Step 1

Preheat your oven to 350F and set out your bundt pan but don’t touch it just yet. For this recipe, you can use either a 10 cup or 12 cup bundt pan.

Step 2

Whisk together your dry ingredients (flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt) and set aside.

Step 3

In a large bowl, whisk together the oil, butter, and sugar. You can do so by hand or with an electric mixer with the whisk attachment. Mix for a good 1-2 minutes on medium speed until well combined.

Step 4

Whisk in your eggs and then the buttermilk, vanilla, and vinegar. Finally, mix in the food coloring.

Step 5

Add half of the dry ingredients and mix to combine. Then scrape down the bowl and mix in the other half. If mixing by hand, switch to a rubber spatula and fold in half of your dry ingredients until almost combined. Fold in the rest until smooth.

Step 6

Now, prepare your bundt pan. You can either use the sugar or flour method (both detailed in this blog post). The flour method is the quickest and easiest, so give your pan a light coat of an oil and flour nonstick spray (like Bakery’s Joy) and then use a fine pastry brush to spread it around the entire pan, getting it into all the nooks and crannies.

Step 7

Then pour in your batter. If you’re using a 12 cup bundt pan, you’ll use all of the batter. If you’re using a 10 cup bundt pan (like the one I used here), leave out about 1 cup of batter otherwise it will overflow when baked.

Step 8

Bake for 45 minutes if using a 10 cup pan, or 50-60 minutes if using a 12 cup pan.

Step 9

Let it rest for about 10 minutes, then turn it out onto a cooling rack and let it sit for another 30 minutes to cool completely.

Step 10

Mix together the cream cheese and powdered sugar, adding the milk as you go.

Step 11

Once smooth, mix in the vanilla. The consistency should be a bit thinner than craft glue (see image in post for reference). If it’s too thick, add 1/2 tbsp of milk at a time until smoothed. If too thin, add 1 tbsp of powdered sugar at a time until thickened.

Step 12

Pour over your cooled bundt cake and serve! Store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.