The only thing more fun than a cake topped with colorful sprinkles is one that has a colorful inside too! A Unicorn Bundt cake is easy to make, using some baking shortcuts. This from-a-box Bundt cake is simple, delicious and beautiful.
Vanilla glazed bundt cake can be made with any colors you like, and is fun and festive for any occasion including birthdays, holidays, or just because you’d like to enjoy a cake.
Bundt cake is one of the easier cakes to bake. The tube shape of a bundt pan ensures even cooking and consistent results. The shape of a bundt cake also makes for super simple decorating. A drippy glaze always looks gorgeous on a cake like this, and a handful of sprinkles will make this cake party ready.
This Unicorn bundt cake recipe from cake mix is fast and foolproof. It will be ready in an afternoon for you to enjoy with your family or take to an impromptu get-together.
Why You’ll Love this Bundt Cake
- Semi-Homemade: Using a boxed cake mix takes all the guesswork out of measuring and mixing. While scratch baked cake can be amazing, this simple recipe is perfect for anyone to make, even if you’re not an expert baker.
- Pretty Colors: We’ve made pastel swirls of color inside this cake, and you can use whatever colors you like to make it fit your style or your party theme.
- Delicious Glaze: Bundt cake glaze comes together with just three ingredients. Pour it on and it’s ready.
Ingredients Needed
Complete list of ingredients with quantities and instructions is located in the recipe card below
- White Cake Mix: To fill a bundt pan you will want to use two boxes of cake mix. Betty Crocker brand is what I used. Keep in mind that I’ve adjusted the add-ins a bit from the directions on the box to get the cake texture that I want for this bundt.
- Egg Whites: 6 egg whites total are needed to make this bundt recipe.
- Water and Vegetable Oil: These ingredients add moisture to the cake mix. Vegetable or canola oil can be used.
- Food Coloring: Use gel food coloring to get the brightest colors. You can choose 3 or 4 colors.
- Powdered Sugar, Milk, Vanilla Extract: The simplest icing is made with these three ingredients.
- Sprinkles: For a really show stopping cake, look for fancy sprinkles at your grocery or craft store. I’m amazed at the different types and mixes of sprinkles you can find now!
How to Make a Bundt Cake
- Prep: Preheat the oven. Prepare a large bundt pan with shortening, then dust with flour.
- Mix: In a stand mixer, or using a hand mixer and a large mixing bowl, add the cake mixes, eggs, water, and oil. Mix for 2-3 minutes.
- Add Colors: Divide the batter into 4 or 5 bowls (depending on how many colors you’ve chosen). Add food coloring to each bowl, leaving one without color.
- Bake: Pour batter into the prepared Bundt pan, one color at a time. You may have more cake batter than you need. Only fill the pan ⅔ fill, or it will overflow. Bake the cake for 50 – 60 minutes, or until done.
- Cool: Let the cake cool for 10 minutes in the pan. Then loosen the edges of the cake and turn it out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
- Mix Glaze: Add powdered sugar, vanilla, and milk to a bowl. Using a whisk, mix together slowly, adding more milk one tablespoon at a time until the glaze is your desired consistency.
- Decorate: Place the cooled cake on a plate. Pour the glaze slowly over the cooled cake. Add sprinkles before the glaze sets.
Bundt Cake Tips
- Don’t Overfill. Because we’re using boxed mix for this recipe, it’s possible that you will end up with more batter than you need. Different Bundt pans have different volumes too, making it hard to know exactly how much you need until you’re filling the pan. Make sure to only fill the bundt pan ⅔ of the way up to avoid overflow and spillage.
- Prep Well. There might be nothing worse than a bundt pan that sticks to the pan and won’t come out cleanly. Take your time to be sure that you evenly coat the inside of the pan with shortening, getting into any nooks and crannies. Coat the shortening with flour for a smooth release.
- Let it Cool. You cannot add glaze to a still warm cake, it will melt! Make sure that your cake is completely cooled before starting to decorate it.
- Don’t forget the sprinkles. The vanilla glaze will start to harden a few minutes after you pour it on. Once that happens, the sprinkles won’t stick to it. Be sure to sprinkle your cake right after adding the icing.
- Get Great Swirls. You don’t need to do anything special to get the rainbow color effect shown here. Simple layer the batter colors on top of each other, pouring each new color in the center of the last one. I prefer to use the white batter first so that the outside of the cake is light. Darker colors of batter can look strange on the outside of a cake, but they can also look really cool, so play around with that if you like.
- Use a measuring cup to ensure that you’re using the same amount of each color. I love this set of measuring tools, it’s magnetic so I can stick it to the fridge!
FAQs
Use a large Bundt pan that is 9 to 10 inches in diameter for this two box cake mix recipe. This size pan should hold 10-12 cups of batter. If you’re in the market for a great Bundt, I recommend this Nordicware pan. They are the originators of this type of pan, and their products are high quality and meant to last.
You can also bake this recipe in a 9×13 sheet cake pan. If doing this, the bake time should be reduced to 40-45 minutes.
Getting a homemade bundt cake to release cleanly from the pan is all about preparation. Taking steps to ensure that the cake won’t stick before you bake it is the best way to ensure success.
To prep a bundt pan, use your fingers or a paper towel to thoroughly spread shortening all over the inside of the pan, paying attention to any dips or creases that might need extra attention. Next, add flour to the pan and tip the pan around until the entire inside is coated with both shortening and flour.
Alternatively, use a product meant for cake release, such as Pam for Baking cooking spray or Wilton Cake Release.
The sprinkles I used on this cake were already in my collection, and I’m not exactly sure where they came from, but I found these unicorn sprinkles that are very close. They are super cute with tiny unicorns included in the mix.
The beauty of this recipe is that you can use whatever colors you want! I suggest that you choose colors that you really like, or ones that match your sprinkles. Wilton Gel Food Coloring is my favorite for coloring cake batter. You can use a little bit to get pastel colors, or add more for bright, vivid ones.
Have fun with this swirled Bundt cake, and make it your own! Different sprinkles and colors will make this a cake that you can match to any occasion. Don’t forget to Pin the recipe for later!
Unicorn Bundt Cake
Equipment
- 10-12 cups or 9-10 inches bundt pan
Ingredients
- 2 x 15.25 ounce white cake mixes
- 6 large egg whites
- 2 ½ cups water
- ⅔ cup vegetable oil
- 3-4 gel food coloring colors of choice
Glaze
- 1 ¾ cup powdered sugar
- 5-6 tablespoons milk I used 2%
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ¼ cup sprinkles
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F/175°C. Prepare a large bundt pan with shortening, then dust with flour.
- In a stand mixer, or using a hand mixer and a large mixing bowl, add the cake mixes, eggs, water, and oil. Mix for 2-3 minutes.
- Divide the batter into 4 or 5 bowls (depending on how many colors you’ve chosen). Add food coloring to each bowl, leaving one without color.
- Pour batter into the prepared Bundt pan, one color at a time. You may have more cake batter than you need. Only fill the pan ⅔ fill, or it will overflow. Bake the cake for 50 – 60 minutes, or until done.
- Let the cake cool for 10 minutes in the pan. Then loosen the edges of the cake and turn it out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
To Make the Glaze:
- Add powdered sugar, vanilla, and milk to a bowl. Using a whisk, mix together slowly, adding more milk one tablespoon at a time until the glaze is your desired consistency.
- Place the cooled cake on a plate. Pour the glaze slowly over the cooled cake. Add sprinkles before the glaze sets.
Notes
- Generously coat the inside of the Bundt pan with shortening.
- Make sure that the cake has cooled completely before adding the glaze.
Nutrition
This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.
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