Orange-Almond Buttermilk Bundt with Streusel Ribbons
A tall buttermilk Bundt with three ribbons of brown-buttered, mace-and-orange almond streusel running through it like geological layers.
A tall, ambitious Bundt cake with three ribbons of orange-almond streusel running through it like geological layers. The cake itself is buttermilk-tender and bright with orange zest; the streusel is the showpiece — mace, brown sugar, toasted almonds, and a hint of cinnamon. Slices show you the layers in dramatic cross-section. This is a Sunday-morning-with-everyone-coming-over kind of cake, or the Christmas-morning cake, or the just-had-a-baby gift cake. Make it once and you’ll understand.
Why this works
The Bundt shape is structural: the central tube conducts heat to the middle of a tall cake, ensuring it bakes through evenly without overbrowning the outside. A 9x13 wouldn’t give you the same architecture, and the streusel ribbons wouldn’t display as dramatically when sliced. The streusel-on-the-bottom-of-the-pan trick is a classic Bundt technique — when you invert the cake, the streusel becomes a top with a lovely crackled, sugared-nut crown. Mace (a separate spice from nutmeg, though they come from the same plant) has a more floral, almost orange-blossom note that pairs naturally with the orange zest in a way nutmeg can’t. The 4-minute cream and the alternating-additions technique for the batter is classical sour cream coffee cake construction — it produces a tall, plush, fine-crumbed cake that holds the streusel layers cleanly.
Make ahead
This cake is even better on day two. Wrap tightly in plastic at room temperature; keeps 4 days. The streusel mixture can be made up to a week ahead, refrigerated in two separate containers (the reserved unbuttered portion and the brown-buttered portion).
Freezer notes
Freezes beautifully — Bundts in general freeze well because of their density. Cool fully, double-wrap in plastic and foil, freeze up to 2 months. Thaw at room temperature, still wrapped, for 4 hours. The streusel ribbons stay defined; the cake stays moist.
Ingredient swaps
- Almonds → hazelnuts (toasted, skinned), pecans, or walnuts: Hazelnuts are stunning here.
- Orange zest → lemon zest, or a mix of orange and lemon: Either is excellent; lemon brightens.
- Mace → cardamom or pumpkin pie spice: Cardamom is the closest substitute in spirit.
- Buttermilk → 1 1/3 cups whole milk + 1 tbsp lemon juice (rest 5 min): Standard substitute.
- All-purpose flour → cake flour for an even more tender crumb: Use 3 3/4 cups cake flour.
Sarah’s kitchen notes
This is a big cake. Don’t try to fit it into a pan smaller than a 10-cup Bundt — it will overflow, and Bundt cake on the oven floor is one of the great kitchen disappointments. If your Bundt is only 9 cups, divide the batter and streusel between two smaller Bundts (or a 9x5 loaf pan, baked separately) and reduce baking time by 15 minutes. Also: a well-buttered, well-floured Bundt pan is the only way these come out cleanly. Cooking spray is unreliable for Bundts — too thin, too uneven. Use real butter, applied with a pastry brush into every crevice, and dust with flour. The cake will release perfectly. The streusel on the bottom will crown the cake like a hat.
Ingredients
Streusel
Cake
Instructions
- Brown the streusel butter. In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt the 6 tbsp butter and continue cooking until amber and nutty, 4 to 5 minutes. Pour into a bowl, scraping every speck. Cool slightly.
- Make the streusel. Pulse the toasted almonds, brown sugar, orange zest, cinnamon, mace, and salt in a food processor until the nuts are chopped medium-fine — don't pulverize them. Reserve 1 cup of this mixture in a separate bowl. To the larger portion, add the cooled brown butter and pulse until it clumps together. Set aside.
- Heat oven to 350°F. Generously butter a 10-cup Bundt pan and dust with flour, tapping out the excess. Scatter half the reserved (unbuttered) streusel evenly across the bottom and lower sides of the buttered pan.
- Whisk dry. In a large bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- Combine wet liquids. In a measuring cup, stir together buttermilk and vanilla.
- Cream butter and sugar in another large bowl with a stand mixer (paddle attachment) for 4 minutes on medium-high — pale and fluffy. Add the orange zest. Beat in the eggs one at a time, scraping between each. The mixture will be airy and almost custardy.
- Alternate dry and wet. With the mixer on low, add the dry ingredients in three additions, alternating with the buttermilk in two additions, beginning and ending with the dry. Mix just until combined.
- Layer. Spoon 1/3 of the batter into the prepared Bundt pan over the reserved streusel. Sprinkle 1/3 of the brown-buttered streusel on top. Repeat: another third of batter, another third of streusel, the last of the batter, and finally any remaining streusel on top.
- Use a butter knife to swirl the streusel layers gently into the batter — don't fully mix; you want defined ribbons.
- Bake 55 to 65 minutes, until a tester comes out with a few moist crumbs and the top springs back when pressed. Cover loosely with foil at the 40-minute mark if browning too fast.
- Cool in the pan for 20 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack. Cool completely before slicing — Bundts are firmer and slice cleaner once fully cool.
Notes
- Don't try to fit this batter into anything smaller than a 10-cup Bundt — it will overflow.
- Real butter and flour the pan with a pastry brush into every crevice. Cooking spray is unreliable for Bundts and can cause sticking.
- Mace is its own spice, distinct from nutmeg even though they come from the same plant. The floral note is what makes this work with the orange.
