Chocolate Spider Web Bundt Cake #BundtBakers

This Chocolate Spider Web Bundt Cake is super chocolate-y with a tender, light crumb and just the right amount of sweetness. Made with almond flour, sour cream and brown Swerve, it’s keto and diabetic friendly. 

I know a lot of people took up new hobbies or learned a new craft last year during lockdown. I’m a little slow on the uptake. A few weeks ago an amazing knitter friend offered to teach a small group of us to knit. More for the camaraderie than anything, I agreed. 

My first project, a rather chunky small blanket made with thick yarn and immense needles, isn’t going as well as I could hope but I am determined to persevere and finish it. If only to say that I didn’t give up. I am enjoying the company of friends much more!

Yesterday, my small group – we like to call ourselves Well-Knit because aside from the actually knitting together now, we’ve been friends for almost 50 years! – came over for dinner. I made a pot of Four-Alarm Texas chili and a big spinach salad. This delicious cake was the perfect dessert for all of our varied diets and dietary needs, not to mention being holiday appropriate for October. 

Chocolate Spider Web Bundt Cake 

Aside from the eggs, the only leavening in this cake is the baking soda so it’s essential that you use unsweetened natural cocoa powder and not Dutch processed. The reaction between the acid in the natural cocoa (and the sour cream) and the baking soda is what gives this cake lift. 

Ingredients

For the cake:

melted unsalted butter for pan

4 large eggs

2/3 cup, packed, or 133g brown Swerve or brown sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/2 cup or 120ml sour cream

2 cup or 226g almond flour

2/3 cup or 66g unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch processed), plus extra for pan

1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

For the icing spider web:

2 tablespoons pasteurized egg whites (1 large egg white)

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1 1/3 cups 166g powdered Swerve or powdered sugar

For decoration: one plastic spider

Method

Preheat oven to 350°F or 163°C. Liberally butter a six-cup Bundt pan and sprinkle it thoroughly with cocoa powder.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, brown Swerve and vanilla extract. (This was my first time using Swerve and I was amazed by how much it looked exactly like brown sugar. But zero-calorie and low-glycemic. What sorcery is this?)

In another bowl. Sift together the cocoa powder, baking soda and salt. I live in a humid climate and despite keeping the cocoa powder and baking soda in airtight containers, they still get lumpy. If your cocoa and baking soda are free-flowing and lump free, you can skip the sifting step and put them right in the bowl. 

Whisk the sour cream, almond flour and cocoa powder mix into the egg/Swerve mixture.

Spoon the thick batter into your prepared pan. 

Bake until center is set, and a toothpick inserted in it comes out clean, 40-45 minutes.

Cool the cake for about 10 minutes, then turn it out on to a wire rack until it cools completely. 

To make the icing for the spider web, mix all the ingredients together in a small bowl. Stir well until it’s completely smooth. If it seems too runny to apply with a piping bag, add another tablespoon or two of powdered Swerve or sugar. 

Using a piping bag with a #3 tip, make lines down the Bundt cake from the bottom up and down the inside.

Starting at the top, pipe curves between the lines to complete the spider web. 

Use a spoon or spatula to fill the bottom of the spider with icing and press it gently to the cake to adhere. Royal icing hardens when it dries and will hold the spider in place nicely.

Slice to serve!

It’s Bundt Baker time and since it’s October and All Hallow’s Eve is nigh, we are sharing Halloween cakes! Check out the links below. Many thanks to our host, Wendy of A Day in the Life on the Farm!

• Pat Y Co: Boo...Chocolate-Coconut and Pumpkin Marble Bundt
• Making Miracles: Chocolate Orange Swirled Bundt Cake 
• Food Lust People Love: Chocolate Spider Web Bundt Cake 
• Palatable Pastime: Dirt and Worms Bundt Cake 
• A Day in the Life on the Farm: Mini Pumpkin Bundts 
• Sneha’s Recipe: Monster Bundt Cake 
• Culinary Adventures with Camilla: No Bones About It Pumpkin Mini Bundts

#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/ingredient. Updated links for all of our past events and more information about BundtBakers, can be found on our home page.

Pin this Chocolate Spider Web Bundt Cake!

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Savory Craquelin Pastry Roast Salmon

The topping on this Savory Craquelin Pastry Roast Salmon is a great way to add flavor and also make sure roast salmon doesn’t dry out in the oven. It's flavored with garlic, thyme, smoked sea salt flakes, aleppo pepper and just a sprinkle of nutmeg. 

If you’ve seen my recipe for pineapple buns, you are already familiar with what craquelin pastry is, although to be fair, I never called it that. That thin topping I added to the buns - the one that baked up crunchy and shiny - is a craquelin. Indeed typically craquelin pastry is sweet. And it’s usually baked on a bread or pastry of some kind. 

The word itself is French, naturalment, and translates to “cracker.” I presume the topping was so named because it is crunchy like a cracker when baked, although I must warn you that that does not hold true when you bake it on top of fish.  It gets a little crunchy but certainly not cracker crisp!

Since craquelin pastry is usually sweet I was intrigued when I saw the recipe for savory craquelin in delicious. magazine and couldn’t wait to try it. Was it good? Suffice to say, I'll be making this again! The topping was flavorful and delightful and the salmon below was tasty and cooked to perfection.

Savory Craquelin Pastry Roast Salmon

As mentioned above, this recipe was adapted from one in the UK magazine delicious. March 2021 issue but you can also find it online. You can mix the craquelin by hand but it’s much easier to get it nice and smooth with an electric mixer and I promise you want it nice and smooth. 

Ingredients

4 salmon fillets, about 1.5 lbs or 800g altogether, at room temperature

Juice of 1/2 lemon, plus wedges for serving

For the craquelin pastry topping:

2 slightly rounded tablespoons unsalted butter (about 30g), at room temperature

1/2 teaspoon demerara sugar

1 teaspoon smoked sea salt flakes (I used Maldon.)

Sprinkle freshly grated nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon pul biber (aleppo pepper) or substitute 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, plus extra to serve, if you like

1 fat clove garlic, crushed and minced

2 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves picked off and chopped, plus extra sprigs to serve

3 tablespoons plain flour

Method

Preheat your oven to 425°F or 218°C and prepare your baking pan by lining it with baking parchment.

Use electric beaters to make the craquelin pastry topping by creaming the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add in the salt, nutmeg, pul biber, garlic, thyme and flour.

Beat again until it’s thoroughly combined and spreadable.

Put the salmon on the lined baking pan, skin-side down. Dry the tops thoroughly with a paper towel. If the fish is wet, it’s a challenge to get the craquelin to stick and spread. 

Divide the craquelin dough between the salmon fillets. Spread each over the top of the fish using the back of a spoon. 

Pop the pan in your preheated oven and bake for 15 minutes. Finish it off under the broiler for 1-2 minutes or until the top is golden and the fish is just cooked through.

Sprinkle the fillets with the lemon juice, then add an extra sprig of thyme to each and a pinch more aleppo pepper or cayenne, if desired. 

Enjoy!

It's the second Friday of the month so that means it's time for my Fish Friday Foodie friends to share recipes with you. Our theme today is Salmon Chanted Evening 🤣   but feel free to make these for lunch as well! Many thanks to our host, Sue of Palatable Pastime for the fun theme name and all her behind the scenes work! 

• Chili Glazed Salmon from Karen’s Kitchen Stories
• Creamy Garlic Butter Salmon from Making Miracles
• Salmon Burgers With Cocktail Sauce from Sneha’s Recipe
• Salmon with Lemon Caper Butter from Palatable Pastime
• Savory Craquelin Roast Salmon from Food Lust People Love
• Smoked Salmon Pasta from A Day in the Life on the Farm

Would you like to join Fish Friday Foodies? We post and share new seafood/fish recipes on the third Friday of the month. To join our group please email Wendy at wendyklik1517 (at) gmail.com. Visit our Facebook page and Pinterest page for more wonderful fish and seafood recipe ideas.

Pin this Savory Craquelin Pastry Roast Salmon!

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Sourdough Tangzhong Bread #BreadBakers

This Sourdough Tangzhong Bread is flavorful with a wonderful texture, perfect for eating on its own or toasted with butter and jam. Start a day or two ahead of when you want to bake for the best flavor.

Like many of us, I took the lockdown days of this pandemic as an opportunity to create a sourdough starter. I did have one before we left Dubai but I am not a dedicated enough owner to try to transport it in an airplane. The more devoted among you will probably be horrified to hear that I tipped my unnamed starter out, washed the jar and didn’t even feel guilty. 

That said, I’ve been enjoying this one in a variety of recipes. You might want to try my sourdough pancakes or sourdough chocolate Bundt cake. Both delicious. Still haven’t named my starter yet though, just in case it needs to go at some point. Or I kill it. 

As for the tangzhong, I learned all about it when I made my first loaf with the method, a rye bread where it came in very handy to add structure and substance. When the flour you are using is low in gluten, like rye, knowing how to make a tangzhong is a very good thing! Making it in the microwave was such a breeze that I’ll never do it any other way now. 

N.B. An accurate thermometer is essential for this recipe. 

Sourdough Tangzhong Bread

This recipe is adapted from one on Food Geek. The author says his is not a recipe for beginners so I simplified it. While I didn’t get as airy a loaf as he did, we were super pleased with the flavor and texture. 

Ingredients for two round loaves

For the tangzhong:

1/2 cup or 64g bread flour

1 cup + 2 1/2 tablespoons or 275ml water

For the dough:

4 1/4 cups or 540g bread flour

1 1/3 cups or 170g whole-grain wheat flour

2 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 2/3 cups or 380ml water

Tangzhong 

3/4 cup or 170g sourdough starter

Method

Make tangzhong by mixing the flour and water with a whisk in a microwaveable bowl. 

Microwave on high until the mixture is above 149°F or 65°C. It took about 1 minute and 40 seconds in my 1000W microwave. Whisk halfway through then whisk again at the end. Your tangzhong will be thick and glossy. 

Set the tangzhong aside to cool to at least 86°F or 30°C.

To make the dough, add 4 1/4 cups or 531g bread flour, 172g whole-grain wheat flour, and 16g salt to the bowl of your stand mixer. 

Add 1 2/3 cups or 380ml of water to the bowl along with the cooled tangzhong.

Incorporate all the water into the flour mixture using your paddle beater or bread hook. Just keep mixing until there's no dry flour left. Cover the bowl with a little cling film or a damp towel and set it aside for 30 minutes. 

Add 170g of the sourdough starter on top of the dough and use the bread hook to incorporate it. 

Cover the bowl again with cling film or a damp towel and let it rest again for another 30 minutes. 

Rather than traditional kneading, the gluten strands are formed and stretched in this dough by performing three sets of coil folds spaced out by 30 minutes. I’m going to save us all a long explanation by including this YouTube video that shows you exactly what to do. Here's the link in case the video isn't working. https://youtu.be/6JQm2n4aVZc

You want to do this once, wait 30 minutes, do it again, wait 30 minutes, then do the final coil fold for a total of three times in all.

Cover the bowl again with cling film or a damp towel and set it somewhere warm for about an hour or until it has doubled in size. 

Put the bowl in a refrigerator for 24-48 hours. 

On the day you are ready to bake, remove the dough from the refrigerator and divide and shape the dough by cutting it in half with a bench scraper.

Shape each half into a ball. Stretch each side out and fold it up and over the ball until you’ve done that from all four sides. Pinch the ends together. 

Use the scraper to flip the ball over onto a square of baking parchment. Sprinkle on flour liberally and use the scraper to tuck the edges of the dough into a snug circle. Repeat for the other dough ball.

Transfer the dough balls on the baking parchment to your baking pan. 

Sprinkle the dough balls with extra flour and put the whole pan inside a plastic bag. To make sure it doesn’t stick to the dough balls, I like to blow it full of air and secure the opening with a clip. Set aside in a warm place to rise for about 1 hour.

About half way through the rising time, put an empty baking pan or iron skillet on the bottom rack and preheat your oven to 450°F or 232°C.

Carefully remove the baking pan from the plastic bag. Put the kettle on now because you are going to need one cup or 240ml boiling water when you put the loaves in the oven. 

Use a sharp knife or lame to score the dough. This will allow the loaves to rise and expand as they bake. 

When your oven is sufficiently preheated, put the bread pan on the middle rack of your oven and carefully pour about 1 cup or 240ml boiling water into the empty pan or skillet on the bottom rack. Quickly close the oven door. 

Bake the loaves for about 35-40 minutes or until they are golden and sound hollow when thumped.

Take the bread out and put it on a wire rack. Let the loaves cool completely before slicing. 

Enjoy!

This month my Bread Bakers are all sharing bread recipes using a tangzhong. Check out the links below! Many thanks to our host, Karen of Karen’s Kitchen Stories!

• Easy Cinnamon Rolls from The Wimpy Vegetarian
• Eggless Nasturtium Greens Sandwich Bread (Tangzhong Method) from Cook with Renu
• Japanese Chocolate Milk Bread from Passion Kneaded
• Japanese Milk Bread Buns from Ambrosia
• Japanese Milk Bread Rolls from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Pineapple Buns (Bolo Bao) from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Sourdough Pumpkin Babka from Zesty South Indian Kitchen
• Tangzhong Kolaches from A Messy Kitchen
• Tangzhong Loaf With Cinnamon Sugar Topping from Sneha's Recipe
• Tangzhong Pumpkin Cinnamon Buns from Magical Ingredients
• Tangzhong Sourdough Bread from Food Lust People Love

#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.

Pin this Sourdough Tangzhong Bread!

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