Happy Birthday… to me!

I am very excited to share my birthday cake with you. This cake recipe comes from one of my fellow #BundtBakers, Tux over at Brooklyn Homemaker. Back in April we were tasked with the theme of “hidden surprise.” I have been sitting on his recipe for four months just waiting to make this cake my birthday cake.

Why? Because key lime pie is my absolute favorite dessert and he took it to the next level with our shared love of beautiful bundts! The “hidden surprise” inside a graham cracker cake batter is a key lime cheesecake.

I brought this cake to a game night and only one piece returned home with me, which my husband was thankful for so he could try more than a bite. When I tried my piece after photographing the cake, my little man raced around the table to get a taste. It was pretty much the funniest and cutest thing. (But I’m pretty partial.)

Thank, Tux, for a fabulous cake recipe worth of anyone’s special day!

Key Lime Cheesecake Filled Graham Cracker Bundt Cake

Ingredients for filling:

• 8 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1/4 C sugar
• 1 egg
• 4 tbsp key lime juice
• zest 1 lime

Ingredients for cake:

• 2 sticks butter, at room temperature
• 1/2 C sugar
• 1/2 C brown sugar
• 3 eggs
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 C finely crushed graham crackers (I got this from about 9 sheets in food processor)
• 1 1/2 C flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 1/4 C buttermilk

Ingredients for glaze:

• 4 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
• 2 tbsp key lime juice
• 1 C powdered sugar
• up to 3 tbsp milk

Steps:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Heavily grease bundt pan.
2. Make the filling: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together cream cheese and sugar with a pinch of salt until there aren’t any lumps. Add the egg and mix until combined. Add in the key lime juice and lime zest until smooth. Set aside. (If you don’t have a second stand mixer bowl transfer the filling mixture to a separate bowl and clean the mixer bowl and paddle.)
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the butter and both sugars. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing until incorporated. Add the vanilla extract and mix until combined.
4. In a bowl, whisk together graham cracker crumbs, flour, baking powder, and baking soda.
5. Alternate adding the dry ingredients and the buttermilk to the stand mixer, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients.
6. Pour batter into prepared bundt pan. Create a well by pressing the batter up the sides of the pan. Pour the filling mixture into the well – if you’re talented and brave enough, swirl the filling into the cake batter being careful not to touch the sides of the pan. (Mine didn’t quite swirl and instead I had a lovely tunnel of key lime cheesecake.)
7. Bake cake 50-60 minutes until a cake tester comes out cleanly. Allow cake to cool at least an hour in the pan before turning out onto a cooling rack.
8. Make the glaze: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the cream cheese and powdered sugar until there aren’t any lumps. Add the key lime juice and as much of the milk as needed to achieve desired consistency. Drizzle over cooled cake.

*This recipe is adapted from Tux at http://brooklynhomemaker.com/2015/04/16/graham-cracker-bundt-cake-with-key-lime-cheesecake-swirl-bundtbakers/*