Are you searching for the ultimate, show-stopping dessert for your Christmas celebration? A magnificent, jaw-dropping centerpiece that is as stunningly beautiful as it is unbelievably moist and delicious, yet is secretly simple to make? This incredible, from-scratch-tasting “Jingle Bell” Bundt Cake is that perfect recipe. We’re talking a rich, tender, and impossibly moist olive oil and almond cake, drizzled with a simple, snowy glaze, and adorned with a festive, sparkling cascade of pomegranate “jewels” and toasted almonds.
This isn’t just another cake recipe; it’s your definitive guide to a truly unforgettable holiday tradition. While it looks like a masterpiece from a fine European bakery, we’ll show you the simple but brilliant secrets to creating this stunning dessert at home. This is a satisfying, soulful, and deeply impressive cake that is perfect for making ahead and is destined to be the star of your festive feast.
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Recipe Overview: The Ultimate Elegant & Festive Holiday Dessert
What makes this “Jingle Bell” Bundt Cake so spectacularly delicious is its incredible, melt-in-your-mouth texture and its wonderfully complex, yet simple flavor profile. This recipe is a masterpiece of rustic, elegant baking. The star of the show is the cake itself, a sophisticated olive oil and almond pound cake. The olive oil and almond flour are the brilliant secrets to an unbelievably moist and tender cake with a delicate, fine crumb. The cake is infused with the bright, fragrant flavor of almond and vanilla extracts. After baking, this beautiful, fluted cake is drizzled with a simple, snowy confectioners’ sugar glaze and finished with a stunning, festive garnish of jewel-like pomegranate seeds and crunchy, toasted almonds.
| Metric | Time / Level |
| Total Time | 2 hours 30 minutes (includes cooling) |
| Active Prep Time | 20 minutes |
| Difficulty Level | Easy |
| Servings | 12-16 slices |
The Baker’s Workshop: The Essential Ingredients
This iconic party cake uses a handful of high-quality ingredients and key techniques to create its signature festive look and delicious flavor.
- The Olive Oil & Almond Cake (The Secret to Moisture!):
- Extra-Virgin Olive Oil: The secret to a sophisticated flavor and an unbelievably moist cake! A good quality, fruity extra-virgin olive oil provides a wonderful, subtle peppery note and a much more tender crumb than butter.
- Almond Flour: The key to an incredibly tender, moist, and flavorful crumb! The almond flour adds a wonderful, nutty flavor and a huge amount of moisture.
- Room Temperature Eggs: This is a crucial, professional baker’s secret! Room temperature eggs will whip up with much more volume and will emulsify more easily into the batter, creating a lighter, more uniform cake.
- The Festive “Jingle Bell” Garnish:
- Pomegranate Seeds: A simple but stunning garnish! The beautiful, jewel-toned red of the pomegranate seeds is the key to the festive, “Christmas ornament” look, and their sweet-tart, juicy burst is the perfect counterpoint to the rich cake.
- Toasted Almonds: For the best, most intense, and nuttiest flavor, it is highly recommended to toast your almonds before you chop and add them to the cake.
The Baker’s Masterclass: The Secrets to a Perfect Bundt Cake
This recipe uses a few simple but brilliant professional techniques that guarantee a flawless, impressive result.
- The Perfect Bundt Pan Prep: The number one, non-negotiable secret to a Bundt cake that doesn’t stick is a thorough pan preparation. You must generously grease your pan with oil or butter, getting into every single nook and cranny of the intricate design, and then give it a complete coating of flour. This creates a perfect, non-stick barrier that will guarantee your beautiful cake releases cleanly.
- The Creaming Method (without butter!): The secret to a light and tender crumb is to whip your eggs and sugar for several minutes, until the mixture is very thick, pale, and falls in slow ribbons. This is the key that incorporates the air needed for the cake’s beautiful, even structure.
- Don’t Overmix!: For the most tender cake crumb, be sure to mix your dry ingredients in on a low speed, and only until the last streaks of flour have disappeared.
Step-by-Step to the Best “Jingle Bell” Bundt Cake
This elegant, festive dessert is a joy to prepare.
Part 1: The Art of the Moist Olive Oil & Almond Batter
Step 1: First, preheat your oven to 325°F ($163^{\circ}C$). Thoroughly brush a 10- to 12-cup Bundt pan with olive oil, then dust it with flour, making sure to tap out any excess.
Step 2: In a medium bowl, whisk together your dry ingredients: the 2 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour, the 3/4 cup of almond flour, the 1 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder, and the 1/2 teaspoon of salt.
Step 3: In a large bowl, combine your 1 3/4 cups of granulated sugar and the 4 large, room temperature eggs. Beat with a mixer on a medium-high speed for about 3 minutes, until the mixture is thick and pale yellow.
Step 4: Reduce the mixer speed to medium and slowly beat in your 1 cup of extra-virgin olive oil until the batter is smooth. Beat in the 1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract and the 1/2 teaspoon of pure almond extract.
Step 5 (The Most Important Step for a Tender Cake!): With your mixer on its lowest speed, beat in the flour mixture in two additions, alternating with your 1/2 cup of unsweetened almond milk, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients, mixing only until the batter is just combined.
Part 2: Bake to Golden Perfection and Decorate
Step 1: Pour your finished batter into your prepared Bundt pan and smooth the top. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes. You will know the cake is perfectly done when a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out with a few moist crumbs.
Step 2: Let the cake cool in the pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes before you carefully invert it onto the rack to cool completely.
Step 3: To make the glaze, simply whisk your 2 cups of confectioners’ sugar with 2 to 3 tablespoons of milk until it is smooth and pourable.
Step 4 (The Fun Part!): Spoon the beautiful, white glaze over the top of your cooled cake, letting it drip down the beautiful, fluted sides. Immediately sprinkle the top of the wet glaze with your pomegranate seeds and chopped toasted almonds.
Let the glaze set for about 20 minutes before slicing and serving.
‘Jingle Bell’ Bundt Cake (An Easy & Elegant Christmas Cake!)
A festive and elegant recipe for a ‘Jingle Bell Bundt Cake,’ perfect for a Christmas or holiday dessert. This incredibly moist cake is made with olive oil and almond flour for a tender crumb and rich flavor, with a hint of almond extract. The simple, from-scratch batter is baked in a Bundt pan until golden. After cooling, the cake is drizzled with a simple powdered sugar glaze and decorated with vibrant pomegranate seeds and chopped toasted almonds, resembling jingle bells on a festive wreath.
Ingredients
- For the Cake:
- 1 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for the pan
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
- 3/4 cup almond flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
- 4 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon pure almond extract
- 1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk
- For the Glaze and Decoration:
- 2 cups confectioners’ sugar
- 2 to 3 tablespoons milk
- Pomegranate seeds
- Chopped toasted almonds
Instructions
- Make the Cake: Preheat the oven to 325°F. Thoroughly brush a 10- to 12-cup Bundt pan with olive oil, then dust with flour, tapping out any excess.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, almond flour, baking powder, and salt.
- In a large bowl, beat the granulated sugar and eggs with a mixer on medium-high speed for about 3 minutes, until thick and pale yellow.
- Reduce the mixer speed to medium and slowly beat in the olive oil until the batter is smooth. Beat in the vanilla and almond extracts.
- Reduce the mixer speed to low and beat in the flour mixture in two additions, alternating with the almond milk, until just combined.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out with a few moist crumbs.
- Let the cake cool in the pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Loosen the edges with a spatula, then invert the cake onto the rack to cool completely.
- Make the Glaze and Decorate: In a bowl, whisk the confectioners’ sugar and 2 tablespoons of milk until smooth. Stir in the remaining 1 tablespoon of milk if the glaze is too thick.
- Spoon the glaze over the cooled cake, letting it drip down the sides. Immediately sprinkle with pomegranate seeds and chopped almonds.
- Let the glaze set for about 20 minutes before slicing and serving.
Notes
- This is a beautiful and relatively simple Bundt cake that is perfect for a holiday centerpiece.
- Using olive oil and almond flour creates a very moist and tender cake with a delicate crumb.
- It’s important to grease and flour the intricate details of the Bundt pan very well to ensure the cake releases cleanly.
- Let the cake cool completely before adding the glaze to prevent the glaze from becoming too thin and running off.
Storage and Make-Ahead Tips
- Make-Ahead: This is the perfect make-ahead holiday dessert! The flavor and the texture of the pound cake will actually be even better on the second day. You can bake the cake up to 3 days in advance.
- Storage: Store the un-glazed cake, well-wrapped in plastic wrap, at room temperature for up to 4 days. It is best to add the glaze and the fresh garnishes on the day you plan to serve it.
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Frequently Asked questions (FAQs)
Q1: My Bundt cake stuck to the pan! What did I do wrong?
This is the most common Bundt cake problem! The secret is an absolutely meticulous pan preparation. You must use a pastry brush to get your oil or softened butter into every single tiny crevice of the pan, and then you must do the same with a generous coating of flour. A nonstick pan with a nonstick spray that contains flour is also a great, foolproof option.
Q2: Can I make this cake ahead of time?
Yes, this is a perfect make-ahead cake! The flavor and the texture of the olive oil cake will actually improve on the second day. For the best, freshest result, it is a great idea to wait to add the glaze and the garnishes until the day you plan to serve it.
Q3: Can I use a different kind of oil or milk?
You can, but the extra-virgin olive oil is the key to the cake’s unique, sophisticated flavor and its incredibly moist crumb. You can certainly substitute the almond milk with an equal amount of regular whole milk or another plant-based milk.
Q4: Can I make this nut-free?
Yes! To make this cake nut-free, you can simply substitute the 3/4 cup of almond flour with an equal amount of all-purpose flour. Be sure to also omit the almond extract and the chopped almond garnish.
Q5: What is the best way to get beautiful, clean slices of a Bundt cake?
The secret is to use a long, sharp, serrated knife (like a bread knife) and to use a gentle, sawing motion. Be sure to also let the glaze set completely before you slice into it.