Let’s get one thing straight right from the get-go: This ain’t your grandma’s Bundt cake. This, my friends, is our New England Innkeeper Cream Cheese Stuffed Brunch Lemon Bundt Cake. Let’s unpack that glorious mouthful, shall we? We’re talking a fluffy, citrus-splendorific cake (courtesy of some tangy Greek yogurt and lemon zest) that hides a delightful surprise in the center: a decadent cream cheese filling — all baked in cast iron.

Of course, if we’re truly being responsible corporate citizens and mindfully honoring the “Bundt” trademark held by Nordic Ware for the line of aluminum-only pans they produce, then we should probably point out that a “Bundt” style pan made from cast iron needs to legally be marketed as a “fluted cake pan.” And now that we’ve pointed it out, allow us to also point out that we don’t cook out of aluminum and/or nonstick pans at the New England Innkeeper Global Headquarters and Test Kitchen. We tend to cook — with very few exceptions — in cast iron, enameled cast iron, and/or carbon steel — and have you ever seen the gorgeousness of a vintage cast iron Bundt pan?

Also, anytime we see a Bundt shaped cake, or Bundt style pan, we firmly embrace our freedom of speech, call it a Bundt anyway, and get on with the more important parts of our day.

But enough about the bureaucracy — let’s get back to that Cream Cheese Stuffing… Here’s a baker’s trick you won’t want to miss: we fold a bit of the cake batter into the cream cheese mixture. This ensures a creamy, dreamy filling that stays perfectly put throughout the baking process, creating a flavor-bomb Bundt-bite with a gap-free texture experience.

PLUS – the top of this Bundt-beauty gets a delightful crown of sliced almonds, sugar, and lemon zest, creating a glistening, crackly crust that adds both texture and taste. And because we like to play both sides of the cake (literally!), the other side is bathed in a Lemon Glaze Drizzle. Talk about a double whammy of deliciousness! This two-toned topping situation not only adds a frenzy of fun flavor but also opens up a whole new world of creative plating and presentation possibilities.

Quit being so predictable. Ditch the boring-basics and embrace this bodacious-Bundt, instead. This Cream Cheese Stuffed Brunch Lemon Bundt Cake is the perfect way to impress your guests (or, if we’re being honest, just indulge yourself). It’s breakfast-worthy, brunch-worthy, dessert-worthy, Insta-worthy, and guaranteed to become a new favorite. Now, grab your favorite cast-iron fluted-cake Bundt pan, prepare your ingredients, preheat your oven, and get ready to bake like a New England Innkeeper!

This recipe for our Innkeeper-Approved™ Cream Cheese Stuffed Brunch Lemon Bundt Cake was custom-conjured to give you a solid reason to force that cast iron fluted cake pan you purchased decades ago finally start to earn its keep. How do we do that? By filling it with a can’t-say-no-to-one-more-bite cream cheese revelation AND fueling the frenetic flavor fires with a double-sided dichotomy of toppings that will have you (and your brunch guests) asking, “Which side is up?”

The correct answer: “Who cares!”

With citrusy, sugary, crackly, drizzly goodness coating both the tops and bottoms of this Bundt, the best thing you can do is slice it and serve it with a cut side down against the plate. That way, the lucky eater gets a sneak-peek at the cream cheese filling in the center plus a full slate of double-vision flavor options presenting themselves simultaneously. A crispy baked topping on one side. A drizzled glazed topping on the other.

Best of all worlds. Breakfast. Brunch. After midnight. Whatever. Just plate it up and let the magic commence.

What if I don’t have a cast iron Bundt pan? Can I use the cheap nonstick one I bought for six bucks at the grocery store? I mean, we wouldn’t. But that’s only because we actually care about our future health and do our darnedest to keep industrial carcinogens and forever chemicals away from our food. PLUS we have a much-beloved parrot named Zuzu in our family — and cooking on nonstick surfaces around parrots can be instantly lethal to them. The proverbial canary in the coal mine. Kinda makes you wonder what it’s doing to us, right? But, to answer your question: This recipe will technically still succeed in your cheap-ass poison pan. If that’s your thing, have at it!

Do I really have to warm the cast iron Bundt (fluted cake) pan in the preheating oven until it is approximately 175-200°F? We recommend that you don’t skip this step, otherwise your baking time will change and you will very likely have problems with the cake sticking, breaking apart, and/or not releasing well from the pan. How will I know when the pan hits 175-200°F? We keep an infrared thermometer in our kitchen drawer for quick surface temperature checks. It’s actually a very useful tool with a variety of culinary applications for food quality and safety (think: providing quick and accurate surface temperature readings without contact, preventing cross-contamination or damage to food products). This Fluke is our favorite infrared thermometer.

How do I make certain the cake doesn’t stick to the pan? First off, use a well-seasoned cast iron Bundt / fluted cake pan. IMPORTANT: Do not grease the pan until after you preheat it to approximately 175-200°F — right before you add the cake batter.  ALSO IMPORTANT: Use a baking spray that contains flour (like this one and this one) OR mix up some homemade Cake Goop / Cake Release. ONE LAST THING: Let the cake cool in the two stages (and for the specific durations) outlined in the recipe. Don’t be impatient. You can’t rush perfection.

Since this cast iron Bundt Cake recipe requires the baker to layer cake batter and cream cheese, we’ve decided to include this photo slideshow depicting what some of the stages look like in that process.

• Once the first portion of cake batter is in the gently preheated cast iron Bundt pan — AND you have mixed together the ingredients for the cream cheese filling — you will spoon the cream cheese mixture evenly over the top of the batter in the pan, leaving about 1 inch of space from the edges of the pan.
• Next, you’ll delicately smooth the cream cheese with a rubber spatula.
• Then, you’ll spread the remaining 1 cup of reserved batter over the cream cheese filling and smooth the top again.
• Moving ahead, you’ll sprinkle reserved Cake Topping (baked) over the top of the batter, then bake the cake.
• Finally, after cooling the cake (according to the recipe), you’ll drizzle the reserved Cake Topping (Lemon Glaze Drizzle) over the top of the bundt cake (which is the bare side which had been at the bottom of the cast iron Bundt Pan). Then, optionally sprinkle with sliced almonds, slice, plate, and serve!