April Fools Pizza Bundt Cake

April Fools is just around the corner and I always love to have something fun up my sleeve for dinner!  In the past, I’ve done Meatloaf Cupcakes, Meatloaf “Carrot Cake” and Nilla Wafer Hamburgers.

The kids are starting to suspect everything on April Fools, so I pulled out all the stops (and even bought a bundt pan) to make this pizza bundt cake!

I started with my Chicago Style Pizza Crust and stuffed it full of our favorite toppings!

Just after baking, I cut pieces of provolone to look like drizzled frosting and lightly melted them over the “cake”.

The kids loved both the pizza and the April Fools surprise!

 

April Fools Pizza Bundt Cake

Inspired by Erin MacPherson

 

Dough

1 2/3 cup all purpose flour

¼ cup yellow cornmeal

¾ tsp salt

1 tsp sugar

1 1/8 tsp instant yeast

2/3 cup room temperature water

1 ½ tbsp unsalted butter, melted

2 tbsp unsalted butter, softened

 

Sauce

8 oz tomato sauce

1 tsp dried basil

1 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp dried marjoram

½ tsp garlic powder

 

Filling

10-12  pepperoni

1-1½ cups shredded mozzarella cheese

¼ cup cooked sausage crumbles

 

Topping

4-5 slices provolone cheese

 

To make the dough, combine the flour, cornmeal, salt, sugar, and yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook.  Mix on low speed until blended, about 1 minute.

 

Add the water and melted butter and continue mixing on low speed until fully incorporated, 1-2 minutes.  Scrape sides as necessary.  Continue kneading until the dough is glossy and smooth and pulls away from the sides of the bowl; 4-5 minutes.

 

Spray a separate bowl with cooking spray.  Transfer the dough to the bowl, turn to coat.  Cover tightly with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature until doubled, about 60 minutes.

 

After an hour, turn the dough out onto a dry work surface and roll into a 8x10 square (approximate).  Using an offset spatula, spread the softened butter over the dough, leaving a ½ inch border on each side.

 

Starting at a short end, begin rolling the dough into a tight cylinder.  Place the dough seam side down and roll the cylinder flat, into a long rectangle.  Fold the rectangle in thirds like a letter, pinching the ends to form a ball.  Return the dough to the greased bowl and cover tightly with plastic wrap.  Place the bowl in the refrigerator for about 45 minutes, until the dough has doubled in size.

 

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.  Spray a bundt pan with nonstick spray.

 

Mix together all of the sauce ingredients, set aside.

 

Split the dough into two pieces, one larger than the other.  I eyeballed about 1/3 to split off and set aside.

 

Take the larger piece and roll it into a large, thin circle (go for several inches larger than the base of the bundt pan so that when the dough is placed in the pan, it rides several inches up the sides.)  Use a sharp knife to cut and X shape in the center of the dough.  Place the dough into the prepared bundt pan, working the X over the center.  Press the dough into the pan.

 

Add about half the sauce over the bottom of the dough.  Top with 1/3 of the cheese and the pepperoni.  Add another 1/3 of the cheese and the sausage.  Finally, add the last of the cheese and the remaining sauce.

 

Roll out the smaller piece of dough, a bit larger than the base of the pan.  Cut an X through the center and work over the pan.  Pinch the edges of the bottom and the top of the dough together.  Use a fork to poke the top layer of dough.

 

Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes, reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees and bake the pizza for another 10-15 minutes or until deeply browned.

 

Remove the pizza from the oven and flip onto a serving tray.  Top with slices of provolone (I cut mine in drippy shapes) and return to the oven for 1-2 minutes or until just beginning to melt.   Allow the pizza to set for at least 5 minutes before slicing.