Certified Cheese Professional and cheesemonger living in Pittsburgh. Nikki holds an AAS in baking/pastry from Westmoreland County Community College, a BA in Communications from Duquesne University, and an MLA in Gastronomy from Boston University. When she's not nibbling on her favorite cheeses or testing a batch of cupcakes, Nikki enjoys a healthy dose of yoga, wine, hiking, singing in the shower, and chocolate. Lots of chocolate.

15 thoughts on “Easy Cream Cake: Simplicity At Its Sweetest”

  1. i’ve also been on a baking cake binge, not so much the cookies anymore. you’re so right about it being so much simpler and so easy to whip up. you could make this your new sunday thing: lunch, whip together cake, cat nap and then afternoon tea with a slice of whatever cake you created. lovely addition to your sunday, no?

    Reply
  2. I haven’t been baking lately, which means that this cake is completely calling my name. Bet it would be glorious with a bit of freshly whipped cream. Or maybe just a nice berry puree.

    Reply
  3. I like to consider myself a foodie and semi-decent cook…but on Sundays, I have no control: the nap always wins! This must be why a cupcake shop opened around the corner from my apartment…so I could take my Sunday nap, wake up, walk about a block and have my own sized-for-one cake.

    Reply
  4. Shannalee – Why not go with both? Nap and baking?? haha –

    Lovely recipe! Please send a quarter of that my way — NOW! 🙂

    Cheers!

    Gabi @ Mamaliga.

    Reply
  5. Don’t ask me how I came to this decision, but I think you should try making fortune cookies. I’ll help you make the fortunes!

    Reply
  6. Lan – I thought of you when I crawled into my bed this afternoon, wondering if I could get a cake and a nap in. Today, the nap won, but, between us, I’m not sure it was more satisfying than cake. In fact, I’m pretty sure it wasn’t.

    Risa – Sundays are my favorite days.

    Adam – You make me laugh. Have a cupcake for me, OK?

    Gabi – If only a quarter of it were left!

    Lo – I bet it would, too! Please tell me if you try it!

    Kim – Thanks so much, and glad to have you visiting!

    DD – You should try it!

    Alicia – That is awesome. We will have to discuss. I figure, if we can run a race together, what can’t we do? Fortune cookies should be a breeze.

    Reply
  7. It’s been way too long since I’ve come over to enjoy your voice. As I’m sitting in front of my computer this morning, feverishly trying to get a million and one things done, I thought, “I should go visit Shannalee.” So I did. And as silly as it sounds, I’ve really missed you. 🙂 I don’t like how in my busyness (and constant state of pregnant fatigue) the first thing to go these days is reading blogs, but at least this morning, I was reminded how much I love FLW. And I’m all about the oh-darn-I-have-random-ingredients-that-need-to-be-used baking excuses. I have one starting to go bad banana, and I have a feeling banana bread awaits me very soon.

    Reply
  8. Kendra – I’ve missed you, too! How’s that little baby treating you these days? I’d say if there were ever a good excuse to get away from blogging, carrying a little one is probably it! ps I love banana bread. A lot.

    Reply
  9. I have a BUNCH of cream in the fridge but alas I have big plans for it called ice cream. If I have any leftover I’m coming back. 🙂
    ~ingrid

    Reply
  10. This cake is great! I made an extra half a recipe and then I put them one on top of the other with a middle filling of whipped cream and strawberries that had been resting in sugar for an hour…and then covered the whole thing in more whipped cream….it looks great, and the texture of the cake is so good and creamy… It also gave me strawberry syrup to make salad dressing afterwards, which is great! Thanks, love your blog!

    Reply

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