Vanilla Buttermilk Bundt Cake: Mistaken identity

A couple of days ago, I found myself wanting to make dinner for close family friend, who lives in the neighborhood.  The boys had been my students, the family close to me when I was young and single, and even now the boys and I still talk.  I had one of them come and pick up the food which wasn't fancy - just chili and a nice chunk of cake, but I told him, "Chili - eat it with crackers at home, and the cake is for dessert."

A couple of days later, in texting with the older son about something, he graciously thanked me for the dinner from earlier in the week.  He stated, "The chili and cornbread were both SO good. Especially the cornbread. It was like eating cupcakes sooo good!!"

I, of course, paused for a moment, thinking that his mom must have whipped up some cornbread, because I didn't recall having made any cornbread.  I replied, "You're welcome" but the cornbread comment kind of threw me and I couldn't quite get my head around it.  Knowing the family's schedule and what they had time to do, I was pretty sure it wasn't cornbread that he had eaten with his chili.

"That was CAKE!! Not CORNBREAD!" I texted back.

"WAT?  My mom said it was cornbread so I put butter on it and ate it. No wonder it tasted like cupcakes!"

I chortled and giggled. I texted him, "I'm laughing so so so so hard."

"I was like, wow, this cornbread is REALLY soft!  and she was like it's because it's fresh and she just made it!  LOLOL  I even TOASTED it.  This is embarrassing on so many levels."

So there you have it.  A very strange case of mistaken identity, where a large chunk of vanilla buttermilk bundt cake gets mistaken for a piece of cornbread.

Rest assured.  There is nothing cornbread-like about this cake.  This cake, as my young friend put it, is soft, tender, fluffy and much more like a cupcake.  Not cornbread.  Perhaps if you put some chili on it, it'd be more like cornbread, but really, it's not.

Someone else I gave a slice of this cake to likened it to the old school Sara Lee poundcake from way back from my childhood.  It definitely has that flavor and feel and it's so good.  I love it because it's easy to make, and my friends like it because it can be both dessert or cornbread in a pinch.

Vanilla Buttermilk Bundt Cake
Makes 10-inch bundt cake, serving 12 to 14

Ingredients
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
2 cups granulated sugar
4 large eggs, room temperature
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk

Method
Place rack in center of oven, and preheat oven to 350.  Grease and lightly flour inside of 10 inch bundt pan.

Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl.  Set aside.

Using either a stand mixer (paddle attachment) or a hand mixer, beat the butter at medium speed until creamy, about 2 minutes.  Gradually add sugar and beat at medium-high speed until the mixture is light in texture and color, about 3 minutes.  Beat in eggs one at a time, beating for 30 to 40 seconds after each addition.  Scrape down sides of bowl as necessary.   Add vanilla extract.  At low speed, add flour mixture in three additions, alternating with buttermilk. Scoop batter into pan and spread with spatula.

Bake cake for 50 to 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool the cake in the pan on a cooling rack for 10 minutes, then invert it onto another rack.  Place the cake, on the rack, over a baking sheet.

After cake has cooled, slice and serve, with berries, vanilla ice cream or just plain.

Printable recipe

Let's just all agree that this doesn't look like cornbread.

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