Showing posts with label Bundt cake. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bundt cake. Show all posts

Thursday, December 18, 2014

Dark Chocolate Mint Truffle Mini Bundts #BundtBakers

Homemade dark chocolate mint truffles make these darling little Bundts special. Start at least one day ahead to make sure the truffles have time to set and freeze before baking your little cakes. 

Technically this is not part of the official Christmas Week posts but, seriously, what is more Christmassy than mint? I'm thinking candy canes, After Eights, York Peppermint Patties and all manner of candy bark with crushed mints. I submit to you, nothing is! That is why I was delighted when this month’s Bundt Baker host, Laura from The Spiced Life chose mint as our theme. And since my younger daughter is now home for the holidays, I went with one of her favorites, mint and chocolate. From the time she was tiny, her favorite candy has been those York peppermint patties. It’s a classic combination.

Make sure you scroll on down to the bottom of my recipe to see the mint delights that all the other Bundt Bakers have created for you today.

Ingredients
For the truffles:
1/3 cup + 5 teaspoons or 100ml whipping cream
7 oz or 200g dark chocolate, broken into pieces (I used one bar of plain dark and one bar of dark with mint to add more minty goodness.)
1 1/2 teaspoons mint extract
Cocoa and/or powdered sugar, for rolling

For the cake:
1 1/2 cups or 190g plain flour
1 cup or 200g sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup or 27g best-quality cocoa powder
3/4 cup or 170g unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2/3 cup or 150ml sour cream

For the mint glaze:
1 cup or 125g confectioner’s or icing sugar
1/2 teaspoon mint extract
1-2 tablespoons milk

Method
First we need to make the truffles. They are super easy but the chocolate/cream mixture needs time to set before rolling into balls. And then you want to freeze them before adding them to the batter to bake. So, as mentioned in the headnote, start a day early.

The Truffles
Bring the cream just to the boil in a pan or in a microwaveable bowl in the microwave oven. Remove from the stove or microwave and stir in the mint extract and chocolate.

You could eat this with a spoon. Try not to. 

Stir until melted. Cool, then chill in the refrigerator until the mixture is solid, about 2-3 hrs.

Scoop out teaspoons of the mixture and roll into tiny balls with your hands, then roll the balls in cocoa or powdered sugar.

You want at least 24 balls (two per mini Bundt) but will probably get many more since they have to be small to fit in and on the little Bundts. Not to worry. They are delicious and any extras will get eaten. Freeze the truffles till you are ready to bake.

I did half cocoa and half powdered sugar. And yes, there are three big ones. I got tired of rolling when I had enough little ones. 


Okay, so it’s the next day now, right? And your tiny truffles are frozen. On to the cake!

This recipe is from Nigella’s Feast and could not be easier. She chucks everything straight in the food processor but I like to sift my dry ingredients (except the sugar) since sometimes they have lumps. Feel free to follow her method. Original recipe can be found online here.

The Cake Batter
Preheat oven to 350°F or 180°C. Grease and flour your mini Bundt pan or use that baking spray that has flour in it.

Measure your flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt into a bowl and mix well.

Put the rest of the cake ingredients - sugar, butter, eggs, vanilla and sour cream - into a food processor. Sift the dry ingredients into the processor.



Process until you have a smooth, thick batter.

You could also eat this with a spoon. Try not to.


Put one scoop of batter into each cup. Press one mint truffle into the batter then top with the remaining batter. I put the powdered sugar ones in the cakes and saved the cocoa ones for on top.



Bake in your preheated oven for about 18-20 minutes or until the tops are springy to the touch. Clearly the toothpick-in-the-middle test won’t work here.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool for about 10 minutes then turn the Bundts out to cool on a wire rack. I trimmed the overhanging edges off of my mini Bundts to neaten them up but you can leave yours on if you want.



While the Bundts cool, mix up your glaze.

The Glaze
Put the powdered sugar into a small mixing bowl with the mint extract and one tablespoon of milk. Stir well.



Keep adding milk a 1/2 teaspoon at a time until you get the pouring consistency you desire. I like a thick glaze but some people prefer thinner so you have to be the judge.

When the little Bundts are cooled completely, pour or drizzle on the glaze. I like to use a piping bag because it’s less messy than actual drizzling and I have more control.



Top each mini Bundt with a little chocolate mint truffle.



Enjoy!

The truffle inside makes a nice minty,chocolate rich bite near the top of the mini Bundt.






Bundt Bakers Logo


Your Bundts with mint! We've got 'em!

What is Bundt Bakers? It's a group of Bundt loving bakers who get together once a month to bake Bundts with a common ingredient or theme. Follow our Bundt Bakers Pinterest board for incredible Bundt cake recipes and inspiration.  You can find information and links to the recipes for each month in our  #BundtBakers page.

How is the monthly theme determined? We take turns hosting each month and the host gets to choose the theme/ingredient.

Would you like to join in the fun? If you are a food blogger, send an email with your blog name and url to foodlustpeoplelove@gmail.com.

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Thursday, October 16, 2014

English Toffee Bundt with Drunken Dulce Drizzle #BundtBakers


Fold bits of toffee candy into a batter rich with cream and deep brown sugar for a tender Bundt replete with caramel and love. Drizzle it lavishly with rum-spiked dulce de leche and you’ve got a full-blown love affair on a cake plate. 

Caramelicious deliciousness
I’m on deadline here, folks, because they are getting ready to turn my power off in a couple of hours – something about upgrading the system – and I’ve got to share this Bundt with you! So, no long story or introduction except to say that it’s BundtBaker time again and our host this month, the talented Lauren of Sew You Think You Can Cook has proclaimed Caramel as our theme.

Caramel comes in many forms but one of my favorites is caramelized condensed milk, otherwise known as dulce de leche. One of my others is toffee, which is basically sugar that’s been caramelized to which butter and/or cream is added. I love to make this candy for holiday gifts. I make it and wrap it and get it out of the house pronto, or I will eat it all, one shard at a time until it’s gone, gone, gone. So buttery, sweet, salty, nutty, in a word, fabulous. It’s kind of a homemade Almond Roca, but with bigger pieces of almond.


It’s not quite holiday gift giving season so I saved myself the calories and bought a box of Almond Roca to use in the cake, every gram of which went in or on the cake. Feel free to use homemade toffee, if you have some.

Ingredients
For the batter:
3 cups or 375g flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 tablespoon cocoa
1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups or 300g dark brown sugar

1 1/2 cups  or 355ml whipping cream

3 eggs, at room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla

1 cup toffee candy, chopped, or 140g

For the drizzle:
3/4 cup or 240g dulce de leche
1 tablespoon dark rum
Good pinch salt

Method
Preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C and prepare your Bundt pan by greasing it generously with butter or non-stick spray. I’m not even kidding a little bit here. The toffee bits in the batter will melt and stick to your pan if you don’t. I coated mine once with the spray and put it in the refrigerator. Then, when I was ready to fill it, I took it out and gave it another coating of spray. Even so, one piece of toffee tried to stick up near the top, until I loosened it gently with a wooden skewer. You have been warned!

Sift your flour, baking powder, cocoa, baking soda and salt into a large bowl.



Use electric beaters or your stand mixer to beat the cream and brown sugar together for several minutes until the brown sugar is dissolved.

Add in the eggs, one at a time, and beat after each until well combined.

First egg going in. The brown sugar and cream mixture looks good enough to drink!


A few serving spoons at a time, add the flour mixture to the batter, beating well as you go along. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula as well. When it’s all in, beat on high for two minutes.



Fold in about three-quarters of your toffee pieces, reserving one-quarter to decorate the Bundt after the glaze is added.



Pour into your prepared Bundt pan and bake for about one hour or until a wooden skewer comes out clean. If the top starts to darken too much before the center is done, cover it with a piece of foil.



It wasn't that full but, boy, howdy, did it rise while baking!

Allow the Bundt to cool in the pan for about 10 minutes before turning over and out onto a cooling rack. Don’t leave it longer than this because you don’t want the toffee pieces inside to harden and stick to your pan.



Cool completely before attempting to drizzle on the glaze.

To make the glaze, add your one tablespoon of dark rum and the good pinch of salt to the dulce de leche. Stir with a fork or small whisk until the rum is completely incorporated. At first it looks like it’s not going to mix in but persevere.


When the Bundt is completely cool, drizzle on the spiked dulce. You will not use it all and that's okay. I have a plan for the balance.



Now stick on your reserved pieces of toffee.



Serve extra dulce de leche on the side in a shot glass. :)



Enjoy!



Check out all the fabulous caramel Bundts everyone has been baking this month!


BundtBakers



What is 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.

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

Would you like to join us? 
If you are a food blogger and would like to join us, just send an email with your blog URL to foodlustpeoplelove@gmail.com.









Thursday, September 18, 2014

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!




BundtBakers


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!

#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.



Thursday, June 19, 2014

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!



BundtBakers


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

Thursday, March 20, 2014

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
#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