Sweet Potato Pecan Spice Cake with Toasted Pecan Glaze #BundtBakers

Baked sweet potato, peeled then mashed, can be used in a variety of sweet or savory dishes. In this beautiful Bundt cake it adds flavor, sweetness and texture. With the pecans inside and then piled on top in a sticky glaze, this is a dessert that will add autumn spice to any holiday table.

Autumn Harvest
This month’s Bundt Baker theme is Autumn Harvest and I was fully prepared to try something new. New to me, that is. I could have sworn it was around this time last year that I saw quince for sale in the Dubai supermarkets but this year, nothing. Come to find out, quince season starts in October so I’ll have to wait a month to get out my runcible spoon. Meanwhile, I chose to use my favorite of all fall produce, the sweet potato. I’ve been known to boil and freeze these babies and haul them, Ziplocked, in my suitcase to various countries, just to make sure we will have candied yams for Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner. No kidding.

Sweet Potatoes vs Yams
In the southern United States we use the terms sweet potato and yam interchangeably to mean those root vegetables that are pinky brown on the outside and brilliantly orange on the inside. I’ve discovered in my travels that yam refers to a very different vegetable in other places. There are, in fact, 600 species of yams and the American sweet potato is not even in the same family genetically. Who knew? But I’ll tell you what, I learned to call a sweet potato a sweet potato overseas or risk getting something white or yellow or even purple set on my plate. Real yams are much drier than our sweet potatoes and not nearly as sweet. They are a staple for many in our world, especially in Africa because they can be stored for up to six months without refrigeration or can be dried and milled into flour which can last even longer. Now I’m not saying they wouldn’t make a decent cake and many swear that ice cream made from the purple ones is the best, but, if you can, use the orange sweet potato for this recipe.

Many thanks to our wonderful host, Tux of Brooklyn Homemaker, for proposing the great Autumn Harvest theme and doing all the behind-the-scenes work this month for our Bundt Bakers group post.

Ingredients
For the Bundt cake batter:
1 cup or 100g pecans
3 cups or 375g flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 1/2 cups or 500g sugar
1 cup or 240ml canola or other light oil
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups or 385g cooked, mashed sweet potatoes (nothing else added)
2/3 cup or 160ml buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Glaze:
1 cup or 100g pecans
2/3 cup or 130g sugar
3 tablespoons water
1 teaspoon vanilla
Good pinch salt
1 tablespoon browned butter (or normal butter if that’s all you’ve got), at room temperature

Method
Toast your pecans (2 cups or 200g total – for the batter and for the glaze) in a dry skillet over a medium low flame. This takes just a few minutes so keep stirring and mixing the nuts up to make sure that none scorch. When you can smell the rich aroma of toasted pecans and all of them are little bit darker brown, remove the skillet from the heat and allow to cool.

Preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C. Grease and flour a 12-cup Bundt pan and set aside.

Chop the pecans roughly with a sharp knife and divide them in two.

Sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, salt and nutmeg and set aside.

In another large mixing bowl, beat the oil and sugar together until well blended. Add the eggs one at time, beating well between them. The mixture should turn light yellow and a little fluffy.

Add in the flour mixture, the sweet potato, the buttermilk, one pile of the chopped pecans and the vanilla. Mix on a low speed until completely combined and then mix on medium high for two to three minutes.

Pour into your prepared Bundt pan and bake in the preheated oven for one hour and 15 minutes. Start checking it for doneness at one hour though, as ovens vary in consistency and often have temperature fluctuations.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool for at least 10 minutes before turning the Bundt cake out on to a wire rack to cool completely.

When it is completely cooled, prepare your glaze by putting the sugar, water, vanilla and a good pinch of salt into a small pot.

Heat over a medium flame until the sugar is dissolved then add the second pile of chopped toasted pecans.

Cook for a few minutes or until the glaze thickens slightly.  Take the pot off the stove and add in the browned butter. Stir well. You can add in a little more water, if the glaze seems too thick.

Carefully spoon the pecans and glaze over the cooled cake. Yes, it’s a lot of pecans. No, it’s not too many. Just keep spooning. There can never be too many pecans on a sweet potato cake.

Enjoy!

Who else is ready to bake with Autumn produce? Check out the gorgeous bunch of Bundts we have for you this month with apples, cranberries, carrots, zucchini, figs, sweet potatoes, pumpkin and more!

• Applesauce Cranberry Bundt Cake by Lauren at Sew You Think You Can Cook
• Applesauce Spice Bundt Cake by Caro at En la Cocina de Caro
• Applesauce Walnut Raisin Cake by Renee at Magnolia Days
• Carrot Bundt Cake with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting by Cassie at Cassie's Kitchen
• Chocolate Caramel Apple Bundt Cake by Teri at The Freshman Cook
• Chocolate Zucchini Bundt by Tara at Noshing with the Nolands
• Fig and Caramelized Walnut Bundt Cake by Bea and Mara at I Love Bundt Cakes
• Harvest Bundt Cake by Tammy at Living the Gourmet
• Mini Apple Cobbler Bundt Cakes with Cinnamon Glaze from Lauren at From Gate to Plate
• Old Fashioned Kushaw Bundt by Margaret at Tea and Scones
• Pumpkin and Apple Bundt Cake by Kathya at Basic N Delicious
• Pumpkin and Chocolate Bundt Cake by Aisha at La Cocina de Aisha
• Pumpkin Cream Cheese Bundt Cake with Pomegranate Syrup by Patricia at Patty's Cake
• Pumpkin Espresso Bundt by Kelly at Passion Kneaded
• Sherried Pumpkin Bundtlettes by Laura at The Spiced Life
• Spiced Harvest Bundt Cake with Cream Cheese Glaze by Tux at Brooklyn Homemaker
• Spiced Pumpkin Bundt Cake by Kaylin at Keep it Simple, Sweetie
• Sweet Potato Brioche Bread by Jane at Jane's Adventures in Dinner
• Sweet Potato Pecan Spice Cake with Toasted Pecan Glaze by Stacy at Food Lust People Love
• Triple Chocolate Pumpkin Spice Bundt Cake by Terri at Love and Confections

#Bundt Bakers
Interested in learning more about us? BundtBakers is a group of Bundt loving bakers who get together once a month to bake Bundts with a common ingredient or theme. We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient. You can see all our of lovely Bundts by following our Pinterest board right here.

Links are also updated after each event on the BundtBaker home page here.

If you are a food blogger and would like to join us, just send an email with your blog URL to foodlustpeoplelove@gmail.com. If you are just a lover of Bundt baking, you can find all of our recipe links by clicking our badge above or on our group Pinterest board.

Mango Ginger Bundt Cake #BundtBakers

Mango and ginger are best friends in the tropical department, combining sweetness with a little spiciness to make a moist, beautiful Bundt.

This month my Bundt Baker group is channeling the tropics and all fruits tropical. Mangoes are sweet and cheap right now in Houston – three for a dollar! – so I couldn’t resist baking them into a delicious Bundt, adding ginger for a little bite. As with many of my baked goods lately, I took it up to my sister’s lake house last weekend and, once again, received a family seal of approval.

Many thanks to our host this month, Lauren from From Gate to Plate!

Ingredients
1 cup or 200g granulated sugar
1/2 cup or 115g butter
2 eggs
2 cups or 250g flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1 cup or 300g fresh mango puree
1 teaspoon vanilla

For serving: confectioners' or powdered sugar

Method
Preheat oven to 350°F or 180°C and grease and flour your Bundt pan.

Put all your ingredients into your mixing bowl and mix on low until everything is completely combined.

Turn the mixer on high and beat for three minutes.

Pour the batter into your prepared pan.

Bake for 35-40 minutes or until the cake is golden on the outside and a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the middle of the cake.

Allow to cool for a few minutes and then invert on a wire rack.

Cool completely before sprinkling with confectioners' sugar to serve.

Enjoy!

Do you love baking with tropical fruit? Look no further for inspiration than this great list of Bundt Baker recipes. 

• Guava and Cream Cheese Bundt Cake by Love and Confections
• Guava and Pineapple Impossible Cake by Passion Kneaded
• Pineapple Macadamia Nut Bundt Cake by Sew You Think You Can Cook
• Passion-Orange-Guava Bundt Cake by All That's Left are the Crumbs
• Mini Spiced Upside Down Caramelized Pineapple Bundt Cakes by From Gate to Plate
• Hibiscus Lime Bundt Cake by Brooklyn Homemaker
• Mango Brown Sugar Glazed Bundt Cake by Noshing with the Nolands
• Pineapple Pound Cake by Magnolia Days
• Mango Ginger Bundt Cake by Food Lust People Love
• Almost Pina Colada Bundt Cake by Tea and Scones
• Mexican Mango Cake by My Catholic Kitchen
• Mango Coconut Bundt by Jane's Adventures in Dinner
• Mini Pineapple Lime Mojito Bundt Cakes by Blahnik Baker
• Tropical Pineapple Bundt Cake by Bizzy Bakes
• Pink Coconut Grapefruit Bundt Cake by Baking in Pyjamas

 #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. 

We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient. If you are a food blogger and would like to join us, just send Stacy an email with your blog URL to foodlustpeoplelove@gmail.com.

Peach and Spiced Tea Bundt Cake for #BundtBakers

Using spiced tea to flavor baked goods means a huge variety of choices and an almost infinite number of spice combinations. This spiced tea Bundt has Assam black tea, vanilla, cinnamon, a hint of cardamom and tiny pieces of dried orange peel, in addition to the peaches. 

From the matcha muffins on Monday and the jasmine lychee green tea shortbread on Tuesday and now this Bundt, somehow, this is turning out to be Baking with Tea Week! I’ve spent the last couple of days in the teashop with my friend, photographing of her products and working on her website.  Whenever I’ve thought of baking, all the tea flavors have been both a distraction and an inspiration. I hardly know which one to choose; there are so many wonderful ones.

This month’s Bundt Baker theme is spices, as chosen by our talented host Deepti, of Baking Yummies, so, of course, I had to use a spiced tea, but it was so hard to decide which one! They all smell so GOOD. I finally settled on one called Black Spiced Michigan Chai, because, after all, I am in Michigan.

I dedicate this cake to my friend, Gillian, who turns 50 today.  She turns up in these “pages” more than any other friend because she is just that special. I know she reads my blog regularly so I couldn’t pass up the chance to say, Happy birthday, Gillian! Love you dearly!

Ingredients
4 teaspoons loose-leaf tea, divided
3/4 cup or 180ml milk
1/2 cup or 115g butter at room temperature
3/4 cups packed or 150g brown sugar
2 1/2 cups or 315g flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 can (15 oz or 425g net weight) peaches in juice

Optional: powdered sugar for decorating

Method
Boil 1/4 cup or 60ml water in a small pot and pour in two teaspoons of the tea, turn the fire off and let the tea steep for a few minutes.

Add in the milk, turn the fire back on and bring the pot to a boil then turn it down to a low fire. Simmer for about 10 minutes. Turn the fire off and let the milk cool.

Put one cup of the flour in a food processor with the last two teaspoons of tea and process until the tea is mere flecks distributed throughout the flour.

Add in the rest of the flour, the baking powder and salt. Process one quick pulse to mix.

Strain the tea leaves out of the milk and set the milk aside.

Pour the peaches into a colander and drain the juice out. Chop the peaches into small pieces and put them back into the colander to drain further.

Preheat your oven to to 350°F or 180°C and prepare your Bundt pan by buttering and flouring it.

Use a stand mixer or electric beaters and cream the butter and sugar together.

Add in the two eggs and beat again until the eggs are incorporated.

Spoon in half of the flour mixture and beat again.

Now pour in half of the milk and beat again.

Spoon in the rest of the flour and beat until the flour is completely incorporated.

Pour in the rest of the milk and beat again for two minutes, scraping the bowl down halfway through.

Mix in the chopped peaches.

Spoon the batter into your prepared Bundt pan. Smooth out the top with a spatula.

Bake for 40-45 or until the cake is golden on the top and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Remove the pan from the oven and allow to cool for several minutes before inverting on a baking rack.

Cool completely before transferring the Bundt cake to a serving plate.

Sprinkle on powdered sugar, if desired.

Enjoy!

If you love baking with spices, this is your month at Bundt Bakers!  Check out all the lovely Bundts we’ve baked!

Apple Cinnamon Bundt Cake by Kathya at Basic N Delicious
Cinnamon Roll Bundt Cake by Tara at Noshing With The Nolands
Fresh Apple Cake by Lauren at Sew You Think You Can Cook
Honey and Beer Spiced Bundt Cake by Felice at All That's Left Are The Crumbs
Orange Cardamom Mini Bundt Cakes by Alice at Hip Foodie Mom
Peach and Spiced Tea Bundt Cake by Stacy at Food Lust People Love
Rum & Ginger Grapefruit Cake by Kelly at Passion Kneaded
Saffron and Tahitian Vanilla Infused Bundt Cake by Laura at The Spiced Life
Saffron Vanilla Bean and Orange Mini Bundt Cake by Deepti at Bakingyummies
Spiced Applesauce Bundt Cake with Brown Sugar Rum Glaze by Lauren at From Gate to Plate
Sweet Potato Pound Cake by Renee at Magnolia Days


#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 to see all the past and current posts each month. We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient. 

If you are a food blogger and would like to join us, just send me an email at foodlustpeoplelove@gmail.com or ask to join our private Facebook group. 

Pecan Bundt Cake with Orange Cream Cheese Icing for #BundtBakers

This beautiful pecan Bundt cake is made with very little flour since the coarsely ground pecans bind with the sugar and eggs to create a rich batter.   It bakes up light and is perfectly complemented by the rich orange cream cheese icing. 

I know your mother told you differently growing up but sometimes having a reputation is a good thing.  When people know you love to cook and bake, for instance, they buy you cookbooks and magazines.  They send you interesting links to deliciousness and sometimes they even cut recipes out of newspapers for you.  When we were in Rhode Island over Christmas, my mother-in-law handed me a bit of the Houston Chronicle “Flavor” section.  She had pulled out the pages, folded them up and brought them with her from home because she knew I would like to read them.  Because: Pecans!  They were FULL of pecan recipes.  Little did she know, but I was especially pleased because our new Bundt Bakers group theme for January was going to be NUTS and pecans are my go-to nut of choice.  In fact, I’m the host for this inaugural event so I chose the theme!

The only major tree nut that exists naturally in North America, the pecan grows wild in groves as well as in cultivated orchards.  The name pecan comes from the Algonquin word meaning “needs a rock to crack.”   I find a nutcracker much more useful.  Pecans were a major source of nutrition for Native Americans and became a staple for cooking and baking for the settlers as well.  Of course, they are crunchy and wonderful but, according to the appositely named website for the National Pecan Shellers Association, I love Pecans, they are also very heart healthy!  Thanks to well-sealed Ziploc bags and a big deep freezer, pecans feature heavily in my kitchen all year long.

Adapted from a recipe printed in the Houston Chronicle contributed by Carol Aimone from Tomball, Texas.

Ingredients
For cake:
2  1/2 cups or 315g chopped pecans, toasted, plus another generous handful for decorating, if desired.
3 tablespoons flour plus more for coating your Bundt pan
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 eggs
1 cup or 225g sugar
Butter or non-stick spray for coating your Bundt pan

For the icing:
8 oz or 225g cream cheese
1 oz or 30g butter
16 oz or 450g confectioners’ or icing sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract or essence
Zest 1 navel orange
2-3 tablespoons fresh orange juice

Method
Preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C and prepare your Bundt pan by slathering it liberally with butter, spraying it generously with non-stick spray and then coating with flour.  Do this and do this well.  You will thank me later.  Set aside.

In a mixing bowl, combine the three tablespoons of flour, the baking powder and the salt.

Put half of your pecans in the food processor and process until they are coarsely ground.   Add them to the flour bowl.  Repeat with the remaining pecans.

Put your sugar and eggs in the processor and process until completely smooth.

This will be very liquid.  Add the pecan mixture and process again, scraping down the sides, if necessary.   The mixture make get a little foamy.

Pour into your prepared Bundt pan and bake in your preheated oven for about 50-55 minutes or until a tester (I use a wooden satay stick.) comes out clean.

Meanwhile, you can be making the icing.

Put all the ingredients into your mixing bowl, starting with only two tablespoons of orange juice.

Beat until thoroughly mixed and creamy.  If it seems a bit too thick to spread, add the extra orange juice a little at a time, beating well in between, until the icing is of good spreadable consistency.

When the cake is baked, remove the pan from the oven and allow it to cool for about 10 minutes on a wire rack before inverting and removing the cake from the pan.

We are all friends here so I am going to share the photo that never usually gets seen.

When the cake sticks in the Bundt pan.

Never mind though.  Just pry the pieces out and set them back where they belong.  The icing will cover everything and no one will be the wiser.  And next time you will vow to butter and flour that pan more generously!

Allow the cake to cool completely.

Cover with your orange cream cheese icing.   Because of the delicate state of my cake, I decided to put the icing in a decorating bag and pipe it on instead of trying to spread it with a spatula.  Sprinkle with the handful of extra pecans, if desired.

I think it turned out rather pretty.

And even when it was cut, you would never know what near tragedy had been averted.

Enjoy!

I am delighted to be hosting this inaugural edition of Bundt Bakers.  I chose NUTS as the theme since we are all nuts about Bundts and couldn’t imagine not baking at least one a month when the BundtaMonth group disbanded.

Have a look at all the wonderful nutty Bundts we’ve baked for you!  For information about how you can join us in the coming months, scroll on down.

• Banana Nut Bread from Veronica at My Catholic Kitchen
• Chocolate Covered Almond Cake from Anne at From My Sweet Heart
• Chubby Hubby Mini Bundts from Kelly at Passion Kneaded
• Glazed Citrus Pistachio Bundt Cake from Laura at The Spiced Life
• Mocha Hazelnut Marble Bundt Cake from Felice at All That's Left Are the Crumbs
• Orange Cinnamon Pecan Cake from Renee at Magnolia Days
• Pecan Bundt Cake with Orange Cream Cheese Icing from Stacy at Food Lust People Love
• Pistachio Coffee Cardamom Cake from Deepti at Baking Yummies
• Powdered Sugar Pound Cake with Pecans from Dorothy at Shockingly Delicious
• Rum Pecan Bundt from Tara at Noshing with the Nolands

We are 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.

We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient.

If you are a food blogger and would like to join us, just send me an email at foodlustpeoplelove@gmail.com or ask to join our private Facebook group.