Golden Cornmeal Bundt Cake

Dry Ingredients

• 2 ¼ cups cake flour
• ¾ cup fine-ground yellow cornmeal
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon fine salt

Wet Ingredients

• 3 sticks unsalted butter — softened to room temperature
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 6 large eggs — room temperature
• 2 ¼ teaspoons vanilla extract
• ¾ cup whole milk — room temperature

Pan Preparation

• additional softened unsalted butter and cake flour — for the pan

1. Prepare the Pan: Place an oven rack in the center position and preheat the oven to 325°F. Thoroughly coat a 12-cup Bundt pan with softened butter, using a pastry brush or paper towel to reach every ridge and the center tube. Dust the pan with cake flour and tap out the excess.additional softened unsalted butter and cake flour, as needed
2. Combine Dry Ingredients: In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the cake flour, cornmeal, baking powder, and salt for about 30 seconds, until evenly distributed. Set aside.2¼ cups cake flour, ¾ cup fine-ground yellow cornmeal, 2 teaspoons baking powder, 1 teaspoon fine salt
3. Cream Butter and Sugar: In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter and sugar with a hand or stand mixer on medium speed for 4 to 5 minutes, until pale, light, and fluffy. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl. Add the eggs one at a time on medium-low speed, mixing until each egg is incorporated before adding the next and scraping the bowl as needed. Mix in the vanilla extract.3 sticks unsalted butter, 2 cups granulated sugar, 6 large eggs, 2¼ teaspoons vanilla extract
4. Alternate Dry Ingredients and Milk: Reduce the mixer speed to low. Add the dry mixture in 3 additions, alternating with the milk in 2 additions and beginning and ending with the dry mixture. Mix each addition only until mostly incorporated. Finish folding the batter gently with a silicone spatula until no dry streaks remain.dry mixture, ¾ cup whole milk
5. Fill the Pan: Spoon or scrape the batter evenly into the prepared Bundt pan, filling it no more than three-quarters full. Smooth the surface, then tap the pan firmly 2 or 3 times on a towel-lined counter to settle the batter and release large air pockets.
6. Bake: Bake on the center rack for about 1 hour 20 minutes, beginning to check the cake after 1 hour 10 minutes. The cake is done when it is deeply golden, the edges are beginning to pull away from the pan, the center springs back when lightly pressed, and a long wooden skewer inserted into the thickest part comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs but no wet batter. Loosely tent the top with foil only if it is browning before the center is set.
7. Cool: Set the pan on a cooling rack for 10 minutes. Gently shake the pan from side to side to confirm that the cake has released, then carefully invert it onto the rack. Let the cake cool completely for at least 1 hour before slicing or adding any optional finish.