This month #BundtBakers issued quite the challenge but the result is a great collection of beautiful bundts! #BundtBakers is a group of bundt loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bundts with a common ingredient or theme. We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme or ingredient. This month’s theme is Hidden Surprise and our creative host is Anshie of SpiceRoots.

When I told my mom the theme she laughed and asked what I was going to do! I’ve been very forth coming in my bundt baking failures – most of which had to do with attempting to put something inside the cake. Cherry pie filling didn’t stay in the middle of the pan but sunk to the bottom creating a pseudo-frosting in my All-American Chocolate Cherry Pie Cake. My attempt at an “upside down” bundt using orange segments for a Mimosa Cake ended up having almost dissolved citrus randomly strewn about the cake. The white chocolate chips I placed in my Green Velvet cake sunk to the bottom and created a catastrophe in trying to dislodge the cakes from the pans.

The plan for this month was to find a cake recipe with a hidden surprise that is supposed to be baked in a bundt pan. I wasn’t about to get all creative this time around! A hidden surprise cake is creative enough with trying to invent my own. I’m not a professional baker or cake recipe developer! And you know what, it worked! Well… kinda… some of the cake stuck to the pan but I was able to get enough to take some pictures. And no one would know, except that I just told you. I brought my slightly mangled cake to a potluck and no one seemed to mind. I was surprised to find that I was only bringing two pieces of cake back home with me – good thing I left a slice for my husband! And hey, on the bright side, I didn’t have to make a frosting. Sure, a frosting would have definitely covered up the imperfections, but my filling acted like a frosting for me. And I don’t care for overly sweet desserts and this cake did not need the extra frosting. But, by all means, go ahead and make some chocolate frosting for a more beautiful bundt.

Chocolate Cheesecake Filled Peanut Butter Bundt

Ingredients:

• 1 C peanut butter
• 2 1/2 C sugar, divided use
• 6 eggs, divided use
• 2 tsp vanilla extract, divided use
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 2 C + 2 tsp flour, divided use
• 1/2 C milk
• 8 oz cream cheese
• 2 tbsp cocoa powder

Steps:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Heavily grease a bundt pan.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat together peanut butter with 2 C sugar until combined. Add in 1 tsp vanilla extract and 5 eggs, one at a time. Mix in the baking powder. Add 1 C of flour and mix until combined. Add the milk. Once combined add the remaining 1 C of flour.
3. In a large bowl, use a hand mixer to combine the cream cheese, cocoa powder, remaining 1/2 C sugar, 1 egg, 1 tsp vanilla, and 2 tsp flour.
4. Pour half of the cake batter into the prepared bundt pan. Top with the chocolate cream cheese filling, be sure not to touch the edges. Cover the filling with the remaining batter.
5. Bake cake 60 – 70 minutes, or until a knife inserted comes out clean. Allow cake to cool before removing from the mold.

*This recipe is adapted from Miriam at http://overtimecook.com/2014/03/25/peanut-butter-bundt/*

If you are a food blogger and would like to join us, just send an email with your blog URL to foodlustpeoplelove@gmail.com. All recipes and photographs can be found on our individual blogs, on our Pinterest board, and the #bundtbakers homepage.

And don’t forget to take a peek at what other talented bakers have baked this month:

Almond Crunch Cake by Renee at Magnolia Days

Balsamic Strawberries Bundt Cake by Terri at Our Good Life

Banana Maple Bundt Cake with Chocolate Star  by Samantha at Un Mordisco Un Pecado

Black and White Surprise Bundt Cake by Patricia at Patty’s Cake 

Chocolate and Vanilla Polka Dot Bundt by Kelly at Passion Kneaded

Chocolate Bundt Cake with Oreo Cheesecake Filling by Mary at Recipes, Food and Cooking

Citrus Raspberry Bundt by Tara at Noshing With The Nolands

Confetti Zebra Cake by Julie at Eat, Drink, Be Mighty

Cookie Dough Bundt Cake by Olivia at Liv for Cake

German Mozarthupf by Jelena at A Kingdom for a Cake

Graham Cracker Bundt Cake with Key Lime Cheesecake Swirl by Tux at Brooklyn Homemaker

KitKat Surprise Bundt Cake by Shilpi at Simply Veggies

Lemon Blueberry Van Halen Bundt by Stacy at Food Lust People Love

Orange and Strawberry Jam Bundt Cake by Deepti at Baking Yummies

Pear and Blue Cheese Bundt by Jane at Jane’s Adventures in Dinner

Polka Dot Bundt Cake by Linda at Brunch with Joy

Raspberry Filled Lemon Bundt by Wendy at A Day in the Life on the Farm

Real Nutella Bundt Cake by Laura at Baking in Pyjamas

Savory Monkey Bread Stuffed Bundt by Andrea at Adventures in All Things Food

Sour Cream Boozy Hazelnut Bundt Cake by Pam at Sidewalk Shoes

Spring Break S’mores Cake by Margaret at Tea and Scones

Strawberry Cheesecake Bundt Cake by Kathya at Basic N Delicious 

Strawberry Twinky Bundt Cake by Beatriz at I Love Bundt Cakes 

Strawberry Swirl Cream Cheese Pound Cake by Kris at Big Rigs ‘n Lil’ Cookies 

Surprise Bundt by Esti at Mummy & Cute

Surprise Filled Chocolate Bundt Cake by Anna at Media Ración Doble, Por Favor

Surprise Inside Carrot Bundt Cake by Rebekah at Making Miracles

Triple Lemon Bundt Cake by Avril at Baking and Creating with Avril

Tropical Surprise Bundt Cake by Anshie at Spice Roots