Biscoff Cookie Butter Pound Cake (Easy Bundt Cake)

Home bakers have been “doctoring” boxed cake mix for decades, adding pudding, sour cream, extra eggs or butter until a quick shortcut tastes like a cake made from scratch. This Biscoff cookie butter pound cake follows that tradition and pushes it further. A box of yellow cake mix becomes a dense, moist, buttery Bundt cake, swirled with melted cookie butter and studded with crushed spiced cookies.

On top goes a cream cheese frosting made with more cookie butter, a final drizzle of the spread and a crunchy layer of cookie crumbs. The cake tastes of caramel, cinnamon and brown sugar, like the cookies themselves, and it slices cleanly into tidy, generous pieces, which makes it an easy choice for holidays and gatherings.

Ingredients

For the cake

• 1 box (about 15 oz / 430 g) yellow cake mix – the base that keeps the recipe quick and reliable.
• 1 cup (125 g) all-purpose flour – adds structure, turning a light layer cake into a denser pound cake.
• 1 package (3.4 oz / 96 g) instant vanilla pudding mix – keeps the crumb moist and tender.
• 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar and 1 tbsp ground cinnamon.
• 1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter, melted.
• 1 1/2 cups (360 ml) buttermilk and 1/2 cup (120 g) sour cream – both add a gentle tang and keep the cake soft.
• 4 large eggs, at room temperature.
• 1 tsp vanilla extract and 1/2 tsp butter extract, optional.
• 1/3 cup (about 80 g) Biscoff cookie butter, melted – the flavor of the whole cake.
• 5 to 6 Biscoff cookies, crushed.

For the cookie butter frosting

• 8 oz (225 g) cream cheese, softened.
• 2 cups (240 g) powdered sugar.
• 1/3 cup (about 80 g) Biscoff cookie butter.
• About 1/4 cup (60 ml) milk or oat milk, added gradually.

For the topping

• 1/3 to 1/2 cup (80 to 120 g) Biscoff cookie butter, melted.
• 6 to 8 Biscoff cookies, crushed, plus 1 or 2 whole cookies to decorate.

How to Make It

1. Prepare the pan – 5 minutes

Heat the oven to 325°F (165°C). Grease every ridge of the Bundt pan with soft butter or baking spray, then dust it with flour and tap out the excess. The inside of the pan should be evenly coated, with no shiny spots.

2. Mix the dry ingredients – 2 minutes

In a large bowl, whisk together the cake mix, flour, pudding mix, sugar and cinnamon. The mixture should be an even color with no clumps of pudding mix.

3. Add the wet ingredients – 3 minutes

Add the melted butter, buttermilk, sour cream, eggs, vanilla and butter extract. Beat on medium-low speed just until smooth, scraping down the bowl once or twice. The batter should be thick and silky. Stop as soon as no streaks of flour remain.

4. Swirl in the cookie butter and cookies – 2 minutes

Stir in the melted cookie butter, then fold in the crushed cookies by hand. A few caramel-colored ribbons of cookie butter should remain visible in the batter.

5. Bake – 325°F (165°C), 55 to 60 minutes

Pour the batter into the pan, smooth the top and bake on the middle rack. Start checking at 50 minutes. The cake is done when a toothpick inserted into the thickest part comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs, and the top springs back when pressed lightly.

6. Cool and unmold – 15 to 20 minutes, then about 2 hours

Let the cake rest in the pan on a wire rack for 15 to 20 minutes, then turn it out onto the rack. Leave it to cool completely before frosting. The cake should feel cool all the way through, including the top, or the frosting will melt and slide off.

7. Make the frosting – 5 minutes

Beat the cream cheese until smooth, then add the powdered sugar and cookie butter and beat until creamy. Add the milk a little at a time until the frosting is thick but pourable. It should fall from the spoon in a slow, wide ribbon.

8. Frost and decorate – 5 minutes

Spoon the frosting over the top of the cake and let it run down the sides. Drizzle the melted cookie butter over the frosting, scatter the crushed cookies over the top and finish with one or two whole cookies. The crumbs should stick to the frosting, so add them while it is still soft.

Why the Cake Mix Gets Extra Help

On its own, a box of yellow cake mix bakes into a soft, light cake meant for layers and frosting. A pound cake needs a tighter, heavier crumb. Adding a cup of flour and a cup of melted butter gives the batter more structure and richness, so it bakes up dense and moist instead of airy.

Instant pudding mix contains starch that holds on to moisture, which is why “pudding cakes” stay soft for days. Buttermilk and sour cream add acidity and fat, both of which keep the crumb tender and balance the sweetness of the cookie butter. The extra sugar and cinnamon push the flavor toward the warm, caramelized spice of speculoos cookies.

Mixing just until smooth matters too. Beating the batter for a long time works the extra flour and can make the cake tough and tunneled. As soon as no dry streaks remain, stop and fold in the cookie butter and crumbs by hand.

One more note while you work: it is tempting to taste the batter, but the U.S. Food and Drug Administration advises against eating raw flour, dough, batter or baking mixes, because flour and raw eggs can carry harmful bacteria. Save the tasting for the frosting.

Getting a Clean Release From the Bundt Pan

Bundt pans have deep ridges that grab onto cake, and a sticky batter full of cookie butter makes that worse. Three habits help the cake come out in one piece:

• Grease thoroughly: brush soft butter or spray into every groove, including the center tube, then dust with flour.
• Time the flip: after 15 to 20 minutes in the pan, the cake is firm enough to hold its shape but still warm enough to release. Left much longer, the sugars cool and stick to the metal.
• Loosen first: run a thin spatula around the outer edge and the center tube before turning it out.

If a piece does stick, press it back into place while the cake is still warm. The frosting hides small repairs.

Storing and Make-Ahead

Because the frosting is made with cream cheese, keep the frosted cake covered in the refrigerator and eat it within 3 to 4 days. Let slices sit at room temperature for about 20 minutes before serving so the crumb softens and the flavors come through.

To get ahead, bake the cake a day early, let it cool completely, wrap it tightly and keep it at room temperature, then frost it on the day you serve it. The unfrosted cake also freezes well for up to 2 months, wrapped in plastic and then foil; thaw it overnight in its wrapping before frosting.

For more fall baking, try the pumpkin Bundt cake, the pumpkin spice latte cake or the cinnamon roll cookies. For a classic holiday dessert table, add a classic pumpkin pie, and browse all the dessert recipes.

Biscoff Cookie Butter Pound Cake

A moist Biscoff cookie butter pound cake made from a doctored cake mix, topped with cookie butter cream cheese frosting and crushed cookies.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 1 hour hr

Cooling Time 2 hours hrs

Total Time 3 hours hrs 30 minutes mins

Servings: 16 slices

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Calories: 590

Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients

  

For the cake

• 1 box yellow cake mix about 15 oz
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 package instant vanilla pudding mix 3.4 oz
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 tbsp ground cinnamon
• 1 cup unsalted butter melted
• 1 1/2 cups buttermilk
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 4 large eggs room temperature
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp butter extract optional
• 1/3 cup Biscoff cookie butter melted
• 5-6 Biscoff cookies crushed

For the cookie butter frosting

• 8 oz cream cheese softened
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1/3 cup Biscoff cookie butter
• 1/4 cup milk or oat milk added gradually

For the topping

• 1/3-1/2 cup Biscoff cookie butter melted
• 6-8 Biscoff cookies crushed, plus 1-2 whole to decorate

Method

 

1. Heat the oven to 325°F (165°C). Grease and flour a 10- to 12-cup Bundt pan thoroughly.
2. Whisk the cake mix, flour, pudding mix, sugar and cinnamon in a large bowl.
3. Add the melted butter, buttermilk, sour cream, eggs, vanilla and butter extract and beat just until smooth.
4. Stir in the melted cookie butter and fold in the crushed cookies.
5. Pour into the pan and bake 55 to 60 minutes, checking at 50 minutes, until a toothpick in the thickest part comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs.
6. Cool in the pan 15 to 20 minutes, then turn out onto a rack and cool completely.
7. Beat the cream cheese until smooth, add the powdered sugar and cookie butter, then add milk gradually until thick but pourable.
8. Spoon the frosting over the cooled cake, drizzle with melted cookie butter and top with crushed and whole cookies.

Notes

Storage: because of the cream cheese frosting, keep the cake covered in the refrigerator and eat within 3 to 4 days. Let slices stand 20 minutes before serving.

Make ahead: bake a day ahead and frost on the day. The unfrosted cake freezes, well wrapped, up to 2 months.

Safety: do not taste raw batter; raw flour and eggs can carry harmful bacteria.

Nutrition is an estimate calculated from standard ingredient values, not a laboratory analysis.