Fruity rum bundt cake

I saw this recipe for this fruity rum cake almost a year ago.  I had wanted to make it for New Year's Eve last year, but with my work schedule and the fact that bundt cakes take a long time to bake, well, let's just say it wasn't in the cards.  I thought about it on and off since then, but never had an occasion to make it.  Until now.

Rosh Hashanah is upon us.  The season of apples and honey and all things sweet for a sweet New Year.  But wait?!  There aren't apples or honey in this cake!  Blasphemy!

I decided that golden raisins and dried apricots and dried (ok, these are tart) cherries are definitely sweet, and therefore totally appropriate for Rosh Hashanah!  The only adjustment I made to this recipe is that I used 1/2 tsp cinnamon instead of cloves, because I utterly hate them.  Since cloves are, in my opinion, stronger than cinnamon, I used a little more.  And I have to say, the flavor of this cake was Ah-maz-ing!  B and I were devouring the cupcakes I made with the extra batter!

When I served it at the holiday meal, it was met with a resounding round of approval.  My father, who doesn't like rum, said the cake flavor was great and there was just a hint of rum that was delicious.  My grandmother, who is (rightfully so) a critic of baked goods, said it was delicious, and even took home a piece to enjoy the following day!!!  This cake is a total winner!

Fruity Rum Bundt Cake
From Bon Appetit

This cake calls for a 12 cup bundt pan.  If you have a 10 cup bundt cake pan (like I do), the recipe recommends reserving 2 cups of batter and baking into 8 cupcakes.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup chopped dried apricots
1/2 cup dried tart cherries
1/2 cup golden raisins
1/2 cup plus 2 Tbsp gold rum, divided
3 Tbsp plus 3 cups all purpose flour, plus more for pan
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for pan
5 tsp baking powder
1.5 tsp Kosher salt
1/4 tsp ground cloves -- I used 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon instead
2 Tbsp vegetable oil (believe it or not, they did not have vegetable oil at my Whole Foods.  I used Canola oil)
1 1/4 cups plus 2 Tbsp (or more) sour cream -- I ran out of sour cream and ended up using 1 cup sour cream plus 1/4 cup applesauce....by the time I iced the cake, I was able to pick up more sour cream for the icing
2 cups raw sugar, plus more for serving
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
7 large egg yolks
1 large egg
1 cup powdered sugar
Gold sugar, for a festive touch

Directions:

Combine apricots, cherries, raisins, and 1/2 cup rum in a small bowl.
Let sit for 30 minutes to allow fruit to rehydrate.
Drain, reserving the rum.
Sprinkle the fruit with 3 Tbsp flour and toss to coat.
Set aside.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Thoroughly butter the pan (don't skimp!), making sure to get into all the curves and grooves of your pan.
Dust with flour (do this even if your plan has a nonstick coating).
Whisk together the baking powder, salt, cloves (or in my case cinnamon), and 3 cups of flour in a medium bowl to combine.
Whisk reserved rum, oil, and 1 1/4 cups sour cream (in my case sour cream + applesauce) in another medium bowl to combine.

Using an electric mixer (I used my kitchenaid), beat 2 cups of raw sugar and 1 cup of butter in a large bowl until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes.
Scrape in seeds of vanilla bean (reserve pod for another use.....vanilla sugar, anyone?!).
Add yolks and egg, 1 at a time, beating to blend after each addition.
Beat until mixture is light and very fluffy, about 4 minutes.
Reduce speed to low.
Add dry ingredients in 3 additions, alternating with sour cream mixture in 2 additions, starting and ending with dry ingredients.
Fold in reserved dried fruit.

Scrape batter into prepared pan.
Smooth top of cake.
Tap pan firmly a few times on the counter to force batter into the edges of the pan.

Bake cake until golden brown and a tested inserted into the cake comes out clean, 60-70 minutes.
Transfer pan to a wire rack.
Let cake cool in pan for 15 minutes.
Invert cake onto a serving plate and carefully remove the pan.
Brush the warm cake with the remaining 2 Tbsp of rum.
Let cool completely, about 3 hours.

(I froze my cake, since I was serving it a few days later.  I recommend freezing the cake wrapped in saran wrap and tin foil, uniced.  Thaw cake before serving and ice cake.)

Mix powdered sugar and remaining 2 tbsp sour cream in another small bowl.
Thin with more sour cream if desired, until smooth.
Drizzle glaze over cake, working along the center of the top of the cake for even coverage,
Sprinkle with raw and gold sugar.
Let sit 10 minutes for glaze to set before slicing with a serrated knife.

Fresh apple cake with honey glaze

Every Rosh Hashana, I debate for a second or two about making a non-apple dessert.  But, alas, I always end up with an apple centered dessert.  Four years ago I made an apple pizza, something I remember distinctly, since it was right after B and I met. But I digress...

This apple cake appealed to me for two reasons.  First off, it has a honey glaze.  Honey.  The other big sweet food for Rosh Hashana.  Apples and honey are used to symbolize the beginning of a sweet new year (choruses of the kids Rosh Hashana song are ringing in my head now...."dip the apples in the honey...have a happy sweet new year"). Secondly, it's a bundt cake.  Bundt cakes are, in my opinion, way easier to transport than a beautiful layer cake. And considering that my apple cake is going from downtown Manhattan to Brooklyn (via a 2.5 mile walk) and then back up to midtown Manhattan, before a train ride to Westchester, I figured a dessert that was less likely to be demolished en route was a nice option. 

The one change I made to the cake was that I cut the oil down and replaced it with some apple sauce.  Given the fact that we'll be eating a super huge meal (my mom's brisket....OMG I'm drooling just thinking about it!), plus the added apple flavor from the apple sauce, I thought that it would be a nice addition!

Paula Deen's Uncle Bob's Fresh Apple Cake
From Food Newtork

Ingredients:

For the Honey Glaze:

1 cup confectioner's sugar
2 Tbsp honey
2 Tbsp milk

For the Apple Cake:

3 cups diced peeled Granny Smith apples, about 2 apples (I needed 2.5 apples)
1 cup lightly toasted chopped walnuts
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp ground cinnamon
3 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 cups sugar
1 1/4 cups vegetable oil (I used 3/4 cups apple sauce and 1/2 cup canola oil)
3 eggs

Directions:

Make the glaze:

Add all the glaze ingredients to a small bowl and stir until smooth.
Set the bowl aside.

Make the cake:

Preheat the oven to 325F.
Lightly grease a bundt or tube pan.  I debated flouring it afterwards but decided against it since the recipe didn't say.  My cake got stuck when I tried taking it out and actually broke.  So I instantly regretted not flouring the pan.  I recommend you do so.

Toast the walnuts.
Let cool.

In a bowl, mix together the apples, walnuts, vanilla, and cinnamon.
In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt.

Using an electric mixer, beat together the sugar, oil, apple sauce, and eggs in a large bowl.
Add in the dry ingredients.
Beat until completely combined.
Fold in the apple mixture.

Scrape the batter into the prepared pan.
Bake for 1 hour and 30 minutes or until a tester inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean.  Mine was done after about 1 hour and 15 minutes.  I'd say start watching after an hour.

Allow the cake to fully cool in the pan, about 1 hour.
Turn the cake out onto a plate.

Drizzle the cake with some honey glaze before serving.

The cake can be wrapped tightly and stored in the fridge for 3-5 days.

Cream cheese stuffed carrot cake

This year, I baked a cake for Yom Kippur's pre-fast dinner and then also one for the break fast the following day.  The cinnamon apple pie cake I baked for the pre-fast baked up quite well, with the exception of a little smoke in my apartment.  I chalked it up to the extra cinnamon sugar I put on the cake.  I turned the oven off; let it cool a little.  I even turned on the air conditioning in the apartment and cracked the windows a little.

Then, it came time to bake this cream cheese stuffed carrot cake.  I started the cake and realized that I had run out of granulated sugar (I was about 1/4 cup short) so I subbed in a little extra light brown sugar.  No biggie.  I stood there and hand grated 3 cups of carrots.  I preheated the oven.  And then the oven started smoking.  This?  This was "a biggie."  Smoke (minimal amounts) was coming out from behind the stove top and then also when I opened the oven door.  Scratch that, I wasn't baking the cake in my apartment.  It was 11:25 p.m. on a week night.  I frantically texted my sister, who lives about 15 blocks away from me, to see if I could go to her apartment early the next morning to bake the cake, which she of course said I could.  Then, a few minutes later, B called me to chat, and I told him about my oven ordeal, and he suggested I go bake the cake at his apartment...then.

So I packaged up the cake -- already assembled and in the pan -- with layers of tin foil, then tied it in a plastic bag, and then put it in another plastic bag.  Then I -- and the cake -- hopped in a cab (at midnight) and took it 80+ blocks to B's apartment so that I could bake the cake.  So, basically, this is my very long winded way of saying that in case the cake doesn't look perfect, please forgive me.  This cake has been through a lot (not to mention it's trip to Brooklyn that morning and then to Westchester to my parent's house...and then to my aunt's house to break the fast).

Just a note -- this cake is nut and raisin free (nut free for my allergic cousin, raisin free because one of my sisters doesn't like raisins and also because I forgot them at the store).  Personally, I think it needed the raisins, but I won't forget them from the store next time I make it.

Cream Cheese Stuffed Carrot Cake
(Assembled by me, individual recipes get their credit below)

Carrot cake 
(the original recipe was for cupcakes, but I decided to make a bundt cake this time)

Ingredients (for 24 full-sized cupcakes):

4 large eggs
3/4 cup canola oil
1/2 cup apple sauce (I used unsweetened)
1 cup golden (light) brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp nutmeg
3 tsp (1 Tbsp) ground cinnamon
3 tsp (1 Tbsp) vanilla extract
3 cups grated carrots (hand grated....trust me.  Freshly hand-grated.  Don't buy the pre-shredded carrots)
1 cup crushed pineapple, drained
1 cup chopped walnuts (like I said above, I subbed in 1 cup of raisins...but no one would fault you (or me, in the future) for using 1/2 cup each of chopped walnuts and raisins...however this time I left them both out)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350F.
Spray a bundt pan with baking spray.

Using an electric or stand mixer, mix the eggs, canola oil, applesauce, brown sugar, and sugar until smooth.
In another bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, nutmeg, and cinnamon until combined.
Slowly mix in dry ingredients until no clumps remain.
Stir in vanilla, carrots, pineapple, and chopped walnuts (or raisins, or both).

Pour about 1/2 to 2/3 of the batter into the prepared pan.
Add the cream cheese filling here (see below for the recipe and directions). 
Add the rest of the carrot cake batter.
Bake for 55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Allow to cool.

Dust the top of the cake with powdered sugar before serving.
(I didn't bring my powdered sugar home with me, and my aunt didn't have any, so I left it off this time.)

Cream Cheese Filling
From Alida's Kitchen

Ingredients:

1 8-oz package cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla

Directions:

Add all ingredients in a bowl and mix well.
Add to cake in the step above.

Blueberry bundt cake

My friend E's mom lives in Maine and she came down this weekend with a load of lobster meat for a delicious lobsterfest!  B and I were supposed to be away but due to a change in plans, we ended up actually being in the city for it.  Once we found out we'd be able to attend, I offered my baking services to E.  I was thinking beach-themed cupcakes, lobster-shaped cookies, and lobster and other beach-related chocolate lollipops, but was really up for anything.  E thought a blueberry dessert would be fun keeping with a "Maine" theme -- and I couldn't agree more!

So I set out to find the perfect blueberry dessert.  At first I thought blueberry shortcake, which them changed to blueberry biscuits with vanilla ice cream and blueberry sauce, and ultimately ended with a blueberry buttermilk bundt cake served with vanilla ice cream.  (Admittedly, the thought of blueberry cupcakes also (briefly) passed through my head.).

This cake was delicious (and super easy to make, too!), and went perfectly with our delicious lobster lunch that came straight from Maine!

Blueberry Buttermilk Bundt Cake
From Food Network

Ingredients:

2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus more for the pan
3 cups plus 2 Tbsp flour
2.5 tsp baking powder
1 1/4 tsp salt
1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
1/4 cup vegetable oil
4 large eggs, at room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup buttermilk
2 cups blueberries (about 1 pint -- mine was a bit more than 1 pint)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350F
Generously butter a nonstick 12 cup bundt pan -- I used Pam for Baking -- it works like a charm!
Whisk 3 cups flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl.

Beat 2 sticks butter, granulated sugar, and vegetable oil in a bowl with a mixer on medium-high until fluffy, at least 5 minutes.
Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed.
Reduce mixer speed to low.
Beat in the eggs 1 at a time.
Beat in vanilla.
Add about 1/3 of the flour mixture and half of the buttermilk, beat until almost incorporated.
Add another 1/3 of the flour mixture and the remaining buttermilk.
Beat, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed, until just combined.
Add the remaining flour mixture and beat for 30 seconds.
Finish incorporating the flour by hand to avoid overmixing (mine was a little "overmixed" and it was fine!)

Toss the blueberries with the remaining 2 Tbsp of flour in a small bowl.
Spoon 1/3 of the batter evenly into the prepared pan.
Sprinkle half the blueberries on top, then cover with another 1/3 of the batter.
Scatter the remaining blueberries on top and then cover with the rest of the batter.
Smooth the top.
Bake until the cake is golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 1 hour to 1 hour and 10 minutes (mine took 55 minutes).

Transfer to a rack and let cool for 30 minutes in the pan.
Run a small sharp knife around the edge of the pan to loosen the cake (I didn't have to since I used the Pam, the cake popped right out.  Literally.).
Invert the cake onto the rack to cool completely (I inverted mine onto a cardboard cake round, since I needed it on there to transport it to the Lobsterfest.)

*I served mine with vanilla ice cream, since I think that vanilla ice cream and blueberries are a perfect summer dessert!!  I was also going to make some homemade blueberry sauce but got too lazy...*

Banana cake with chocolate ganache

This year my aunt is hosting Mother's Day.  Instead of showing up with a cake without any warning, I decided to email her ahead of time to offer up some home-baked goods.  I had no idea what I was going to make, but I wanted to ensure that she didn't want me showing up empty handed.  She replied to my email, and not only did she want me to bring something, she had specific requests!  Namely some "carrot cake mini muffins" and a "chocolate-iced banana cake"  (my aunt's two favorites).  This should come as no surprise considering that I made banana cupcakes with chocolate icing for Mother's Day last year, and the year before I made a cute little centerpiece with banana cake-chocolate icing cake balls!  Listen, it is, after all, their day (my mom, my aunts, my grandma...and all the other mothers out there), so they should get the desserts that they want, right?

But not wanting to acquiesce so easily, I decided I'd make a riff on the "chocolate-iced banana cake" request and instead make a banana bundt cake with a chocolate ganache drizzle.  Besides the fact that I'm on a bit of a bundt cake spree lately (there was the red velvet one from when B's brother was visiting, and the daiquiri one, too), I also find them a bit easier to transport since they don't seem as fragile as a regular ole layer cake.

I made the cake exactly as the directions stated, and then just had to adjust the baking time to account for the fact that I was making a bundt cake and not a 9 x 13 cake.

"Best Banana Cake"
From Inside BruCrew Life

Ingredients:

1/2 cup shortening
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
2 cups flour
1/2 cup buttermilk
3 brown bananas, smashed

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350F.
Grease baking pan.

In a large mixing bowl, cream together the shortening and sugar until fluffy.
Add the eggs, salt, and vanilla until creamy.
"Smash" the bananas, or rather mash them.  I found a fork worked fine.
Stir in the bananas.
Sift the flour, cinnamon, and baking soda together and add to the banana mixture, alternating with the buttermilk.

Place the batter into the prepared pan.
Bake at 350F for 45 minutes (for bundt cake).

Let cool completely on a wire rack.
Transfer to a serving plate.
Drizzle with chocolate ganache (recipe follows).

Chocolate Ganache
From Alton Brown
(I quartered the recipe, since I just wanted to glaze the cake with the ganache.  It made just under a cup of ganache...and it was more than enough!  If you want your cake to have more glaze, half the recipe.  I cannot imagine needing the full recipe, which makes 3.5 cups of ganache)

Ingredients (for the full recipe; I quartered it):

16 oz bittersweet chocolate (I used semisweet), chopped fine
16 oz heavy cream

Directions:

Place the chopped chocolate in the bowl of a food processor.

Heat the heavy cream in the microwave for 3-4 minutes on high, or until it just begins to simmer (which is what I did, since I had 1/4 of the cream).  Be careful not to let it boil over.
Pour the cream over the chocolate and let sit for 2 minutes.
Process by pulsing several times until chocolate mixture is smooth.

Use as is for glazing (which is what I did).

*If you wish to make a lighter frosting (which wouldn't work for this cake, but would work if you made it into a flat cake or layer cake), allow it to come to room temperature (about 2 hours).
Once at room temperature, place in the bowl of a stand mixer and whisk on high for 2-3 minutes.

Daiquiri (rum and lime) bundt cake

I wanted to make some Cinco de Mayo-themed cupcakes, but after a long stressful day of work a week before Cinco de Mayo, it was too soon to bake them.  So in keeping with the theme, I decided I'd make a cake beforehand, and save the actual cupcakes to serve on May 5th (stay tuned for that in about a week :)).

I had the great idea (if I do say so myself) to make a margarita bundt cake.  I thought it would be pretty tasty.  I even stopped by the grocery store and picked up some limes (there's a lime shortage, and I wanted to make sure I was able to grab some.  Did you know about the lime shortage?  It's been in the news.  You can read about it here and here).  Only problem?  I had no tequila in my apartment!  But I did have some rum, so my margarita cake became daiquiri cake (I would've made it a mojito cake except I didn't have any mint).

But when I got to baking the cake, I had another problem....I only had 3 eggs!  But, amazingly, 3 eggs was exactly half of the eggs that I needed for the recipe.  So I halved the recipe, which might explain why my bundt cake doesn't look as tall as you'd imagine given the amounts of the ingredients listed below.

Daiquiri Cake
Based loosely on this Key Lime Pound (Bundt) Cake Recipe and the glaze adapted from this recipe

Ingredients:
(these amounts are for the original recipe, the cake I made halved the ingredients)

For the cake:

1 1/2 cups of butter (3 sticks), softened
3 cups sugar
6 large eggs
3 cups of flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 cup buttermilk (or milk)
1/2 cup rum (or if you wanted to make a margarita cake, tequila)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp lime zest (I added way more than that....I wanted the lime zest flecks to show up in the cake, but even with all that I added, that really didn't end up happening)
1/4 cup lime juice

For the glaze:

1 cup powdered sugar
1 1/2 Tbsp freshly squeezed lime juice
1/2 Tbsp rum
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
lime zest (I zested a lime and used about 2/3 of the zest in the glaze)

Additional lime zest to sprinkle on top.

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 325F.
Grease and flour a 10-inch/12-cup bundt pan (or use Pam for baking, like I did).

Beat butter until creamy.
Gradually add sugar, beating at medium until light and fluffy.
Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating just until blended after each addition.

Stir together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
Mix the rum and buttermilk in a 1 cup measuring cup.
Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture alternating with the buttermilk-rum mixture, beginning and ending with the dry mixture (I did dry, liquid, dry, liquid, dry).
Beat on low speed just until blended after each addition.
Stir in vanilla, lime zest, and lime juice.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan.

Bake at 325F for 1 hour and 15 minutes to 1 hour and 20 minutes or until a long wooden skewer inserted into the center comes out clean.
Cool the cake in the pan on a wire rack for 10-15 minutes.
Remove the cake from the pan and place it on the wire rack.

Make the glazw.
Whisk together the powdered sugar, lime juice, rum, and vanilla.
Add in lime zest.

Place a piece of foil or wax paper on the counter underneath the wire rack beneath the cake (the glaze will drip).
Immediately brush the glaze over the top and sides of the cake.
I sprinkled mine with a little bit of lime zest.

Allow to cool completely (about 1 hour).

Red velvet bundt cake

When I saw a recipe for a red velvet bundt cake a while ago, I was really intrigued.  I'd never seen a red velvet bundt cake before, but more importantly, I couldn't figure out why it had never occurred to me to make one before!  And while everyone loves my red velvet cupcakes, I didn't know if that recipe would work in a bundt cake or not, so when it came to making the bundt cake, I ended up using the recipe I found.

So the recipe sat in my virtual recipe box on Pinterest for a long time.  Until today.  See, B has family visiting from out of the country, and his visitor was talking about these cool new cupcakes at home, red velvet.  B told him how I baked all the time and made me show him pictures of my baking (I showed him B's favorite, the Samoa Cupcakes, and while he was flipping through pictures, he saw the red velvet ones I had made at that same time, about a year ago, for a friend's 30th birthday).

Since we're getting together at the end of the week, I figured I'd bake something red velvet for B's visitor.  Enter the aforementioned red velvet bundt cake.  The only thing I doctored with this recipe was the icing.  I wanted to make a white chocolate-cream cheese icing, so I decreased the powdered sugar (the white chocolate has sweetness of it's own), added the white chocolate, and added just a little extra milk to thin it out and make it pourable.  (And by the way, this makes a TON of icing....I ended up using about half of it on the cake.  I'm debating what I can use the rest of it for, but I'm sure I'll come up with something else to use it for.)

Red Velvet Bundt Cake
From Bird on a Cake

Ingredients:

For the cake:

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt (as I type this up, I am not 100% sure if I ended up adding the salt, but having tasted the cake already, I can say that if I left it out, it was still delicious!)
3 Tbsp cocoa powder (I used dark cocoa powder out of laziness, and I have to say, it made it absolutely delicious!!)
1 tsp white vinegar (I used cider vinegar because thats what I had at home, and thats what my other red velvet cake called for)
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs
1 cup buttermilk
1 oz red food coloring (thats 2 Tbsp.  I used 4 tsp (1 1/3 Tbsp) of gel coloring, which is richer and therefore I used a little less)

For the icing:

8 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
4 cups confectioners' sugar (I used just over 3)
1 tsp vanilla extract

4 oz white chocolate, melted and slightly cooled
1/4 cup milk (I used closer to 1/3 cup)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. 

Grease a Bundt pan really well (I used Pam for baking, and I sprayed it liberally, and the cake popped right out of the pan).  

Place one cupcake liner in a cupcake tin (this will be used for the garnish). 

In a medium bowl, mix eggs with a wire whisk. 

Add oil, vinegar, vanilla, buttermilk and food coloring. 

Whisk together and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, mix together all the dry ingredients. 

Add the wet ingredients and mix on medium high until combined.  

Fill cupcake liner half full with batter, then pour the rest of the batter into your Bundt pan. 

Bake the cupcake for 20-25 minutes, and bake the cake for 50-55 minutes.

Let the cake cool.

Make the icing.

Mix together the room temperature butter and cream cheese.

Add the sugar and vanilla.  I add the sugar in about 1/2 cup increments, for 2 reasons - (1) if you add it all at once, you will inevitably be wearing powdered sugar, and (2) that way you can adjust the level of sweetness.

Add the white chocolate.

Add the milk.

Pour over the cooled cake.

Crumble the cooled cupcake.

Sprinkle over the iced cake.

Happy 1st Birthday, JulieBakes!

Today, October 16th, is the first birthday for this little blog!  While I've been baking for much longer, I started this blog exactly one year ago to this day.

I debated what to make the celebrate this momentous occasion for a very long time.  There were several cakes up for the honor, a few cupcakes, and even a pie.  Ultimately, I chose a cake - albeit an unconventional birthday cake - that was described as extremely rich.  A rich, dense, chocolate bundt cake.  The only problem?  When I removed it from the bundt pan, it didn't come out beautifully - so I kinda placed the piece that got stuck in the pan onto the cake, and then poured the ganache on top in hopes that it covered the not-so-pretty top of the cake.  It didn't matter - it's chocolatey richness shined RIGHT through!

Insanely Decadent Chocolatey Sour Cream Birthday Bundt Cake
Originally from Williams-Sonoma
*FYI this makes a TON of batter.....my bundt cake tin was too small, so I left out about 1/4-1/3 of it, and made cupcakes with it....about 9!*

Ingredients:

Cake:

1 cup cocoa powder, sifted, plus more for dusting pan
7 1/2 oz. semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
1 cup boiling water
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 1/4 tsp. kosher salt
20 Tbsp. (2 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter
2 1/2 cups firmly packed light brown sugar
5 eggs, lightly beaten
4 tsp. vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups sour cream
1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips (I ran out of full-sized chips, so I used a mixture of regular and minis)

Ganache (which is awesome!!):

6 oz. semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
2 Tbsp. unsalted butter
1/2 cup heavy cream

Directions:

Have all the ingredients at room temperature.

Preheat an oven to 325 degrees F. Grease pan and dust with cocoa powder; tap out the excess.

Combine the cocoa powder and the chocolate in a bowl. Add the boiling water and whisk until the chocolate melts and the mixture is smooth and blended. Set aside.

Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the flat paddle, beat the butter on medium speed until smooth and creamy.

Reduce the speed to low, add the brown sugar and beat until blended. Increase the speed to medium and continue beating until the mixture is light and fluffy, stopping occasionally to scrape down the sides of the bowl.

Add the eggs a little at a time, beating until incorporated before adding more and stopping the mixer occasionally to scrape down the sides of the bowl.

Beat in the vanilla until incorporated, about 1 minute.

Reduce the speed to low and add the flour mixture in three additions, alternating with the sour cream and beginning and ending with the flour, beating just until blended and no lumps of flour remain.

Slowly pour in the chocolate-cocoa mixture and beat until no white streaks are visible, stopping the mixer occasionally to scrape down the sides of the bowl.

Using a rubber spatula, gently fold in the chocolate chips.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan, spreading the batter so the sides are about 1 inch higher than the center.

Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out with only a few moist crumbs attached to it, 60 to 65 minutes.

Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let the cake cool upright in the pan for 15 minutes. Invert the pan onto the rack and lift off the pan. Let the cake cool completely, at least 1 hour (I skipped this part and let it cool in the pan entirely, which may be why the top fell apart when I took it out of the pan later).

Return the cooled cake to the pan. Using a serrated knife, gently saw off any excess cake that extends over the edge of the pan. Set the wire rack on a parchment paper lines baking sheet. Invert the pan onto the rack and lift off the pan. (I skipped this step, too).

Meanwhile make the ganache:

In a heatproof bowl, combine the chocolate and butter.

In a small saucepan over medium-high heat, bring the cream just to a boil.

Immediately pour the cream over the chocolate and butter.

Whisk until the melt and the mixture is smooth.

Pour the ganache over the top of the cake, allowing the ganache to drip down the sides.

Let the cake stand until the ganache is set, at least 15 minutes.

Bundt cake cookbook

One lazy day this past weekend, I stumbled into Williams Sonoma (and by lazy, I mean hectic errand-running weekend that brought me within a few feet of Williams Sonoma).  I checked out the baking tins and trays, and then meandered over to the cookbook section.  Two caught my eye.  One was a bundt cake cookbook and the other was a cookbook from a local bakery.  I wanted them both but didn't have my Williams Sonoma gift card on me, but I couldn't completely delay gratification nor did I have enough time to go back later that same day to buy them, so I bought one. 

I love that this book has a variety of different kinds of bundt cakes - mainstream, fancy....and even minis!  I think I am most excited to try the Lemon Basil one.  Partly because I'm intrigued, and partly because I think my sister will like it, and she isn't big into sweets.

Check out the book:

And I was sure to put my gift card in my wallet as soon as I got home so that next time I pass a Williams Sonoma on one of those "lazy" days, I can pick up the other one.

Peach vanilla bean bundt cake

Tonight I got together with my camp friends.  I've know these girls since the beginning of the summer of 1993.  That's 19 years!  Every once in a while we try to get us all together.  Recently I saw my friend J after she completed the NYC Triathlon (!!) and celebrated her early birthday, and I saw my friend E and her fiancee for drinks in the city a few weeks ago.  Before that, L opened an adorable kid's clothing store, Picnic, and L & E and I went to the opening.  (As an aside, if you're in the Brooklyn Heights area and looking for kids clothing, check out Picnic).  But tonight was the first time in a long time that all 5 of us were together.

Originally I thought that I'd make cupcakes.  I was going to do one for L, the expectanct mom, with a onesie on it.  One for the other L, whose daughter just turned one, I was going to have a big fondant "1" on it.  For E, a bridal themed one, since she's getting married at the end of September.  And then 3 birthday-themed ones - one for J whose birthday was a week and a half ago, one for L (the expectant mom), whose birthday is the 26th...and then one for me, since my birthday is this week.  And although cupcakes would transport easily, thanks to my handy cupcake packaging that I bought (check out the minis here....I also have full-sized ones), I was afraid the heat would melt the icing on my trek from Manhattan to New Jersey....on public transportation!  I had a bunch of other summer-themed ideas for the rest of the cupcakes, but it didn't matter.  I needed something summery and tasty but that wouldn't melt on my journey.

Enter the bundt cake.  A summery flavored bundt cake that had one of my favorite things in it....peaches!  So I did something so very un-Julie, and made it today for the first time....to bring to them tonight.  I snuck a taste of the bottom (shhh!  Don't tell the ladies!) and it was really good...I'm thinking of renaming it the "Peaches and Cream" bundt cake, since it tastes like peaches and cream....and thats before I put on the peach soaking syrup!

Peach Vanilla Bean Bundt Cake with Peach Soaking Syrup
(or Peaches and Cream Bundt Cake)

Ingredients

3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
4 large eggs, room temperature
1 vanilla bean, split, seeds (save the pod for something else)
1 cup sour cream
1 1/2  cups diced fresh peaches (peeled)

For the syrup:
1/3 cup fresh peach puree, strained (I strained mine after I made the syrup....oops.  But it worked)
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon orange juice

Directions:

Place rack in center of oven and preheat oven to 350.
Grease and lightly flour inside of 10 inch bundt pan (In the notes it said to make sure you grease and flour well, so I used baking Pam and then ALSO floured the pan.  It worked....it literally slipped out as I was inverting it.  But thankfully it didn't fall and stayed perfectly intact....minus a little inch by half inch section that fell off).

Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Set aside.

Using either a stand mixer (paddle attachment) or a hand mixer, beat the butter at medium speed until creamy, about 2 minutes.
Gradually add sugar and beat at medium-high speed until the mixture is light in texture and color, about 3 minutes.
Beat in eggs one at a time, beating for 30 to 40 seconds after each addition.
Scrape down sides of bowl as necessary.
Beat in vanilla bean (the scraped seeds).
At low speed, add flour mixture in three additions, alternating with sour cream.

Scoop half of batter into pan and spread with spatula. Sprinkle with peaches. Scoop remaining half of batter on top of peaches. Smooth with spatula.  In reading the notes at the bottom, I read that you can fold the peaches into the batter instead of layering them.  I thought this might be safer considering the voyage the cake has to take today.

Bake cake for 50 to 60 minutes, or until a tooth pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool the cake in the pan on a cooling rack for 10 minutes, then invert it onto another rack. Place the cake, on the rack, over a baking sheet.

While cake is baking, make syrup. Combine peach puree, sugar, and orange juice in a small non reactive saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves, 3 to 4 minutes.
Remove pan from heat.
Using a pastry brush, dab syrup generously all over surface of the warm cake, allowing it to soak into the cake before reapplying.
Let the cake cool completely.

Zebra cakes

Sometimes I'm foolish.  Hard to believe, right?  Me, the professional + doctoral student + type A personality, foolish?  Yes, sometimes I am.

See, it started out a few days ago when I was unsure of what I'd bake this weekend.  See, I don't have anything to bake for.  No birthday parties, baby showers, pot-lucks....well, you get the picture.  Without an event to bake for, I turned to my JulieBakes Facebook page and asked my "fans" what they thought I should bake.  A few reponded (note: you can still vote....like JulieBakes on facebook and answer the question - it's on the top left), so I'm giving it some more time. But I wanted to make something today (those fruit snacks I made last night were tasty - and addictive - but didn't quench my desire to make something in the kitchen). 

So today I decided to make something else.  Was it one of the things I had suggested on my Facebook poll?  Nope.  Was it something no-bake, considering today's high was 97 degrees in New York City?  No, that would've been smart.  It was a Zebra Bundt Cake that I had been eyeing for, well, forever.  But did I stop at that?  You guessed it...but nope.  I made Mini Zebra Bundt Cakes.  And when I had leftover batter, I made a Zebra Cake, too.

So there I was, standing in my hot scorching  (97 degrees out + no AC in the kitchen + oven preheating to 350F) kitchen, layering not one, but six mini bundt cakes, and wondering what exactly I was thinking when I set out to start this project.

But, despite my foolishness (and yes, it was foolish), the cakes came out adorable, and tasty, too!

Left: top view of zebra Cake; Right: inside of zebra cake

Below: slice of zebra cake atop the cake

How cool would it be to ice this cake, then slice into it, and have the surprise zebra pattern inside?!

Mini Zebra Bundt Cakes (and a Zebra cake, too)
(from Zebra Bundt Cakes - and follow this link for how to layer the cakes to make the zebra appearance - note the original has a beautiful powdered sugar sprinkling topped with a lovely chocolate gaze, but I didn't have the time or patience to make it given the temperature in the kitchen, although the next time I make this cake - and I will - I will definitely make the glaze and decorate the cake with the powdered sugar and glaze)

Ingredients:

Cake

3 cups cake flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 cups granulated sugar, divided
1/2 cup natural (not Dutch-processed) cocoa powder
6 tablespoons water
1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
5 large eggs
1/2 cup whole milk (I used skim since that's what I had)

Glaze (I didn't use it but it looks good!)

6 ounces bittersweet chocolate
2/3 cup heavy cream

Directions:

Make the Cake:

Preheat overn to 350F

Sift flour baking powder and salt into a bowl; set aside.

In a separate medium size bowl add in ½ cup of sugar, the cocoa powder, and water then whisk until mixture is smooth; set aside.

Place melted butter and sugar in a stand mixer bowl fitted with a paddle attachment. Beat on medium high until mixture is blended, about 1 minute.
Add in vanilla and beat until combined.
Add eggs one at time, mixing well after each addition.
Once all eggs are added, beat mixture until it becomes light and fluffy.

Turn mixer speed down to low and add the flour mixture in three additions, alternating with the milk in two additions and mixing just until blended.

Add 2 cups of the batter to the cocoa mixture and stir until blended.

Using an ice cream scoop, pour two scoops of vanilla mixture into pan (since I made mini cakes, I used smaller amounts at a time). Now alternate and pour one scoop of chocolate mixture on top of vanilla mixture. Continue to alternate between vanilla and chocolate layers until bundt pan is filled.

Bake zebra bundt cake for 50-60 minutes at 350F or until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean (my mini bundt cakes took about 25-30 minutes.  The mini cake took literally forever, and I ended up pulling it out with the top center still wet but the rest of the cake almost burnt). Cool cake in the pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Invert the cake onto the rack and cool completely.

To Make Glaze:

Place chocolate and cream in a pan over low heat and stir until chocolate is melted. Set aside to cool for 10 minutes before using.

Assemble: Pour the glaze on top and let glaze set, about 30 minutes. Slice and serve.