Cherry Vanilla Bundt Cake

This Cherry Vanilla Bundt Cake is a buttery, tender cake studded with fresh cherries and finished with a simple vanilla glaze. It’s the kind of dessert that disappears fast at a potluck, no fancy skills required.

Cherry Vanilla Bundt Cake is a buttermilk-based Bundt cake folded with fresh or frozen cherries and topped with a sweet vanilla glaze. This recipe serves 12, delivers a moist, tender crumb studded with juicy fruit in every slice, and is perfect for summer gatherings, birthdays, or a weekend baking project.

Here’s everything you need to make it perfectly.

I’ve made this Cherry Vanilla Bundt Cake more times than I can count, and the one thing that took me a few tries to get right was the pan prep. Skip a single crevice when greasing and flouring, and you’ll know it the second you flip the pan over. This cake is worth the extra thirty seconds of care, I promise.

Why You’ll Love This Cherry Vanilla Bundt Cake

This cake has a soft, tender crumb thanks to the buttermilk, and the cherries add little bursts of tartness against the sweet vanilla glaze. It’s straightforward enough for a weeknight bake but looks impressive enough for a birthday table. Anyone who likes classic pound cake but wants something a little brighter will love this Cherry Vanilla Bundt Cake. And because it’s a one-bowl-plus-a-Bundt-pan situation, cleanup is minimal.

What Ingredients Do You Need for Cherry Vanilla Bundt Cake?

Main Ingredients

Ingredient Group	Ingredient	Amount	Notes
Main Ingredients	Unsalted butter	1 cup	Softened
Main Ingredients	Granulated sugar	2 cups
Main Ingredients	Large eggs	4
Main Ingredients	All-purpose flour	3 cups
Main Ingredients	Baking powder	1 teaspoon
Main Ingredients	Baking soda	1/2 teaspoon
Main Ingredients	Salt	1/2 teaspoon
Main Ingredients	Buttermilk	1 cup
Main Ingredients	Vanilla extract	2 teaspoons
Main Ingredients	Almond extract	1/2 teaspoon	Optional
Main Ingredients	Pitted cherries	1 1/2 cups	Quartered, fresh or frozen
Glaze	Powdered sugar	1 1/2 cups
Glaze	Milk or cherry juice	2-3 tablespoons
Glaze	Vanilla extract	1/2 teaspoon

The buttermilk is doing a lot of quiet work here — it’s what keeps this vanilla cherry cake so tender instead of dense. If you’re using frozen cherries, don’t thaw them first, because thawed cherries bleed color and turn the batter an odd shade of purple. That almond extract is optional, but it deepens the cherry flavor in a way that’s hard to place if you don’t already know it’s there.

How to Make Cherry Vanilla Bundt Cake Step by Step

1. Preheat oven to 325°F (160°C). Grease and flour a 10-12 cup Bundt pan, ensuring all crevices are coated.

💡 Missing even one crevice in the pan is the number one reason Bundt cakes stick.

2. In a large bowl, cream together the softened butter and granulated sugar until light and fluffy, about 3-5 minutes with an electric mixer.
3. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition until incorporated.
4. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
5. In a small bowl or measuring cup, combine the buttermilk, vanilla extract, and almond extract, if using.
6. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, alternating with the buttermilk mixture, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. Mix on low speed until just combined.

Pro Tip: Overmixing this homemade Bundt cake batter is what leads to a tough, dense crumb instead of a tender one.

7. Gently fold in the quartered cherries until evenly distributed, being careful not to overmix.
8. Pour the batter into the prepared Bundt pan and spread evenly.
9. Bake for 60-70 minutes, or until a wooden skewer or toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
10. Let the cake cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10-15 minutes before inverting it onto the wire rack to cool completely.

Pro Tip: Cooling the cake completely before glazing keeps the glaze from soaking into the crumb instead of setting on top.

For the Glaze

1. In a small bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, milk or cherry juice, and vanilla extract until smooth. Add more liquid a teaspoon at a time if you want a thinner glaze.
2. Once the cake is completely cool, drizzle the glaze over the top, letting it drip down the sides.

Expert Tips for Perfect Cherry Vanilla Bundt Cake

Pro Tips for Success

The key to an even bake is making sure your butter and eggs are fully at room temperature before you start, since cold ingredients don’t emulsify the same way. For best results, toss the quartered cherries in a spoonful of the measured flour before folding them in, which helps keep them from sinking to the bottom.

The most common mistake is overmixing once the flour goes in — instead, stop as soon as you no longer see streaks of dry flour. This cherry dessert recipe works best when the cherries are patted dry first, since excess moisture can make the crumb gummy near the fruit. You’ll know the cake is ready when the top springs back lightly to the touch and the edges have just started to pull from the pan.

Delicious Variations

For an Alternative Ingredients take, swap the cherries for pitted and chopped plums or dark sweet cherries if that’s what you can find. For a Gluten-Free version, a 1:1 gluten-free baking flour blend can work in place of the all-purpose flour, though the crumb will be slightly denser. For a Quick Version, skip the glaze entirely and dust the cooled cake with powdered sugar instead.

Troubleshooting Common Problems

Problem: The cake sticks to the Bundt pan. Solution: Next time, use a pastry brush to work softened butter into every groove of the pan before flouring it, especially in a pan with an intricate pattern.

Problem: The cherries all sink to the bottom of the cake. Solution: Toss the cherries in a tablespoon of flour before folding them into the batter so they stay suspended as the cake bakes.

How to Store and Reheat Cherry Vanilla Bundt Cake

Storage Method	Duration	Best Practice
Room Temperature	Up to 2 days	Store covered in an airtight container
Refrigerator	Up to 5 days	Wrap tightly to keep the crumb from drying out
Freezer	Up to 3 months	Freeze unglazed slices wrapped in plastic, then foil

This cake doesn’t need reheating, but a slice warmed for 10-15 seconds in the microwave brings back that just-baked softness and makes the glaze go slightly glossy again. If you’ve got extra slices, cube them up and layer with whipped cream and berries for a quick trifle instead of letting them go stale on the counter.

FAQs About Cherry Vanilla Bundt Cake

Honestly, if you make one Bundt cake this summer, make it this one — the fresh cherries seriously make all the difference. Save this recipe to your Pinterest board so you don’t lose it, and if you bake it, come back and tell me how your slice turned out. I mean it, I want to hear about the cherry situation in your pan.

Cherry Vanilla Bundt Cake is a buttery, tender Bundt loaded with juicy cherries and finished with a sweet vanilla glaze. Pin this homemade Bundt cake recipe to save it for your next gathering.