I grew up going to church. Every Sunday at 7:30 am, I pulled on my pink or purple dress—both patterned with pastel flowers—and buckled my shiny white heels. Around 8 am, Mom hustled everyone into the car to drive across town, and we slipped into the sanctuary right as the organist began playing the prelude.
As a five-year-old, I thought church was all about mornings filled with coloring pages, singing songs, and donut holes, so it completely shocked me one day when Mom mentioned we’d return in the evening. Upon seeing my eyebrows draw together in confusion, she explained that the church was hosting a fundraiser party on the Sunday before Halloween and invited the congregation to come dressed in costume.
Oh boy!
I wanted to be a witch for the second year in a row, and as my black dress still fit, Mom dug out the pointy hat (my favorite part!) from the hall coat closet. I slid on my black tap shoes from dance class, and my brother and I grabbed our orange plastic jack-o-lantern treat buckets for good measure.
At the party, we played the beanbag toss, throwing the lopsided little things through a ghost’s mouth and eye sockets, and other adults passed out candy every time we smiled sweetly and chirped, “Trick or treat!” But I completely forgot about everything else—the spiders, the chocolates, even my point black hat—the moment I spotted the cakewalk. I had to win one!
Mom paid for a ticket, and I bounded over to stand on a circle. When enough princesses and pumpkins and other costume-clad kids entered too, the music started and I hopped from number to number, praying the whole time I’d land on the lucky one.
I’m sure you can guess what happened… I lost, I cried, I begged to try again. But too close to bedtime (hence all the tears), Mom gathered us up to leave and promised us a chocolate chip cookie at home.
And now here I am, a fully-fledged adult, still sad I didn’t get a cake! Yesterday, I decided enough was enough and baked my own, all while dancing in circles around the kitchen to pretend I finally won the game.
With a prize as cute as this Citrus Candy Corn Bundt Cake, wouldn’t you?
The instructions below may sound a little complicated, but I promise this recipe is really simple! You just do the same thing three times—once for the white layer, once for the lemon layer, and once for the orange layer.
To start, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and zest (for the citrus flavors). Because zest is slightly damp, it tends to clump, so whisk long enough to get rid of any lumps or bumps.
Next, cream the butter and sugar. To measure the butter, cut 2 tablespoons from the stick, and slice that chunk into thirds. No need to cram the butter into a measuring teaspoon! Stir in the vanilla, skim milk (to keep it healthier!), and/or fruit juice, depending on the layer.
Before mixing the dry ingredients into the wet, beat both egg whites to stiff peaks in the same bowl. They’ll grow 5-6 times in size, which makes them a lot easier to divide into thirds! (Just like the butter.) Beating the egg whites helps make the cake texture lighter with a finer crumb.
Now stir the dry ingredients into the butter mixture, stopping just before they’re fully incorporated. Without the egg whites, there isn’t enough liquid to mix in all of the flour. If you tried, the cake would turn gummy from overdeveloping the gluten strands.
Finally, gently fold in the egg whites (the equivalent of 2/3 an egg into each layer) with a spatula, and spread the batters into the bundt pan to bake.
Because of the bundt pan’s shape, each slice of cake actually looks like an oversized piece of candy corn! Just with slightly rounded edges. And the bright citrus flavors taste lots better too… None of the chalkiness of normal candy corn!
This Candy Corn Bundt Cake turned out much better than the store-bought ones offered as prizes at that church Halloween party. Despite all my tears, it was definitely worth the wait. Between my guy and me, we polished off the entire cake in only 2 days!
This moist cake looks like candy corn but tastes citrusy instead, nothing like its namesake! The leftover cake will stay soft if lightly covered with plastic wrap for a day or two.
- NOTE: To make this cake easier, form an “assembly line” and mix up each layer’s dry ingredients at the same time in 3 separate bowls; then each layer’s wet ingredients; then mix the wet into the dry.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F, and coat a 6-cup bundt pan with nonstick cooking spray with flour.
- To prepare the dry ingredients for the white layer, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt in a small bowl. To prepare the dry ingredients for the yellow layer, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and lemon zest in a second small bowl. To prepare the dry ingredients for the orange layer, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and orange zest in a third small bowl.
- To prepare the wet ingredients for the white layer, cream the butter and sugar in a fourth bowl. Mix in the vanilla extract and nonfat milk. To prepare the wet ingredients for the yellow layer, cream the butter and sugar in a fifth bowl. Mix in the vanilla extract, nonfat milk, lemon juice, and food coloring (if using). To prepare the wet ingredients for the orange layer, cream the butter and sugar in a sixth bowl. Mix in the vanilla extract, orange juice, and food coloring (if using).
- In a clean, dry bowl, beat the 2 egg whites (listed under the “white layer” ingredients) until stiff peaks form. Set aside.
- Add the white layer dry ingredients into the white layer wet ingredients, mixing until mostly but not completely incorporated. Repeat with the yellow and orange layer dry and wet ingredients. Evenly divide the whipped egg whites between the white, yellow, and orange layer bowls. Gently fold in using a rubber spatula.
- Pour the white layer into the bundt pan, spreading the batter evenly across the bottom. Pour the yellow layer on top of the white, carefully spreading the batter so none of the white layer is visible. Repeat with the orange layer. Bake at 350°F for 40-45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes before inverting onto a wire rack to cool completely.
- To prepare the icing, stir together the powdered sugar, almond extract, and ½ teaspoon of milk in a small bowl. Add additional milk as needed to achieve the desired consistency. Drizzle on top of the cooled bundt cake.
Note: Unless the food coloring is used, the colors of the yellow and orange layers will be really faint.
Amy, I love your cake walk story! I’m making a cake for our Fall Festival next week – guess why – the cake walk. I’ve printed and pinned your beautiful cake (I love all things candy corn!), and if time allows, I’ll make your cake for some lucky little girl (or boy). 😉
You’re so sweet to bake a homemade cake for the cakewalk! I think they taste and look a lot better than the store-bought ones, especially because of all the love you put into it. Even if you don’t have time to bake my bundt cake for the cakewalk, you should still bake it for yourself since you like candy corn so much!! 🙂
OMG as much as I love the cake walk I HATE IT. They do one at the school carnival and there are always tears!
This cake is gorgeous!
Thanks Dorothy!! I think they should offer a cookie to every kid who enters the cakewalk to prevent any tears at the end. I’d gladly bake a couple dozen to donate, just because of my own scarring experience!
I still remember the party! Gulp…and the cakewalk. I am so sorry you didn’t win a cake. Childhood can be filled with so many lessons. I agree – this cake is more incredible than any cake you could have won that night. It is amazing! May all o of your Halloween wishes come true this year!
Trick or Treat!
🙂
It’s okay; as I recall, I still got plenty of candy that night! And I’ve decided that if I ever host a cakewalk, every person who enters will receive a cookie as a participation prize. That should help with the tears!
sounds yummy and looks festive!
Thanks Dina! I had a great time making it, and I think we enjoyed the “eating” part even more!