Spicy Crab Sushi Bundt Cake Recipe

This spicy crab sushi Bundt cake is a striking and unusual main dish that might just elicit exclamations of wonderment from everyone at the table. Layers of seasoned sushi rice, spicy crab mixture, creamy avocado, and fish roe come together for an impressively attractive slice that also tastes amazing.

According to Ksenia Prints of At the Immigrant's Table, making homemade sushi is a fun group activity, and though the sushi might taste good, it will rarely be as good as sushi you order at a high-end sushi restaurant. Despite all the work that goes in, and no matter how good the cut of fish you buy, or how well you season your rice, there will always be room for improvement in the final roll.

But when this spicy crab sushi Bundt cake comes to the table, it's impossible to imagine anything you'd order that would look or taste quite this good. It's a play of layers and textures that lets everyone at the table cut themselves a piece of sushi unlike any other. And the best part is, it's incredibly forgiving, and there's no finicky rolling required.

For the Bundt cake itself, you'll need cooked sushi rice, rice vinegar, sugar, and salt for seasoning the rice. For the spicy crab mixture, assemble lump crab meat, mayonnaise, Sriracha, and honey. For the layers, add avocados, scallions, a jalapeño, and tobiko, which is probably the best and most underrated topping for sushi to have ever existed. For serving the sushi Bundt cake in slices, add nori sheets, cut into squares, mayonnaise, Sriracha, black sesame seeds, white sesame seeds, salmon roe, tobiko, and thinly sliced scallions.

Transfer the cooled sushi rice to a large bowl. Add the rice vinegar, sugar, and salt. Stir until dissolved.

In a separate bowl, mix the crab meat, mayonnaise, Sriracha, and honey until combined.

Line a Bundt pan with plastic wrap, leaving an overhang.

Press half the rice firmly into the pan, creating an even layer.

Layer the crab mixture over the rice.

Top with avocado, scallions, jalapeño, and tobiko.

Press the remaining rice over the filling, packing it firmly.

Cover with the plastic wrap overhang and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Whisk together mayonnaise and Sriracha to desired heat level. Transfer to a squeeze bottle or small bowl.

Invert the Bundt onto a serving platter and remove the plastic wrap.

Drizzle with spicy mayonnaise. Garnish with black and white sesame seeds, salmon roe, tobiko, and scallions. Serve with nori squares, for scooping.

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Just as with regular sushi, there are plenty of little — and big — tweaks you can make to this spicy crab sushi Bundt that will make it taste just like your favorite roll. If we keep the spicy crab salad at its center, we can easily change up the layers and toppings to take it in any preferred direction.

One addition you may like is fried panko breadcrumbs, which will make it taste just like tempura. You can simply fry them in oil or, for better taste, fry them in bacon fat and use them as a topping or even spread them between the layers. You can also add cooked shrimp, raw tuna, or raw salmon into the spicy crab mixture.

For the veggies, we love adding cucumber or mango. You can also layer in cream cheese to make it more akin to a creamy Philadelphia crab roll.

Though you may think that this sushi Bundt cake is no more than a TikTok trend, this recipe actually has a long pedigree in different variations around the world — it's much more than just a fad.

The sushi Bundt cake went viral around 2024 for helping people to skip rolling their sushi while still enjoying its flavor and freshness. The trend made sense, as the layered sushi Bundt cake was beautiful, unexpected, and simply fun to eat. But is there a precedent for the sushi Bundt cake? 

When I travelled to Sweden, I was surprised and thrilled to discover that a sushi Bundt cake was most definitely not a one-off, and not just in Japan. The Swedish gravlax cake, which is traditionally served for Midsommar, the local mid-summer celebration, is a layered creation of bread, different types of lightly cured raw salmon, and fish roe, along with veggies like cucumber, radishes, and plenty of mayonnaise. It's as impressive as any sushi Bundt ever presented on TikTok, and if made fresh, tastes even better. It was this Swedish Bundt that I channeled when making this recipe, and I believe this fusion of Japanese flavors and Scandinavian traditions couldn't have come out any better.

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