Easter Bundt Cake (Gâteau Bundt de Pâques)

Steal the show with this Easter bundt cake - a thematic masterpiece of the Easter holiday table. Cake with three layers of the airy biscuit with mousseline cream and sprinkled toasted almonds will please you and your family.

Our family celebrates the Easter holiday twice: the Catholic and Orthodox ones.

The more reasons to celebrate, the more Easter cakes are on the table, the more Easter recipes to share on the blog!

Have you ever thought of how to upgrade a humble fluted (bundt) cake into a showstopping dessert - Easter bundt cake (gâteau bundt de Pâques in French)?

The idea is unbeatably simple: to cover the bundt cake with cream, sprinkle with toasted flaked almonds and decorate the top of the cake with the white chocolate filaments resembling a bird's nest.

This bird nest cake has been our Easter celebration cake for the past three years, and I do not see that it will be changing in the future.

Once you make it, you will understand why. First, it is so good. Second, it is one of the genius Easter bundt cake ideas!

 

Traditional Easter desserts

Each country has its own Easter celebration dessert. The upside-down cake Tarte Tatin is a popular choice for Easter celebrations in France.

The fluted round cake - Polish babka - is served at Easter time in Poland.

Hot cross buns are traditionally served in the U.K., Ireland, and Australia on Good Friday.

Italian Easter wouldn't be complete without the sweet bread Colomba di Pasqua.

Kulich is the Orthodox sweet bread served in Bulgaria, Georgia, and Russia.

In Greece, the brioche-like bread Tsoureki is always on the Easter holiday table.

The fruitcake - Simnel cake - is a popular English treat on Easter. Carrot Cake is a traditional Easter cake in the United States.

What is the best Easter cake?

Easter cake is a mandatory sweet part of a holiday table. What distinguishes the Easter cake from other holiday cakes?

The straightforward answer probably is Easter cake decorations.

Everything starts from a classic Easter bunny cake and the Easter bunny's favorite snack - carrots.

Cross cake and Easter Lamb cake are other traditionally shaped cakes.

Decorate your favorite cake with candy eggs and filaments of white or dark chocolate resembling a nest, and you will get the best Easter-themed cake like this Easter bundt cake.

How to make an Easter bird nest decoration

Pipe melted chocolate over a cold plate and arrange the chocolate filaments on top of the cake (read more about this technique in the recipe below).

Use tempered chocolate to make a chocolate nest.

Follow another interesting technique for making chocolate bird nests offered by St. Croix Chocolate Company.

Use caramel to make a fancy-looking caramel nest.

Create a bird's nest out of noodles and melted chocolate by watching a video from Cookies Cupcakes and Cardio.

Why you should try this recipe

1. This Easter cake recipe transforms a traditional bundt cake into a showstopping dessert.
2. Making a biscuit one day in advance saves time the next day to finish the cake.
3. Generously flavored with vanilla, the cake pleases and treats your senses.

Ingredients

Here is a quick overview of what ingredients you will need. Follow the full recipe below for detailed amounts and instructions. I recommend making this recipe as written for the best results. 

Flour: use all-purpose flour to make this Easter nest cake.

Sugar: granulated white sugar perfectly works for the recipe.

Corn starch: it lowers gluten formation in the all-purpose flour by softening the flour proteins.

Eggs: use large eggs at room temperature. If you need to separate egg whites from the yolks, use an egg separator. Plus, chilled eggs are easier to separate.

Baking powder: it is one of the leavening agents used for the recipe.

Vanilla extract: the best and the most flavorful is Madagascar vanilla extract.

Milk: use whole milk or replace it with low-fat milk if desired.

Butter: use unsalted softened butter. Take it out of the fridge 1 to 2 hours before you start

Flaked almonds: use store-bought toasted flaked almonds or toast raw sliced almonds in the oven at 300 F/150 C for 10 to 15 minutes.

White chocolate: Lindt white chocolate or Callebaut white chocolate are used interchangeably while making chocolate filaments.

Edible decorations: use small chocolate eggs, jelly beans, or your favorite Easter candy on top of the cake.

How to make Easter bundt cake

Preheat the oven to 355 F/180 C. To make the biscuit, using a flour sifter, sift flour, corn starch, and baking powder.

Break the eggs and separate the egg yolks from the whites. Whisk egg yolks with 50 g granulated sugar until they become whitish (photo 1).

In a separate bowl, whisk egg whites with an electric mixer until they are mounted.

Gradually pour the remaining sugar (100 g) and whisk until egg whites are firm and glossy.

Add vanilla extract and beat for a few seconds (photo 2).

Gently mix egg whites with the yolks/sugar mixture using a rubber spatula (photos 3-4).

Add the sifted dry ingredients and gently mix (photo 5). Butter and flour a fluted cake pan and pour the cake batter into the mold (photo 6).

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes. Test the biscuit's readiness with a knife: a sharp knife tip should come out dry (photo 7). Let it cool on a rack.

To make the sugar syrup, heat water, sugar, and vanilla extract until the sugar dissolved. Let it cool and place aside.

To make the pastry cream, mix egg yolks, 50 g of milk, sugar, flour, and corn starch (photo 8).

Bring 150 ml milk to a boil. Pour hot milk into the mixture and bring it to a boil again, stirring constantly.

Once the cream thickens (photo 9), pour the cream on a shallow plate and cover it with a plastic film in contact. Cool the pastry cream at room temperature.

To make the extra buttercream, heat sugar and water in a saucepan to 250 F/120 C.

Break the egg into a bowl and pour the syrup over the egg, whisking constantly.

Continue to whisk for about 10 minutes until the mixture becomes whitish (photo 10).

Add the softened butter and vanilla extract and beat the cream for 10 to 15 minutes with an electric mixer to aerate it as much as possible (photo 11).

Heat it a little bit if it is too compact, or on the contrary, cool it if it is too soft. The cream should be smooth and homogeneous.

To make the vanilla mousseline cream, add the pastry cream little by little into the extra buttercream and whisk (photo 12). Place aside.

To assemble the Easter cake, cut the cooled biscuit into three equal and regular parts with a serrated knife.

Using a silicone brush, soak each slice of the biscuit with the sugar syrup.

Spread the vanilla mousseline cream in the middle of the first biscuit and smooth with a bent spatula.

Cover with the second part of the biscuit and soak again with the syrup and cover with the cream.

Spread over the remaining mousseline cream with the bent spatula. Smooth the edges of the biscuit while turning the spatula around the cake (photo 13).

Apply the toasted flaked almonds over the cream (photo 14).

To make chocolate filaments, melt white chocolate in a bain-marie/water bath (or microwave), taking care not to overheat it (reach maximum 104 F/40 C, or warm to touch).

Stir it to bring the temperature down to 85 F/30 C (you should not feel any difference in the temperature touching with your finger). Place the chocolate in a pastry bag and cut its end.

Freeze a plate, take it out of the freezer. Place the plate upside down on the work surface.

Make a few round trips on the back of the plate, holding the pastry bag. Let the chocolate freeze for a few seconds over the plate (photo 15).

Using the bent spatula or a knife, peel off one of the sides. Arrange chocolate filaments on top of the cake.

Repeat the process as many times as you like, each time using a very cold plate. Stick a few eggs with the remaining melted chocolate (photo 16).

Expert tips

1. Make the biscuit one day in advance, cool, wrap it in a plastic film, and refrigerate. Finish the cake the next day.
2. Replace vanilla extract with some lemon or lime zest while making the biscuit.
3. Switch vanilla extract for one tablespoon of Kirsch (cherry brandy) or any other fruit-based brandy. For kids, replace the alcohol with the same amount of your favorite juice.
4. Add one teaspoon of Kirsch or other brandy to the extra buttercream when adding vanilla extract if you prefer.
5. Bake the biscuit in a tall fluted cake pan (aka kouglof mold) or use your favorite bundt cake pan.
6. To toast flaked almonds, place nuts in the oven at 355 F/180 C for 10 to 15 minutes. If you use store-bought toasted flaked almonds, toast them additionally at 300 F/150 for 5 to 7 minutes to obtain a more intense color.
7. Replace white chocolate with milk or dark chocolate to make chocolate filaments.

Frequently asked questions

Love Easter desserts? Try these next!

• Ottolenghi's Carrot Cake
• The Best Savoy Cake
• Apple Tarte Tatin
• Browse all the Easter Dessert Recipes

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The nutritional information has been calculated using an online recipe nutrition calculator and is intended for informational purposes only and should be used as a general guideline. If the nutrition information is important to you, you should independently verify it using your preferred tool. Please, read the disclaimers in our Privacy Policy.

The recipe was adapted from http://www.elle.fr. It was originally published on March 29, 2019. The recipe has been revised to include improved content and photos. All posted pictures are mine.