Hot Buttered Rum Bundt #BundtBakers

Lots of butter and rum in a small Bundt cake, topped with hot buttered rum glaze – it’s perfect for a cozy dinner party this holiday season.

This month’s Bundt Bakers theme is Naughty or Nice! Although I am sure you will agree after taking a look at our link list of recipe titles, even the naughty ones look pretty nice.

The challenge set by our lovely host, Olivia from Liv for Cake, was as follows

Sometimes it’s nice to be naughty! Choose one of these directions for your Bundt this month. For "Naughty” think boozy or things like Devil’s Food Cake. "Nice” Bundts can be of the more traditional, innocent kind — Gingerbread, Peppermint, etc. Naughty or Nice, all Bundts should share the flavors of a WINTER HOLIDAY.

I guess we all know which way I went on the Naughty to Nice scale. Don't you love that sign hanging from my rum bottle? I bought it from a crafty friend at the American Association of Malaysia Christmas Bazaar last month.

Ingredients for a six-inch Bundt cake (I used the Nordic Ware Anniversary pan. <affiliate link)
For the cake batter:
1 1/2 cups or 190g flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup or 150g sugar
1/2 cup or 113g butter, at room temperature
2 eggs, at room temperature
1/4 cup or 60ml gold rum, topped up with milk to equal 1/3 cup or 78ml
3/4 cup or 105g chopped pecans

For the Hot Buttered Rum glaze:
1/4 cup, packed, or 50g brown sugar
1/4 cup or 60g butter
1/3 cup or 80ml whipping (heavy) cream
1/4 cup or 60ml gold rum
Good pinch of sea salt

Method
Preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C.  Grease and flour your 6-in Bundt pan or spray it with non-stick baking spray with flour. I often use the baking spray but since more butter in a butter cake is always better, I did it the old fashion way this time.

Sift your flour, baking powder and salt into a large mixing bowl. Add in the rest of the ingredients – except the nuts - and beat for a minute until combined. Scrape down the bowl and beat at high speed for 4 minutes.

Do NOT taste the batter or there won't be any left to bake. You have been warned! 

Fold in the pecans.

Spoon into your prepared Bundt pan.

Bake 30-40 minutes until toothpick comes out clean.

Cool in pan 15 minutes on a wire rack, then turn the Bundt out to finish cooling on the rack.

For the hot buttered rum glaze:
Mix all ingredients in 1 1/2-quart saucepan. Heat to boiling over medium heat, stirring constantly.

Boil 3 to 4 minutes, whisking constantly, until slightly thickened. Allow to cool until it thickens even more, whisking occasionally to check consistency. You don’t want it to drip completely off the cake.

Spoon over cooled cake.

Enjoy!

Have you been naughty or nice this year? Never mind - My Bundt Bakers still have cake for you!

• Amaretto Almond Bundt Cake by I Bake He Shoots
• Angel Food Bundt Cake with Cranberry Filling and Lemon Glaze by Taking On Magazines
• Anise Bundt Cake by I Love Bundt Cakes
• Bundtcake Especiado by La mejor manera de hacer...
• Candy Cane Bundt by Cali's Cuisine
• Cherry Chocolate Bundt Cake by Basic N Delicious
• Chocolate Gingerbread Bundt Cake by How to Philosophize with Cake
• Christmas Fruitcake by Tea and Scones
• Christmas Rose Bundt Cake by Living the Gourmet
• Cranberry Spice Bundt Cake by Sew You Think You Can Cook
• Eggnog Pound Cake by Palatable Pastime
• Chocolate Gingerbread Bundts with Cream Cheese Frosting by I Camp In My Kitchen
• Hot Buttered Rum Bundt by Food Lust People Love
• Maple Pecan Cake by Jane's Adventures in Dinner
• Naughty and Nice Kahlua Gingerbread Bundt Cake by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Old Fashioned Marble Cake Bundt by Brooklyn Homemaker
• Peppermint Candy Cane Bundt Cake by The Freshman Cook
• Rum & Eggnog Bundt Cake by Liv for Cake
• Spiced Fruitcake by Magnolia Days
• Spiced Ginger Bundt Cake with Caramel Brandy Sauce by All That's Left Are The Crumbs
• Spiced Rum Eggnog Bundt Cake by Making Miracles
• Sugar, Spice, and Everything Nice Cake by Eat, Drink, Be Mighty
• Super Naughty Chocolate Whiskey Bacon Jam Bundt Cake by Faith, Hope, Love, & Luck Survive Despite A Whiskered Accomplice

#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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Gingerbread Biscotti #CreativeCookieExchange

All the spicy flavors of gingerbread, ramped up a notch or two with the addition of chewy crystallized ginger and crunchy toasted almonds, are represented in these very dunk-able gingerbread biscotti, decorated with the requisite royal icing. They are perfect to enjoy on a winter morning with a hot cup of something special, or to wrap up as gifts.

 

When my girls were growing up and we neared Christmas on the calendar – we lived far too near the equator for the other usual harbingers of the season like falling leaves or a nip in the air – I often baked gingerbread for their after school snacks. And we always made some gingerbread men together as a weekend project, decorating them lavishly with royal icing. The smell as the gingerbread bakes is heavenly!

Yes, somehow gingerbread and the Christmas season just go together. How could I resist turning gingerbread into biscotti for this month’s Creative Cookie Exchange? And don't forget, being twice baked and crunchy, biscotti are very good travelers, in case you need a homemade gift for someone far away.

Many thanks to Laura from The Spiced Life for organizing us each month and for coming up with this great theme!

This recipe is adapted from one at Christmas Cookies.

Ingredients for about 55-60 biscotti
For the biscotti dough:
1 cup or 150g almonds, blanched
3/4 cup or 150g sugar
1/2 cup or 113g butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup or 120ml dark molasses
3 eggs
3 cups or 375g flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup or 75g candied ginger, coarsely chopped

For the royal icing:
1 1/2 cups or 190g icing sugar
1 egg white (Do not serve raw unpasteurized eggs to persons with compromised immune systems.)
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
Pinch salt

Method
Preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C and line two cookies sheets with baking parchment or silicone baking mats.

Toast your almonds for about 10-15 minutes in the preheated oven using a small baking pan where they can fit in one layer. Keep an eye on the almonds and shake or stir the pan at about the five-minute mark to make sure they aren’t scorching on one side. You are looking for a nice golden color.

Let the almonds cool, chop them very coarsely, and set aside. Turn your oven temperature down to 300°F or 149°C.

In large bowl of an electric mixer, cream together the sugar, butter and molasses until smooth.

Add the eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition. Your batter may look a little curdled at this point but it's nothing to worry about.

In another mixing bowl, sift together your flour, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, allspice and salt.

Add the candied ginger to the dry ingredient bowl and use your fingers to separate the pieces and coat them with the dry ingredients so they don’t stick together again.

Add in the almonds to the dry bowl and mix well.

Tip the dry ingredients into the egg mixture; mix well to combine. The dough is going to be quite sticky.

Divide your dough up into four equal pieces and wrap each in a large piece of cling film. Use the cling film to shape the dough into four flat loaves, about a 1/2 in or 1 1/4cm thick and 2 inches or 5 1/2 cm wide.

Turn your dough loaves out on to your prepared pans, leaving plenty of room between them for expansion as they bake.

Dampen your hands with water so they won't stick to the dough and to pat the loaves into shape, if necessary.

Bake in your preheated oven until browned at edges and springy to touch, about 25 minutes. Depending on how well your oven circulates, you might need to rotate the pans midway though the baking time so everything gets evenly browned.

Leave the loaves to cool for about 15-20 minutes on the baking sheets.

Remove the loaves to a cutting board and use a serrated bread knife to cut them into long, 1/2-inch or 1 1/4cm thick diagonal slices.

Return the slices to the baking sheets, with one of the cut sides down.

Return to the oven and bake about 15 to 18 minutes longer, turning the biscotti over once halfway through the baking. Once again, rotate the pans if necessary to get an even bake. They should be slightly more brown around the edges.

Transfer biscotti to racks and let cool completely.

To make the royal icing, sift your sugar into a small bowl, then add the pinch of salt, the lemon juice and the egg white. Mix together until smooth.

Spoon the icing into a piping bag and use a small tip to decorate the biscotti.

Serve, or store in an airtight container of up to 1 month; wrap well and freeze for longer storage.

So much gingerbread biscotti! 

Enjoy!

Biscotti (or mandelbrot or any other twice baked cookie by any other name) are one of the perfect Holiday tin cookies! They last forever, and there are so many ways to make them festive. So Creative Cookie Exchange has got you covered--sweet, savory, low fat, loaded with decadence, you name it, we’ve got it! Happy Holidays!

• Almond Lemon Biscotti by Basic N Delicious
• Banana Walnut Biscotti by Upstate Ramblings
• Chocolate Almond Biscotti by Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Chocolate Toffee Biscotti by Live Bake Love
• Currant Walnut Biscotti by Magnolia Days
• Dark Chocolate and Pistachio Biscotti by Flours and Frostings
• Gingerbread Biscotti by Food Lust People Love
• Gluten Free Chocolate Biscotti by What Smells So Good?
• Holiday Biscotti Bar by The Spiced Life
• Honey Beescotti by Oven Delights
• Mocha Biscotti by A Baker's House
• Orange Pistachio Biscotti by 2 Cookin' Mamas
• Parmesan Black Pepper Biscotti by A Shaggy Dough Story
• Peppermint Kahlua Chocolate-Dipped Biscotti by All That's Left Are The Crumbs
• White Chocolate Glazed Gingerbread Biscotti by Christmas Tree Lane

Creative Cookie Exchange is  a great resource for cookie recipes! Be sure to check out our Pinterest Board and our monthly posts (you can find all of them at The Spiced Life). We post together the first Tuesday after the 15th of each month!

Looking for more gingerbread deliciousness?

Check out my Rich Gingerbread Muffins with Honey Ginger Glaze

Or my Dark Chocolate Gingerbread Muffins. Both perfect for a special tea or breakfast!

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Chocolate Praline Pretzels

The perfect mix of sweet and salty, these chocolate-covered pretzels are dipped in crunchy pecan praline. They make a great hostess gift or holiday party treat.

I am not a big sweet eater but the exception is any treat that mixes salty with sweet, like salted caramel or, indeed, these easy-to-make pretzels. You can use pretzel sticks or traditionally shaped ones, whatever you have on hand.

Chocolate Praline Pretzels

These are adapted from My Recipes. The original recipe makes only 16. I completely forgot to count how many this makes but it's a bunch. As you might guess from the ingredients list below, at least 55. Cue up a Christmas movie to watch while making them.

Ingredients
Butter for greasing pan
1 1/2 cups or 165g chopped pecans
1/4 cup, firmly packed, or 50g light brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons heavy cream
7 oz or 200g semisweet chocolate bars (I used two Lindt bars.)
Butter for greasing baking pan
55-65 pretzel sticks

Method
Preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C and butter a 9 in or 23cm round cake pan.

Stir together your chopped pecans, brown sugar, salt and cream. Spread the mixture out evenly in the pan.

Bake for 10 minutes then take the pan out and stir the mixture.

Spread it out again and bake an addition 10-15 minutes or until sugar is slightly crystallized.

Cool in pan 10 minutes, then turn the praline out onto a cutting board. Allow to cool completely and then chop finely with a sharp knife.

Spread the praline bits out on waxed paper or baking parchment.

Place your chocolate in a microwave-safe measuring cup and microwave on high for 15 seconds at a time, stirring well in between time, until just melted. You don’t want the chocolate super hot or it will be too runny.

Dip your pretzels in the chocolate.

Then lay them on the praline bits.

Cover with more praline bits.

See the pretzel sticking out? The chocolate part should be completely covered.

Wait about 10-15 seconds till the praline bits are stuck on, tapping down gently on the pile.

Remove the covered pretzels to a lined tray to harden up. You may find as you go on that the smaller bits of praline stick first so you are left with bigger pieces in your pile. Use a knife to chop them more finely, if necessary.

The work station. Not pictured: A Charlie Brown Christmas showing on my laptop.
This job takes a while but requires little brain. 

Continue until you run out of praline bits or chocolate or pretzels. I ran out of praline bits first this time, and made more than 5 dozen chocolate praline pretzels.

The pile gets tiny. 

Now box these babies up and share them with a neighbor or friend!

Enjoy!

Christmas Week recipes! Please visit all our talented participants:

• Chocolate Mocha Roulade from Mother Would Know
• Chocolate Praline Pretzels from Food Lust People Love
• Christmas Wreath Cupcakes from The Redhead Baker
• Cranberry Tangerine Mojito from Mind Over Batter
• Creamy Espresso Hot Chocolate from Rants From My Crazy Kitchen 
• Fresh Cranberry Mini Scones from Farm Fresh Feasts
• Gingerbread Oatmeal Creme Pies from From Gate to Plate 
• Gingerbread Sugared Almonds from Crumb: A Food Blog
• Macadamia Coconut Macaroons from Aloha Flavor
• Mexican Chocolate Panna Cotta from Cooking in Stilettos
• Peppermint Mocha Truffles from Try Anything Once Culinary
• Peppermint Popcorn from Poet in the Pantry 
• Red Velvet Swirl Fudge from Cravings of a Lunatic
• Stained Glass Cookies from Karen's Kitchen Stories

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San Permis Sparkling Cocktail #BloggerCLUE

Nothing says celebration like a glass of bubbly, unless it is a glass of bubbly with some added Cointreau and a lovely honey, infused with lavender like in this San Permis Sparkling Cocktail.

This month my Blogger C.L.U.E. Society is searching our assigned blogs for recipes of a celebratory nature. I must confess that while I loved poking around Confessions of a Culinary Diva for all sorts of party food, like her Fennel Pomegranate Crostini – such pretty colors for the season - and her Irish Seafood Cocktail with crab and Cognac or the fabulous Cèpe and Parsley Tart because I am a sucker for anything made with puff pastry - I had already pretty much made up my mind to make the sparkling San Permis cocktail from the moment I found it, conveniently located on a page full of cocktails.

In fact, I started weeks ago and made my own lavender-infused honey! That’s how set I was. It's actually super simple: Just mix the honey with culinary grade lavender in a clean jar and let it all hang out for a couple of weeks on a sunny windowsill. Then strain. I added back just half a teaspoon of the lavender for show.

Christy is an award-winning banker by day, talented blogger by night – her blog focus is delicious food and traveling and I just don’t know how she does it all! If you haven’t met Christy yet, please head over to Confessions of a Culinary Diva and get to know her.

Ingredients for 1 cocktail
Cava or sparkling wine of your choice, well-chilled
1 oz or 30ml Cointreau
Lavender-infused Honey

Method
Use a spoon dipped in the lavender-infused honey to drip just a little of it around the inside rim of a Champagne flute.

Pour in the Cointreau.

Top off with chilled Cava or a sparkling wine of your choice.

Enjoy!

The lavender-infused honey adds a very subtle floral note as you take each sip.

The December Blogger C.L.U.E. Society participants:

• Almond Shortbread Cookies by Lisa from Authentic Suburban Gourmet
• Black Forest Trifle by Rebekah from Making Miracles
• Blueberry Lemon Bars by Anna from annaDishes
• Bourbon Apricot Meatballs by Christiane from Taking on Magazines
• Cheesy Garlic Blooming Loaf by Christy from Confessions of a Culinary Diva
• Cookie Dough Cheese Ball by Liz from That Skinny Chick Can Bake
• Handcrafted Baileys Irish Cream by Debra from Eliot's Eats
• Henri's Tastee Dressing by Kate from Kate's Kitchen
• Homemade Onion Rosemary Bread by Kim from Liv Life
• Italian Anisette Cookies by Sue from A Palatable Pastime
• Party Meatballs by Azmina from Lawyer Loves Lunch
• San Permis Sparkling Cocktail by Stacy from Food Lust People Love
• Savory Pesto Cheesecake by Wendy from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Tartiflette by Kate from Kate's Kitchen
• The Randy Reindeer by Kathy from A Spoonful of Thyme
• White Chocolate Chip Cookie Soufflés by Lauren from Sew You Think You Can Cook
  
  

Pin this San Permis Sparkling Cocktail!

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Christmas Morning Muffins #BreadBakers

With just a little preparation the day before, your family can enjoy freshly baked cranberry orange muffins on Christmas morning, with the bonus of filling your house with Christmasy baking aromas. What a joy to wake up to these!

The Christmas Day rule of my family growing up was that no presents could be opened before breakfast. I remember being happy with a bowl of cereal - and let’s get this show on the road! - but frustrated by the grownups who wanted eggs or pancakes or, most likely, freshly baked biscuits. Clearly they had their priorities askew! But don’t you know, when I became a mother, I kept the same rule. Turns out that it’s always a good plan to serve a decent breakfast when Christmas dinner won’t be on the table until three or four o’clock in the afternoon.

With just a little preparation, a hot, freshly baked breakfast is a cinch and you can get to the important part: Opening the gifts! This month our Bread Bakers host is Holly from A Baker’s House and she has challenged us to bake breads – quick or yeasty – which can be started one day and baked the next, giving you lots of lovely ideas for a perfectly easy holiday breakfast.

(And don’t forget my friend Donna’s great cookbook, Make Ahead Breads <Amazon affiliate link* which is also a wonderful source of recipes and inspiration for this theme and would make a fabulous Christmas gift for a baker in your life.)

This post is not technically part of Christmas Week but I would be remiss if I didn't tell you to check out my coconut praline post from yesterday, with details on how to enter to win one of three ($500, $250 and $50) Amazon gift cards up for grabs!

These muffins are adapted from this recipe by Nigella Lawson.

Ingredients
2 cups or 250g flour
1/2 cup or 100g sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup or 120ml whole milk
1/3 cup or 75ml canola or other oil
1 large egg
2 clementines (for zest and 1/3 cup or 80ml juice)
1 cup or 140g dried cranberries, plus 12 more for decoration, if desired.

Method
Prepare your muffin pan by greasing it with butter or nonstick spray or lining it with paper muffin cups. I usually line it with the paper cups and give the whole pan a quick spray. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda and salt.

Add in the dried cranberries, mixing well, and cover the bowl with cling film and set it aside with the baking pan.

Measure your milk and oil into a large measuring jug. Add the egg and beat until well combined.

Zest the two clementines with a fine grater or microplane straight into the measuring jug.

Juice the clementines and add 1/3 cup or 80ml of the juice into the measuring jug as well. If you don’t get quite enough juice, top up with more milk to reach your required measurement. Cover the jug with cling film and pop it in the refrigerator.

The next morning, preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C.

Give your liquid ingredients a good mix with a fork and pour them into the dry ingredient bowl.

Fold to combine, being careful not to over mix. If a little flour still shows here and there, that’s a good thing.

Divide the batter between the muffin cups. Add one more dried cranberry to each muffin, if desired. I like to see a little of what's inside on top of my muffins.

Bake in your preheated oven for 20-25 minutes or until the muffins are golden and a toothpick stuck in the middle comes out clean. I cannot begin to tell you how wonderful these smell while baking! The aroma will get the laggards out of bed and running to the kitchen.

Leave the muffins to cool for a few minutes in the pan and then remove them to a wire rack. Serve them warm with a hot cup of coffee or a glass of Champagne, if you are so inclined, in front of the sparkling Christmas tree.

Enjoy!

Check out all the other great recipes for Overnight Bread! Which one will you make first this holiday season?

• Braided Holiday Stollen from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Bran Muffins from Cali's Cuisine
• Christmas Morning Muffins from Food Lust People Love
• Christmas Morning Sticky Buns from Sara’s Tasty Buds
• English Muffins from Ruchik Ranhap
• Fruity Butter Bread from Magnolia Days
• Gingerbread Breakfast Loaf from Cindy’s Recipes and Writings
• Herbert’s Traditional Overnight Bread Loaf from G’Gina’s Kitchenette
• Old Fashioned Doughnuts from Cooking Club
• Onion Bagels from Karen’s Kitchen Stories
• Overnight Apple Fritters Monkey Bread from I Camp in My Kitchen
• Overnight Belgian-Style Yeast Waffles from A Baker’s House
• Overnight Brioche Cinnamon Rolls from Hostess at Heart
• Overnight Pecan Sticky Bread from Cook’s Hideout
• Stollen Muffins from Baking in Pyjamas

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

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

*Items purchased through an Amazon affiliate link cost no extra to the buyer but earn me a few pennies to buy more bacon. Thanks for the support.