Showing posts with label #BundtBakers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label #BundtBakers. Show all posts

Thursday, July 21, 2016

Yorkshire Parkin Mini Bundt #BundtBakers

Yorkshire parkin is a rich gingerbread made with treacle and golden syrup. It's a traditional baked treat that might well have been enjoyed by the characters in the beloved children's book, The Secret Garden.



This month my Bundt Bakers group was challenged by our host, Sue of Palatable Pastime, to create a Bundt with the theme Secret Garden. I'm not sure if it's what Sue intended but my mind immediately went to one of my all-time favorite books, The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett. It's a book I have read over and over through the years. If you haven't read it, I recommend that you do. The Kindle edition is free on Amazon right now.

It's the story of an expat kid who loses her whole family to an epidemic and must return alone to England from the only home she's ever known in India. Her supposed home country is foreign to her as are the ways of the local people. After finding the secret garden to nurture in her mysterious uncle's estate, Mary grows from a sour-faced, spoiled and finicky child into one with pink cheeks and a wholesome appetite under the care of a kind Yorkshire maid and her down-to-earth brother, Dicken.

In 1999, Amy Colter published The Secret Garden Cookbook, with recipes inspired by Frances Hodgson Burnett’s classic book. I must confess that I do not own that book but as I was reading its reviews, parkin was mentioned several times as a particularly traditional Yorkshire treat contained therein. I consulted The Google and found this recipe on BBC Good Food, which I adapted to fit my smaller Bundt pan.

I like to think that Mary took parkin just like this from the big house out to share with Dicken and the wee Robin Red Breast who first showed her where the secret garden was hidden.



Ingredients
1 medium egg
2 tablespoons milk
100g butter, plus extra for greasing the baking pan
1/3 cup or 80ml golden syrup
1/4 cup or 50g soft brown sugar
2 tablespoons treacle (or molasses)
1 cup or 125g flour, plus extra for pan
Slightly rounded 1/2 cup or 50g oatmeal
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt

Optional: powdered sugar to serve

Method
Preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C and liberally butter and flour your 2 1/2 to 3-cup mini Bundt pan. (Follow the original recipe for a larger pan. This just happened to be the only pan I own where I am staying right now. Traditionally parkin is baked in a square pan and cut into squares to serve.)

Beat the egg and milk together in a small mixing bowl. Set aside. Mix the flour, oatmeal, ginger, baking soda, baking powder and salt together.



In a small saucepan, gently warm the butter, brown sugar, golden syrup and treacle until the butter is just melted. Remove from the heat and continue to stir until the brown sugar has dissolved.



Add the dry ingredients to the warm butter mixture, followed by the egg and milk. Stir until well combined.



Pour the batter into your prepared Bundt pan.

Bake in the preheated oven about 30-35 minutes or until a wooden skewer comes out clean and the top is a bit crusty.



Remove from the oven and allow to cool for about 10 minutes before turning the parkin out on a wire rack to cool.

The BBC recipe says to wrap it up tightly in parchment paper and foil and to keep it for a few days before eating, as it gets softer and stickier the longer you keep it. I don’t know about that (time will tell!) but I can assure you that even straight out of the pan, it goes quite excellently with a strong cup of Yorkshire Tea, the brand my younger daughter happens to favor.



Enjoy!

Check out all the other Secret Garden recipes the Bundt Bakers are sharing today!

BundtBakers

#BundtBakers is a group of Bundt loving bakers who get together once a month to bake Bundts with a common ingredient or theme.  Follow our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated each month on the BundtBakers home page.

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Thursday, June 16, 2016

Savory Zucchini Cheesecake #BundtBakers


A cheesecake with a difference, this savory zucchini version is perfect sliced up and served on toasted bread or crackers. 

The best part of belonging to groups like Bread Bakers and Bundt Bakers is the challenge of creating a recipe to fit each month’s theme. We have a lot of talented bakers in both groups and sometimes it seems like they are trying to outdo each other when they host! The rule is that the host gets to choose the theme. If you’ve been reading along, you know that just in the last couple of months, we've baked Bundts inspired by the tales of Scheherazade and retro desserts, just to name two creative themes.

This month our host is Padmajha from Seduce Your Tastebuds and she has gone in an unusual direction for baking in a Bundt pan: Savory! I immediately thought of the little savory shrimp cheesecakes I baked a couple of years ago for Sunday Supper and I knew a larger Bundt would be delicious. Since summer is the season of an overload of zucchinis (courgettes to my Australian/British readers), I decided to incorporate them to help those gardeners with the surplus. You are welcome!



Ingredients
Drizzle of olive oil, for oiling the Bundt pan
2 cups or 230g zucchini, unpeeled & grated
1 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
2 large eggs
leaves from few sprigs fresh thyme
Freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup or 35g minced onion
1 clove garlic, minced
1 fresh jalapeño, minced
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons flour
2 cups or 485g whole milk ricotta cheese
1/2 cup or 50g freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Optional, to garnish:
Zest of one lemon
Thyme leaves

Tip: Use a microplane to zest the lemon onto a paper towel and set it aside early in the process. When it's time to sprinkle the lemon zest on your savory Bundt, it will be quite dry and sprinkle-able. Damp zest tends to clump together. 

Method
Preheat oven to 325°F or 163°C. Drizzle about a teaspoon or so of olive oil in your 10-cup Bundt pan. I used this square one from Nordic Ware. (<affiliate link) The square design makes cutting slices to top bread or crackers much tidier. Use a pastry brush to get the oil in all the little corners and crevices of your chosen pan.

In a colander, toss the grated zucchini with the salt and set it aside to drain either in the sink or with a bowl underneath. It’s amazing how much liquid comes out.



Whisk your eggs with the thyme leaves and a good sprinkling of freshly ground black pepper in a large bowl.

Add in the onion, garlic and jalapeño and mix again.



Squeeze the grated zucchini to get out as much liquid as you possible can, then add it to the bowl.

Add the lemon juice and the flour and mix well.



Now fold in the ricotta and the Parmesan. Give the whole thing another good few grinds of black pepper. Can you tell I am a fan?



Spoon the cheese mixture into the pan and smooth out the top.


Bake in your preheated oven for 35-40 minutes or until the cheesecake is still just set. It will set more as it cools.


Leave it on a wire rack for about half an hour or until it looks fairly firm. Now here’s the tricky bit. You need to put your serving plate on top of the pan and turn the whole thing over in one swift but steady movement. You do not want one side of the cheesecake to fall out before the other. I ran a toothpick around the edges and tipped mine from side to side to loosen it first. (Don’t use a knife or you might mar the non-stick finish of a Nordic Ware pan.)

Mix your thyme leaves and lemon zest together and sprinkle them both on the cheesecake.



Serve with sliced baguette or crackers. And perhaps a celebratory beverage.



Enjoy!

Many thanks this month to our host, Padmajha. Making a savory Bundt was a great challenge! Many thanks also to Renee of Magnolia Days who made sure this all ran smoothly.

Check out all the wonderful ways my fellow Bundt Bakers met the challenge.

BundtBakers

#BundtBakers is a group of Bundt loving bakers who get together once a month to bake Bundts with a common ingredient or theme.  Follow our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated each month on the Bundt Bakers home page.



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Thursday, May 19, 2016

Almond Orange Basbousa Bundt #BundtBakers



This Almond Orange Basbousa Bundt takes the best of the Arabic sweet treat basbousas - semolina, coconut, almonds, orange syrup and lots of butter - and bakes them into a tender, buttery crumb cake I think Scheherazade would be pleased to serve.

This month my Bundt Bakers are taking inspiration from the tales that Scheherazade told over 1001 Nights to create Bundt cakes with Arabic flavors. I decided to recreate the sweet treat basbousas that I made a while back for a Creative Cookie Exchange post, but instead of using camel milk caramel to glaze the cake, I took a more traditional route with orange syrup. Basbousas are normally adorned with almonds but I took the liberty of adding dates as well since those often feature in Middle Eastern desserts. The result was a lovely cake with a great buttery crumb, very much like a basbousa in Bundt form.

Many thanks to our host Lara of Tartacadabra for the wonderful challenge. Make sure to scroll down to see the other wonderful 1001 Night Bundts we have for you this month.

Ingredients
For the Bundt:
16-20 whole skinned almonds
8-10 whole seeded dates
1 1/4 cups or 250g medium coarse semolina
3/4 cup or 50g freshly grated coconut
1 cup or 125g flour plus more for flouring the pan
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup or 115g unsalted butter, softened, plus more for buttering the pan
2/3 cup or 132g sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
2/3 cup or 100g thick plain yogurt
1/4 cup or 60ml milk

For the orange syrup
1 orange
1/2 cup or 100g sugar
Pinch salt

Method
Cut the dates in half and press on almond into each half. Butter your 10-cup Bundt pan well then coat with a light dusting of flour. Set aside.



Preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C.

Whisk together the semolina, coconut, flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a bowl.

With electric beaters or in the bowl of your stand mixer, cream together the butter and sugar until they are light and fluffy. Add in the egg and vanilla and beat again.



Add the flour mixture along with the yogurt and milk to the mixing bowl and then beat until well combined.



Press date covered almonds down into the bottom of your prepared Bundt pan, almond side down.



Spoon in batter to cover them carefully, trying not to dislodge them.



Press date covered almonds into the sides of your Bundt, tucking them down to secure them.



Keep spooning the batter in carefully. Smooth out the top of the batter, working it to the sides to hold in the date covered almonds. They won't all stay exactly in place but do your best.



Bake in your preheated oven for 55-60 minutes or until the Bundt is golden and a toothpick comes out clean.



While the Bundt bakes, measure your sugar into a small pot. Grate in the zest of your orange and then squeeze in the juice, using a small strainer to catch any seeds.



Heat the sugar and juice until the sugar dissolves. Add the pinch of salt and cook until the syrup starts to thicken slightly, about 5-8 minutes. Set aside to cool.

When the Bundt is baked, remove it from the oven. Leave to cool for about 10 minutes on a wire rack. Loosen the sides of the cake with your toothpick then turn the cake out onto the wire rack.



When it’s still quite warm, start brushing on the orange syrup, allowing it to soak in as you do. Put it on your serving plate or put a plate underneath to catch any drips.



Keep brushing and soaking until all of the orange syrup has been absorbed.

Cut into slices and serve with cups of hot tea.



Enjoy!

Oh, if only Scheherazade could bake like my fellow Bundt Bakers! She wouldn't have had to make up all those stories to keep her husband, the king interested. Seriously. Check 'em out.

BundtBakers

#BundtBakers is a group of Bundt loving bakers who get together once a month to bake Bundts with a common ingredient or theme. Follow our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated each month on the BundtBakers home page.



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Thursday, April 21, 2016

Sock It To Me Cake #BundtBakers

A throw back to the ‘70s, Sock It To Me Cake is made with a simple cake batter, all fancied up inside by the addition of pecans and brown sugar, and outside with a little glaze. 

My mom says that my grandmother didn’t bake much when she was growing up. I guess my grandmother didn’t have much time for that sort of thing, working a full time job running the family and the family business next door to their home. She and my grandfather had their own store, selling major appliances like washers and dryers and refrigerators. Paw would take care of sales unless he was out on a service call or in his workshop making repairs. Mo answered the phone, did the bookkeeping and billing and handled the sales floor when my grandfather was out. She would nip home each morning and get lunch started on the stove, returning occasionally to check on the smothered round steak or simmering chicken stew. At least that’s how I remember it.

But some time in the 1970s, that began to change. Different desserts started to appear at Sunday dinner.  Banana Split Pie with a graham cracker crust, strawberry shortcake made with those little store bought sponge cakes with the indentation in the middle, some sort of “salad” with pistachios and green Jello (Yuck. I think it was called Watergate Salad. Just why?) and Sock It To Me Cake made with Duncan Hines cake mix. I loved Sock It To Me Cake because of the brown sugar and pecans in the middle. But more that that, I liked the name.

Sock It To Me, baby. And cut me another slice, please. In other news, it's entirely possible that I was an odd child.

This month my Bundt Bakers group is taking retro desserts and turning them into Bundt cakes. Very creative, right? But since my favorite retro dessert was already a Bundt cake, how could I not share it? I’m not much of one to use cake mixes, especially for simple yellow cake – not that I have anything against them – so I adapted the batter from my favorite yellow cake recipe in The Good Housekeeping Illustrated Cookbook, 1980 edition. The filling is straight off the Duncan Hines site, adjusted for size (and the fact that I'm not using their cake mix), plus a pinch of salt. Nowadays, Duncan Hines wants you to warm some of their icing as glaze though. Just no.

Many thanks to our Bundt Bakers host this month, Felice from All That’s Left are the Crumbs. Make sure you scroll down to see all the other hip retro desserts made into Bundts at her instigation below.

This will bake you a smaller cake using a 6-cup Bundt pan.

Ingredients
For the cake batter:
1 1/8 cups or 140g flour
1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup or 150g sugar
1/3 cup or 80g canola or other light vegetable oil
1/3 cup or 80ml sour cream
2 eggs

For the filling:
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon flour
1/2 cup or 65g finely chopped pecans
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Pinch salt

For the glaze:
1/2 cup or  62g powdered sugar
2-3 teaspoons milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Method
Preheat oven to 350°F or 180°C. Grease and flour 6-cup Bundt pan. (Mine is called the 6-cup Anniversary Bundt pan by Nordic Ware, in case you are curious.)

In a small mixing bowl, sift or whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In another small bowl, mix together all of the ingredients for the filling.


In your large mixing bowl, whisk together your oil and sugar.

Add in the eggs, one at a time, whisking until light and creamy.



Add in the sour cream and whisk again.



Tip in the flour mixture and whisk one last time.

Pour two-thirds of the batter into your prepared Bundt pan.



Spoon in the filling mixture.



Pour the last third of the batter over to cover the filling.


Bake in your preheated oven for 35-40 minutes or until the cake is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Leave to cool for about five minutes in the pan.

Run your toothpick around the edges of the cake to loosen, then turn it out onto a wire rack. Leave to cool completely before drizzling on the glaze.


To make the glaze, mix the sugar and the vanilla. Add teaspoons of milk till you reach your desired consistency. Pour or drizzle over the cooled cake.

Enjoy!



What was your favorite retro dessert? Here are some of ours, either originally Bundts or Bundtified.

BundtBakers

#BundtBakers is a group of Bundt loving Bakers who get together once a month to bake Bundts with a common ingredient or theme. You can see all of our lovely Bundts by following our Pinterest Board. We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme or ingredient.

Updated links for all of our past events and more information about BundtBakers can be found on our homepage.


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Thursday, March 17, 2016

Banana Coconut Pineapple Bundt #BundtBakers


This tropical cake is a wonderful mix of banana and pineapple, with a hint of coconut from coconut cream. Perfect for a tropical vacation cake. 

This month my Bundt Baking group is taking a tropical vacation and we are traveling by Bundt pan. Our lovely cruise director is Christiane from Taking on Magazines. Climb aboard as we cast off for sunny climes and don’t forget to check out the aft end of this post for all the tropical vacation inspired Bundts we have baked for you today.

Mine comes to you by way of South America and was adapted from this recipe on My Colombian Recipes.

Ingredients
For the cake batter:
1 cup or 200g sugar
1/4 cup or 60g butter
2 ripe bananas
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups or 190g flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup or 240ml unsweetened coconut cream (not milk)
1 small can (8 oz or 227g) pineapple chunks in light syrup

Pineapple glaze:
3/4 cup or 95g powdered sugar
Pinch salt
1 tablespoon + pineapple syrup from can till desired drizzling or pouring consistence is reached

Method
Preheat oven to 350°F or 180°C.  Grease and flour a 10- or 12-cup Bundt pan. The 10-cup will give you a taller cake than mine as I used a 12-cup.

Drain the pineapple chunks and save the syrup. We will use some of it for the glaze.

Chop the chunks up into small pieces. Tip the cutting board up on one end and let the extra juice drain off the other side. I put some paper towels there to catch the runoff but you can put a plate or put the whole thing in a clean sink.



Cream the butter and sugar together in a mixing bowl with electric beaters or in the bowl of your stand mixer. Add in the bananas and beat again to mash and combine.



Add the eggs and beat again.



In a separate bowl, sift together your flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

Add the pineapple bits to the flour mixture and stir it about lightly to coat the pineapple with flour and separate the bits.



Add the flour/pineapple to the mixing bowl along with the coconut milk. Beat to combine.


Pour the batter into your prepared Bundt pan and bake in your preheated oven for 35-40 minutes or until a wooden toothpick or skewer comes out clean.



Leave to cool for about 10 minutes and then turn out on a wire rack to cool completely.

To make the pineapple glaze, measure your powdered sugar and a pinch of salt into a small bowl and add one tablespoon of the light syrup reserved from the can of pineapple. Mix well.

Add more pineapple syrup a little at a time, stirring well with each addition, until the glaze reaches the consistency you prefer.

Drizzle or pour the glaze over the cake when it is completely cool.



Enjoy!



Check out all the lovely tropical Bundts we have for you this month!


BundtBakers

#BundtBakers is a group of Bundt loving Bakers who get together once a month to bake Bundts with a common ingredient or theme. You can see all of our lovely Bundts by following our Pinterest Board. We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme or ingredient.

Updated links for all of our past events and more information about BundtBakers can be found on our homepage.



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