Ultimate Christmas Bundt Cake

Christmas Cake Murder

Preheat oven to 350°F, rack in the middle position.

* 1/4 cup (4 Tablespoons) all-purpose flour (You will be dividing this into Tablespoons.)
* 8 ounces (by weight) candied pineapple wedges
* 8 ounces (by weight) candied red cherries
* 8 ounces (by weight) candied green cherries
* 12-ounce (by weight) bag of white chocolate chips or vanilla baking chips (11-ounce package will do, too—I used Nestle)
* 4 large eggs
* 1/2 cup vegetable oil
* 1/4 cup cold whole milk
* 1 teaspoon coconut or vanilla extract
* 8-ounce (by weight) tub of sour cream (I used Knudsen)
* 1 box of white cake mix with or without pudding in the mix, the kind that makes a 9-inch by 13-inch cake or a 2-layer cake (I used Duncan Hines)
* 5.1-ounce package of instant vanilla pudding mix (I used Jell-O, the kind that makes 6 half-cup servings)

### Directions

* Prepare your cake pan. You'll need a Bundt pan that has been sprayed with Pam or another nonstick cooking spray and then floured. To flour a pan, put some flour in the bottom, hold it over your kitchen wastebasket, and tap the pan to move the flour all over the inside of the pan. Continue this until all the inside surfaces of the pan, including the sides of the crater in the center, have been covered with a light coating of flour.
* Put the coconut in the bowl of a food processor and chop it up into much smaller pieces by using the steel blade in an on-and-off motion.
* Place the finely-chopped coconut in a bowl on the counter.
* Sprinkle 1 Tablespoon of flour (from the 4 Tablespoons you measured) in the bottom of the food processor bowl. Place the candied pineapple wedges on top of the flour.
* Sprinkle another Tablespoon of flour on top of the pineapple wedges. Place the red candied cherries on top of that flour.
* Sprinkle another Tablespoon of flour on top of the red candied cherries. Place the green candied cherries on top of that flour.
* Sprinkle a final Tablespoon of flour on top of the candied green cherries.
* Process the flour and candied fruit in an on-and-off motion with the steel blade until everything is chopped into small pieces.
* Add the candied fruit and flour mixture to the bowl with the finely chopped coconut.
* Put the white chocolate or vanilla baking chips at the bottom of the food processor bowl. In an on-and-off motion with the steel blade, chop the chips into small pieces.
* Place the chopped chips in another bowl on the counter. Now it's time to start mixing up your cake.
* Crack the eggs into the bowl of an electric mixer. Mix them up on LOW speed until they're a uniform color.
* Pour in the half-cup of vegetable oil and mix it in with the eggs on LOW speed.
* Add the half-cup of cold milk and the teaspoon of coconut or vanilla extract. Mix them in at LOW speed.
* Scoop out the container of sour cream and add it to your bowl. Mix that in on LOW speed.
* When everything is well combined, open the box of dry cake mix and sprinkle it on top of the liquid ingredients in the bowl of the mixer. Mix that in on LOW speed.
* Add the package of dry instant vanilla pudding mix. Beat it in, again on LOW speed.
* Finally, sprinkle the candied fruit and coconut. Mix them in thoroughly on LOW speed.
* Shut off the mixer, scrape down the sides of the bowl, and give your batter a final stir by hand.
* Use a rubber spatula to ix in the chopped white chocolate chips by hand. (The reason you've chopped them into little pieces is so the pieces are lighter and won't sink down into the bottom of the Budnt pan.)
* Use the same rubber spatula to transfer the cake batter to the prepared Bundt pan.
* Smooth the top of your cake with the spatula and put it into the oven.
* Bake your Ultimate Christmas Bundt Cake at 350°F for 55 minutes.
* Before you take your cake out of the oven, test it for doneness by inserting a cake tester, thin wooden skewer, or long toothpick midway between the sides of the circular ring. (You can't insert it in the center of the cake because that's where the crater is!)
* If the tester comes out clean, your cake is done. If there is still uncooked batter clinging to the tester, shut the oven door and bake your cake in 5-minute increments, testing after each increment, until it tests done.
* Once your cake has finished baking, take it out of the oven and set it on a cold stove burner or a wire rack. Let it cool in the pan for 20 minutes.
* After the 20-minute cooling time is up, put your impeccably clean fingers on top of the pan and pull the sides of the cake away from the pan. Don't forget to do the same for the sides of the crater in the middle. This will make certain the cake isn't sticking to the sides and center of the Bundt pan.
* Tip the Bundt pan upside down on a platter and drop it gently on a towel on the kitchen counter. Do this until the cake falls out of the pan and rests on the platter.
* Cover your Ultimate Christmas Bundt Cake loosely with foil and refrigerate it for at least one hour. Overnight is even better.
* Frost your cake with Cool Whip White Chocolate Frosting.(Recipe and instructions follow.)

**Yield:** At least 10 pieces of incredibly good and very rich cake. This cake is wonderful with vanilla ice cream on top. Serve with tall glasses of ice-cold milk or cups of strong coffee.

## Conversion Charts

See Baking Conversion Chart for non-USA baking conversions.