Hidden Rainbow Cake

 

 

Just in time for St. Patrick's Day I present to you a Hidden Rainbow Cake by way of Buttermilk by Sam.  Don't you just love how the vibrant colors look against the white cake?  There was definitely some trepidation on my part when I cut that first slice as I wondered if the hidden design would actually come through.  Although it did, I wish the rainbow itself would have been suspended more in the middle of the cake.  Oh well, something to strive for the next time I make this cake!

The cake itself is a real winner too, with a tender crumb and the most delicious vanilla flavor.  Never one to need an excuse to buy another cake pan I baked the cake in this ring mold, per the recommendation of the recipe's creator.   My theory is that the rainbow didn't bake in the center of the cake because I didn't put enough of the white batter in the bottom of the mold, which meant too much batter was leftover at the bottom.  As I re-read the previous sentence it sounds totally confusing, but if you just remember that the top of the baked cake is actually the bottom of the ring mold it will start to make some sense.  

I can envision many variations of this hidden design cake; don't limit yourself to just a rainbow.  You could tint the design using one color, but make it with an ombré effect, from lighter to darker tones.  Whatever colors you end up choosing I can guarantee that it will impress whoever eats this cake!

Gingerbread House Bundt Cake

 

November came and went by in a flash with very little baking on my end.  To be honest I just didn't have the motivation after returning from a holiday in Europe.  Perhaps subconsciously I was also storing my energy in preparation for the whirlwind of holiday baking and candy making that awaited me in December?

 

My first real bake for the holiday season is this super cute Gingerbread House Bundt Cake using this Nordic Ware pan.   For the cake itself I used White Lily Flour's recipe for a cream cheese pound cake.  I need another bundt pan like a fish needs a bicycle but I couldn't help myself.  The design on this pan was too cute to pass up and will be added to my growing bundt collection.  

 

 

What I especially love about a bundt cake is how easily you can achieve fantastic results with very little effort.  Especially ideal for you novice bakers out there.  Let the cake pan do all the work for you!  But, whenever making a bundt cake the golden rule you have to follow is to grease the pan well.  I swear by Baker's Joy cooking spray (with flour) and 99% of the time my cakes release without any issues.

Let the holiday baking extravaganza begin!

   

Applesauce Bundt Cake

 

Autumn is finally here and after making half a dozen cream tarts last month I was ready for some fall  baking.  First on the docket is this super easy to make and super delicious Applesauce Bundt Cake.  I did a google search for "applesauce" cake and it came back with this recipe.  No equipment required and everything is mixed together in one bowl.  As Ina Garten would say, "How easy is that?"

Since I'd never made this cake before I wanted to test it out using just 1/2 the recipe and baked it in a 6-cup bundt pan.  The only other adjustments I made to the recipe were to 1) add chopped honeycrisp apples to the cake batter and 2) finish the cooled cake with a thick glaze made with apple cider and powdered sugar.  If you read the recipe reviews you'll find that several people commented to reduce the oil amount by 1/2 cup and replace it with an equal amount of applesauce, to give the cake more apple flavor.  Next time I think I'll do that.

Lemon Bundt Cake

Spring is in full swing in the Bay Area and I am here for it.  After the marathon baking I did in preparation for Easter I was looking for something delicious, yet simple to make and this Lemon Bundt Cake fits the bill.  I've made quite a few lemon cakes for this blog but surprisingly this recipe from Cook's Illustrated was one that I hadn't made before.   The cakes I've made previously had sour cream or cream cheese as an ingredient but this one has buttermilk which helps to create a tender texture. 

As is the case with any bundt cake,  a key to its success is ensuring the baked cake releases nicely from the pan.  I made sure to grease my fleur de lis pan really well with shortening and then coat it generously with a dusting of flour.  My cake released beautifully and you could really see the beautiful design too. 

This cake is really delicious and really doesn't want for anything.  The crumb was light and tender and there was plenty of lemon flavor.   I am definitely going to be making this again.

Cranberry Orange Bundt Cake

 

I had a Costco size bag of cranberries sitting in my fridge that were leftover from a cancelled Thanksgiving and I needed to make something with them fast.  Fortuitously I happened upon Meringue Design's post for a Cranberry Orange Cake...bingo!  Rather than make the cake in a square pan I decided to bake it in a small bundt pan which I thought would be perfect to grace my holiday table.

The addition of sour cream in the cake makes the crumb really tender and I love the tart bursts of fresh cranberry.  To decorate my cake I gave it an ample dusting of powdered sugar and sugared cranberries.   Sugared cranberries couldn't be easier to make.  Simply take some freshly rinsed cranberries and dip them in egg white and then roll them in sugar.  Let the fruit dry completely and then place on top of the cake.

German Chocolate Bundt Cake

 

Did you know November 15th is National Bundt Day?  Any holiday that celebrates bundt cakes is alright in my books.   Serendipitously I recently bought Martha Stewart's latest tome, Martha Stewart's Cake Perfection, and the first recipe I wanted to make was the German Chocolate Bundt Cake.  From the shiny ganache frosting to the decadent coconut pecan filling it was just screaming, "Make Me!"  It was also the perfect excuse (as if I needed one) to buy Nordicware Fleur De Lis Bundt pan.

I diverted slightly from the recipe by using buttermilk, instead of whole milk and white vinegar, because that's what I had on hand and I think it makes for a moister crumb.  The best part of the cake is really the coconut pecan filling; it is absolutely delicious and not too sweet.  I couldn't help but sneak samples of it as I was making the cake batter.  One tip: the instructions say to fill the cake pan with all the batter and then dollop the filling on top,  but I  found the filling didn't sink to the bottom of the pan as the instructions stated.  Next time I'll spread half the cake batter, then add the filling and finally the remaining cake batter.   

The cake baked up beautifully and tasted fantastic.  I can't think of a better way to celebrate National Bundt Day!

Hummingbird Cake

Can you believe this is the first time I've ever made a Hummingbird Cake?  I'd heard of this Southern dessert before but never actually got around to trying it for myself.  Ironic if you think about it because it contains so many things that I love: bananas, pineapple and pecans.

I found a no-fuss recipe from Cook's Country and decided to turn it into a bundt cake rather than the traditional layer.  I adore anything pineapple and what I love about this recipe is that the pineapple flavor is really amplified by reducing the juice to a concentrate. 

To finish the cake I made a simple icing using powdered sugar, pineapple juice and a drop or two of yellow food color.  It definitely has a technicolor effect, but I actually kind of like that!

My Easter Table

Self-isolation and social distancing sucks and I think most people would agree with me on that.  I've been in it for a little over a month at this point, ever since San Francisco issued the shelter in place orders at the beginning of March.  I have my good days and bad days to be sure, but with Easter coming up I was determined to do things that would lift my spirits.  Plus, it gave me a great excuse to do even more baking!

Although I can't host the Easter brunch that I would have liked this year I can still decorate my table, right?  I took advantage of the online promotions at Williams-Sonoma and Pottery Barn and bought a colony of ceramic bunnies and eggs to use as props.  I also found some really cute paraphernalia and tons of Easter candy at my local Target.
 

I didn't really have any preset idea of what I wanted my table to look like.  My main goal was to create something that was pretty and I think I've accomplished that.  Pastel colors are used throughout the tablescape to evoke spring and renewal.  And who doesn't need that right about now?  

The baked goods I made included iced sugar cookies, mini bundt cakes and gluten-free carrot cupcakes.   At the center of the table was the pièce de résistance, an Easter bunny made of Rice Krispies treats.   Can it get any cuter than that?  It was so simple to make using a Nordicware Easter bunny pan I bought a few years ago (similar pan found here.)

This Easter table is bringing all the good feels for me and I hope it's  sparked a little joy for you.  Happy Easter to anyone who is celebrating and to everyone out there, please stay safe, healthy and STAY HOME!

Resources:

Scalloped Green Plates and Raffia Drinking Glasses: Aerin x Williams-Sonoma 

Placemats: H&M Home

Wooden Egg Placecard Holders, Happy Easter Place Cards, Raffia Carrots, Pastel Egg, Gold Cutlery: Target

Lemon Streusel Cream Cheese Pound Cake

This was me the other day:  standing in front of the fridge and eyeing a big bag of lemons and a package of cream cheese.  What to do with them?  First thing that came to mind was a lemon cream cheese pound cake.  A) it's relatively easy to pull together and B) could feed the crowd at the office.  Done! To gild the lily a little further I decided to add a streusel topping.  Streusel qualifies the cake as a breakfast food, right?     

Be forewarned that while the batter comes together pretty quickly, the cake does take a while to bake in the oven.  I had to check for doneness three times when I made this one for the blog and even then it wasn't 100% to my satisfaction.  Seasoned bakers will notice that the inside top part of the cake could have taken another ten minutes.  Impatience on my part was to blame! It's long baking duration was most likely attributed to starting the oven at 325 degrees which was too low.  Next time I'll get the oven to 350 and then bake.  Oh well, still tastes pretty dang good!

Maida Heatter's East 62nd Street Lemon Cake

Call it strange but in all my years of baking I'm pretty sure this is the first recipe I've ever made from Maida Heatter.  Who is Maida Heatter?  She's sometimes referred to as the "Queen of Desserts" and is the author of countless baking and dessert cookbooks.  This specific recipe, one of her most famous, caught my attention recently when it was published in the New York Times.  

It was the cake's name that really intrigued me.  It was Maida's daughter who had originally found the recipe and sent it to her mother.  In homage, Maida named the cake after the Upper East Side street where her daughter lived.  Kind of cool, huh?

What I love about this recipe is that it calls for some really basic ingredients that everyone has in their kitchen at any given time.  No fuss, no muss.  The finished cake is really delicious with a tender and moist crumb.

If you're going to use an intricate bundt pan I highly recommend greasing it liberally to ensure the cake releases completely.  I tend to use a lot of butter-flavored Crisco followed by a list dusting of flour.   My cake came out of the pan like a dream with the beautiful pattern completely intact.

 

Tunnel of Fudge Cake

My friend Link texted me a few weeks ago in search of a chocolate bundt recipe.  I initially referred him to this post already on my blog for deep chocolate sour cream cake.  Then I thought to myself, what if you didn't have sour cream and just wanted to make a cake with ingredients you normally already had on hand?

In search for something easier, I was thumbing through my copy of this Cook's Country cookbook and fortuitously happened upon a recipe for Tunnel of Fudge Cake.  I loved the idea of a moist chocolate bundt with a fudgy center.   I've never made this cake before and I don't recall having tasted one either so that was enough motivation for me to try the recipe.

After reviewing the list of ingredients I do admit I was concerned about the copious amounts of sugar it has: granulated, brown and powdered!  My anxiety was quickly alleviated once I tasted the finished cake as I found the rich chocolate flavor tempered any sweetness I had feared.   

The key to success with this cake is to make sure you don't over bake it, otherwise you won't get the lovely "tunnel of fudge."  Follow what the recipe says and test that it's done by gently pressing your finger on the surface of the cake and it springs back gently.  Also, I only used half the chocolate glaze, which was more than enough, so I ended up baking a second cake a few days later! 

Aloha Bundt Cake

If ever there was a thing called baking bad luck, this Aloha Bundt was its poster child.  Why?  Because for some crazy reason this particular pan seems to incite power outages.  Read on and you'll see what I mean.

Proof #1: I found this fantastic Nordic Ware pineapple bundt pan on sale at Sur La Table in Palo Alto.  Anyone who knows me knows I'm crazy about pineapples, they're my favorite fruit of all time.  Just as I was about to pay all the power in the store (and mall) went out.   No till, no purchase.  Argh!  Luckily the electricity was restored half an hour later and I was able to complete the transaction and take my pan home.  But you can be sure I was worried I'd have to leave it behind in the shop.

Proof #2: Got up early this past Sunday to make my favorite lemon poppy seed sour cream bundt cake using the new pan.  I was supposed to meet up with some friends for brunch later that morning and wanted to make sure the cake was done beforehand.  Forty five minutes in to baking and suddenly all the power in my flat went out.  Nothing.  Nada.  Zip.  Rien.  No worries I thought, I've got a gas range.  Not so fast.  Little did I know that while the oven was fueled by gas, electricity kept it running.  Suffice it to say 3 hours later and the power came back on.  Luckily I was able to finish baking the cake without any issues but it was definitely a close call. 

Zebra Bundt Cake

If you peeked in to my pantry you'd think I was trying to set up my own kitchen housewares shop.  I can't help it - I'm the first to admit I'm a total addict.  Call me a sucker for the latest cake pan or baking equipment out there.  

The inspiration for this Zebra Bundt Cake stemmed from my recent acquisition of NordicWare's Kugelhopf pan.  I'm a huge fan of this company and love all their bundt pans.  Over the years I've amassed quite a collection because they never seem to fail in terms of quality and aesthetic.  I call it effortless baking when the pan does all the cake decorating work for you.   

My intention was to make a marble cake and when I happened upon Bakers Royale's Zebra Bundt on Pinterest it immediately caught my eye.  I just love how the alternating stripes of vanilla and chocolate batter make the cake look so interesting and inviting.  When I took a closer look at the recipe I was even more pleased because it was based on one from Tish Boyle's The Cake Book.   Tish's cookbook is one of my favorites so I knew it was going to be a winner.  I wasn't wrong.

The crumb on this cake is really incredible, so tender, moist and melt in your mouth.  I was a tad bit concerned that the depth of the bundt pan would require extra baking time, leading to a drier cake, but this was not the case at all.  I'll definitely be making this recipe again!

Deep Chocolate Sour Cream Pound Cake

A recent conversation between my friend and I:

B: "Next time you bake can you make something chocolate?  You know how much I love it."  

Me: "Hmmmm...I'll think about it."

Anyone who knows me well would not be surprised by my response.  Now don't get me wrong, I do like chocolate - especially the dark variety - but it's not my preferred flavor profile.  I tend to lean more towards vanilla, lemon and other fruits.  Despite my less than fanatical reverence towards all things cacao I ended up making this chocolate pound cake for a couple of reasons.  1) I was looking for an excuse to use this recently acquired Nordic Ware Party Bundt pan and 2) I had a ton of sour cream in my fridge.   

In retrospect I was doing myself a disservice by not making this cake sooner.  The recipe comes from Tish Boyle's The Cake Book, a must-have for any cake lover out there.  I've made several recipes from this book and none have disappointed. As promised by its title, this cake has deep chocolate flavor with a moist and tender crumb.   Utterly delicious!  While the cake is fantastic on its own it tastes even better when topped with the ganache glaze.  

I have a strong feeling B will approve.

Monkey Bread

This is my last post of 2015 and I think I'm ending the year on a really high note.  I don't exaggerate when I proclaim this Monkey Bread is absolutely A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!  I'm kicking myself for never trying to make it before.  Dare I say I may even prefer it over cinnamon rolls because it's so simple to make and so fun to eat.   

I've seen versions that use store bought bread dough but it's so much more delicious when you make it from scratch yourself.  This recipe from Cook's Country is easy to follow and would be great for the little ones to help with.

The yeasted dough is divided in to small pieces, rolled in melted butter, tossed in brown sugar and cinnamon and finally baked in a bundt pan.  The brown sugar and butter melts in to a yummy, gooey caramel that perfectly coats the bread.   How perfect would it be for breakfast or brunch?  

For those of you who want a smaller bread you can easily cut the recipe in half and bake in a small bundt pan.  That's what I did for the monkey bread in these pictures.  

Wishing everyone a wonderful new year!  Happy 2016!!!!

Lemon Poppy Seed Sour Cream Bundt Cake

Could I think of a more superfluous name for this cake - Lemon Poppy Seed Sour Cream Bundt.  I admit it doesn't roll off the tongue so easily but I couldn't help myself, the name says it all.  The naissance of this beauty came from my desire to clear out my fridge of sour cream and lemons.  A rather inauspicious beginning I admit but at least it was a noble cause! 

Luckily for me the recipe is very straight forward and comes together in no time at all.   This is the second bundt cake I've made in a week.  While I love how simple and nostalgic they are, I do confess it's the cake pan that I'm a bit more obsessed with.   My favorite is this one by Nordic Ware...a true gem in any baker's kitchen.

I will pay this cake the ultimate compliment by saying it's as if it came from the box.  What?@!  Yes, you read correctly and it's no joke!  What I mean is that the texture is amazingly moist and tender, not dense and heavy like you find most bundt cakes to be.   My only critique is that I want MORE lemon flavor so next time I think I'll brush on a lemon infused simple syrup while the cake is still warm but before it cools and is glazed.