Monday, December 13, 2010

Bundt Cake #6 of Bundt Cake Season 3 - Bold and Spicy Gingerbread

Now this sounds like my kind of ginger cake! My friend Meera contributed this cake to BCS3 and here is her analysis:

Holy cow, this was a fabulous cake, IF you love ginger! (It was too much for my kids, but perfect for me!)

The recipe is from the Cook’s Illustrated holiday baking magazine. It was dark, dense, and wonderfully gingery. One change I would have made, though, is to serve it with whipped or clotted cream, and to maybe not use the glaze. The glaze was too thick as it was in the recipe, so I added the juice from about a half a lemon, and then it became too thin. I don’t know that it added all that much to the cake itself, anyway, but whipped cream (maybe flavored with… Irish whiskey? /me faints dead away) would be a perfect creamy foil to the dense, sharp, peppery cake. Holy gods, it was amazing.


Sounds fabulous, doesn't it? And just in time for the holidays!


Bold & Spicy Gingerbread
From Cook’s Illustrated “Holiday Baking” issue, 2010

Cake
16 Tbsp (2 sticks) unsalted butter, plus extra for greasing pan
2 ½ cups (12 ½ oz) unbleached all-purpose flour, plus extra for pan
2 tsp baking powder
¾ tsp baking soda
¾ tsp table salt
2 Tbsp ground ginger
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground allspice
¼ tsp ground black pepper
4 large eggs, room temperature
1 ½ cups (10 ½ oz) sugar
4 tsp grated fresh ginger
¾ cup robust (dark) molasses
¾ cup stout beer (see note)

Glaze
1 ¾ cups (7 oz) confectioners’ sugar
3 Tbsp ginger ale (see note)
1 tsp ground ginger

For the cake:
Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 375ºF.
Grease and flour 12-cup nonstick Bundt pan.
Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl
Melt butter in saucepan over medium heat until bubbling.
Stir in ground ginger, cinnamon, allspice, and pepper and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Remove from heat and let cool slightly.
Whisk eggs, sugar, and fresh ginger in large bowl until light and frothy
Stir in melted butter mixture, molasses and stout until incorporated.
Whisk flour mixture into egg mixture until no lumps remain.
Pour batter into prepared pan and gently tap pan on countertop to release any trapped air bubbles.
Bake until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean, about 45 minutes.
Cool cake in pan 20 minutes, then turn out onto wire rack and let cool completely.

For the glaze:
Whisk confectioners’ sugar, ginger ale, and ginger in bowl until smooth.
Pour glaze over cooled cake.
Let glaze set 15 minutes.

(Cake can be stored at room temperature, covered in plastic wrap, for 2 days.)
Note: Guinness is the test kitchen’s favorite brand of stout. An equal amount of orange or lemon juice can be substituted for the ginger ale in the glaze.

Sunday, December 12, 2010

Bundt Cake #5 of Bundt Cake Season 3 - Russian Coffeecake

I have to say that my second contribution to BCS3 was a bit disappointing. Of course, in the cake's defense, I might have made it a bit incorrectly. Oh, and other people really liked it. (Honestly, I think this is where the fact that I am actually not the hugest fan of cake may be coming into play. I guess I have high standards for what I think is really tasty when it comes to cakes. Some people might think I'm crazy.)

So, the part where I made some mistakes. This is how the cake is supposed to be put together: half the batter, then dollops of peach jam, then the sliced apricots, then two-thirds of the ground chocolate-ground almond-coconut mixture. Then the rest of the batter, then the remaining one-third of the chocolate-almond-coconut mixture.


How I actually put it together: Half the batter, dollops of peach jam, 2/3 of the chocolate-almond mixture, rest of the batter. Realize I forgot the apricots, curse loudly. Sprinkle apricots over the top and then carefully poke them with a rubber spatula to get them into the cake (so they're not sitting on the top). Spread the rest of the chocolate-almond mixture on the top of the batter. Realize I forgot the coconut. Curse more loudly. Sprinkle coconut over the chocolate-almond mixture, and figure that at least toasted coconut tastes good...


At some point in the future, if I decide to make this cake again, I'm sure I'll remember all the steps. To be honest, I kind of liked the apricots not being right with the peach jam, because that would have been a bit too much intense sweetness for me. This way, you had some more sweetness/peachy-apricoty flavor in the second part of the cake. On the other hand, I definitely think that having the coconut incorporated in with the ground chocolate-almond mixture would have been tastier.


In any case, as I mentioned, it was well received, so clearly it was not a huge disaster. Here's the recipe if you'd like to make it yourself.


From The Enchanted Broccoli Forest by Mollie Katzen


Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Generously grease a 10" tube pan (obviously you can use a bundt pan).


Batter Ingredients:

1 cup butter (softened)

1 packed cup light brown sugar

4 large eggs

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

1 cup buttermilk (room temperature)

2 cups unbleached flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

3 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt


Filling ingredients:

a heaping 1/2 cup of semisweet chocolate chips

a heaping 1/2 cup of whole almonds

a heaping 1/2 cup of shredded, unsweetened coconut

a generous 1/2 cup of peach or apricot jaom

1/2 cup of sliced dried apricots


Directions:

Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each. Stir in the vanilla


Sift together the flours, baking powder, baking soda, & salt.


Add the dry mixture and the buttermilk alternately to the butter mixture. Use a wooden spoon, and mix just enough to blend after each addition.


Place the chocolate chips and almonds in blender jar. Whirl together at high speed for 20-30 seconds (until pulverized but not mushy). Combine with the coconut


Spoon half the batter into the prepared pan, gently spreading it until even. Spoon little dollops of jam here and there onto batter (don't try to spread it--just leave it in little blobs), and sprinkle on the apricots and about 2/3 of the chocolate-nut mix.


Add the remaining batter, distributing it nicely. Sprinkle the top with remaining chocolate-nut mix, and back the cake for 50-60 minutes (until a probing knife come out clean). Cool completely before removing from the pan.


This cake was made on November 21st.


Sunday, December 5, 2010

Bundt Cake #4 of Bundt Cake Season 3 - Chocolate Ribbon Pound Cake


For her inaugural bundt cake, my friend, Maren, made the Chocolate Ribbon Pound Cake from Bundt Cake Season 2. And here's what she had to say about it.

I think that melting the chocolate and mixing it with the milk and orange zest might make an improved filling. The cake has chips, not a swirl. I omitted the nuts because I loathe them. Also, when it came out of the oven it was very high, tall, and looked almost like an angel food cake, as it cooled, it sank into dense pound-cake-type cake. Anyway, it tastes awesome and we really like it.

Here's the recipe:

From Bundt Cookbook (put out by Nordic Ware, the maker of fine bundt pans everywhere)

Ingredients
3/4 cup butter, softened
2 cups sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs
2 cups sifted flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1 (8 oz.) carton sour cream

Filling
1 6 oz. pkg. semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped nuts

1/3 cup sweetened condensed milk
2 tbsp. grated orange peel

Glaze
1 cup sifted confectioners' sugar
1 tsp soft butter
2-4 tbsp. orange juice
1-2 tsp. grated orange peel

Directions
In small bowl, combine all Filling ingredients; set aside.

In large bowl, cream butter, sugar, and vanilla until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each. Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Add to creamed mixture with sour cream and blend until moistened; beat 3 minutes at medium speed. Spoon 1/2 of batter into greased and lightly floured 10 or 12 cup bundt pan; spoon filling in center of batter, not touching sides of pan. Spoon remaining batter into pan to cover filling. Bake at 350 degrees for 65-80 minutes or until the cake tests done. Cool in pan 10-15 minutes; turn out on wire rack or serving plate to complete cooling. Top with a thin orange glaze.

To make the glaze:
In a small bowl, combine sugar and butter. Add orange juice gradually until you reach desired consistency. Add orange peel to taste.

Looking at Maren's picture, and given that my chips, when I made this cake last year, also ended up at the top of the cake, I'd recommend using mini-chocolate chips (I read that somewhere as a recommendation for bundt cakes in general) or you could try Maren's suggestion of melting the chocolate.

Sunday, November 21, 2010

Bundt Cakes #2 & #3 of Bundt Cake Season 3 - Southern Pecan Praline Cake and Chocolate Fudge Cake

Yay! The first contribution to Bundt Cake Season that's not by me! Thanks to T. Shane for Joining in on the bundting.

A Tale of Two Cakes
I made these two cakes for my buddy Nick's birthday last night. They fall into the "semi-homemade" category, but both were delicious and gobbled up nonetheless.

Southern Pecan Praline Cake

1 box butter pecan flavored cake mix (or butter recipe yellow)
4 eggs
3/4 c. oil
1 c. water
1 can coconut pecan frosting
1 c. chopped pecans

Blend first five ingredients and 1/2 c. pecans with a hand mixer. Spray bundt pan and add remaining 1/2 c. pecans into bottom of pan. Add cake batter and bake at 350 for 45-50 minutes or until toothpick tests clean.

While this cake is incredibly moist and delicious, I really felt like it was just missing something, so this is the glaze I'm using next time. It is tried and true:

3 c. brown sugar
2 T. white corn syrup
3/4-1 c. half and half
1 c. chopped pecans
3 t. bourbon whiskey (I suggest something sweet like Southern Comfort)

Combine all ingredients in a heavy saucepan and cook to soft boil stage (235-240 degrees on a candy thermometer). Add whiskey and pour over cake like a loose glaze.

OK, so for cake number two, I wanted to follow the same basic steps, but make something chocolatey and nut-free.

Chocolate Fudge Cake

1 box chocolate fudge cake mix
4 eggs
3/4 c. oil
1 c. water
1 can chocolate fudge frosting
3/4 jar caramel ice cream sauce or can dulce de leche

Combine first 5 ingredients by hand mixer and pour into prepared Bundt pan. Bake at 350 for 45-50 minutes. Invert and pour caramel or dulce de leche over warm cake to allow it to soak in. Serve with vanilla ice cream.

Monday, November 15, 2010

National Bundt Cake Day? Who Knew?


I guess that's demerits for me, since I had no idea! Clearly, I'll have to remember for next year.

Also, I think I just found a new source for bundt cake recipes.

Friday, November 12, 2010

It May Not Be about a Bundt Cake, But It's Too Hilarious Not to Be Included




I'm guessing that most of you are already familiar with Allie Brosh's Hyperbole and a Half, but in case you're not, this is one of her funniest posts. And it's cake-related. So it must be shared.

God of Cake

Thursday, November 11, 2010

Bundt Cake #1 of Bundt Cake Season 3 - Ginger-Rum Bundt Cake


I found this recipe on the Food Network's web site last year when I was looking for new bundt cake recipes. I like ginger a lot, and rum can be quite tasty, so this recipe caught my eye. I didn't get a chance to get to it during last year's Bundt Cake Season, and was excited to try it as my first cake of this season. As I was making it, specifically when I was making the syrup, I was reminded of one of my new favorite drinks, the Dark and Stormy.


Sadly, I must report that I felt that the cake was lacking in both ginger and rum flavors. I also did not have much success with the syrup being absorbed into the cake. As you'll see from the recipe, you're supposed to pierce the cake with a skewer and then slowly pour the ginger-rum syrup into the holes, which I did; however, it kind of pooled in the top portion of the cake, rather than flowing down the channels made by the skewer and infusing the whole cake.



The cake was still quite tasty, just not what I was expecting. I think if I were to make it again, I'd greatly increase the ginger in the cake itself, and probably the syrup too.



Ginger-Rum Bundt Cake

from foodnetwork.com



For the cake:



  • 1 cup toasted pecans, finely chopped

  • 3 cups all purpose flour

  • 2 teaspoons baking powder

  • 1 teaspoon table salt

  • 3/4 cup whole milk, room temperature

  • 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger

  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

  • 2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature

  • 1 cup granulated sugar

  • 1 cup packed golden brown sugar

  • 3 large eggs, room temperature

  • 2 large egg yolks, room temperature

For the syrup:



  • 1 cup dark rum

  • 1/4 cup water

  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar

  • 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger

For the cake:



Heat oven to 350 degrees F and arrange a rack in the lower third. Brush a 12-cup bundt pan thoroughly with melted butter, coat with flour, and tap out the excess. Sprinkle nuts in bottom of pan and set aside.


Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl until evenly combined; set aside. Whisk together milk, ginger, and vanilla in a second small bowl until evenly combined.


Combine butter and sugar in a the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and beat on medium speed until mixture resembles wet sand and is light, about 3 minutes. Add eggs one at a time until incorporated and mixture is smooth. Scrape down mixer and sides of bowl. Reduce mixer to low, add 1/3 flour mixture and whisk until just moistened through. Whisk in 1/2 milk mixture and whisk until just moistened. Repeat until all ingredients are added, ending with flour. Transfer batter to prepared Bundt pan and smooth out so batter is even.


Bake until cake is set, golden brown, and a cake tester inserted in middle comes out clean, about 50 minutes. Transfer to a rack, let cool 10 minutes, then invert onto a wire rack, remove from pan, and let cool completely.



For the syrup:



Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan and place over medium heat. Bring to a boil and cook until slightly syrupy, about 5 minutes. Strain and set aside to cool slightly.


When cake is at room temperature, use a skewer to poke holes all over the top. Drizzle the syrup into the holes in the cake, small spoonful by spoonful, making sure it goes into the cake and doesn't flow down. Let sit at least 4 hours so the syrup can soak into the cake.


Sunday, November 7, 2010

BUNDT CAKE SEASON THREE HAS OFFICIALLY STARTED!

The first bundt cake of the season, Ginger-Rum Bundt Cake, is in the oven as I type. Analysis and recipe to follow.

OK, ladies and gentleman, although I have enjoyed BCS as a one-woman show in the past, it will be much more fun if tons of others join in. So, I'm encouraging you to dust off your bundt pans,* find a recipe that looks good, and share your results.

To get your cake on the Bundt Cake Season blog, all you need to do is email me at bundtcakeseason[at]gmail.com. Please include the name of the cake you made, a description of how you thought it turned out, and the recipe (please include the source of the recipe, too). A picture would be nice, but is not necessary. I'll put the post up on the old blog and make sure you get credit.


*If you don't own a bundt pan, I bet your mom does. Or your aunt or your uncle who bakes or your great-aunt Sally, or your grandma, or your friendly neighbor, or that crazy cat lady down the street. Of course, if you're feeling like you really want to commit to Bundt Cake Season, you can always invest in a bundt pan of your very own.

Saturday, October 30, 2010

Bundt Cake Season Two

Here are the bundt cakes of Bundt Cake Season Two. I had to scour my old Facebook posts to find out what I made and when. The date listed is the date I posted about it, so it may or may not be the actual date I baked the cake.

#1 - Chocolate Hazelnut Orange Pound Cake. This bundt cake is an an orange-flavored cake with bits of chocolate (rather than an orange-chocolate cake) and the hazelnuts are ground up, rather than in bits. I believe the purpose of grinding them was to for it have a hazelnut flavor throughout. If I were to make it again, I think I'd just chop the hazelnuts. I don't remember the cake being particularly hazelnut-y, so I'd probably rather just have chunks of hazelnuts instead. (1/2/10) The recipe for this was from the Moosewood Restaurant Book of Desserts.


#2 - Cocoa Apple Cake. I was intrigued by the idea of chocolate and apples together, turns out it's quite tasty. It's got a bit of a Mexican chocolate flavor, there's allspice, in addition to, the cinnamon (and of course, cocoa) in the batter. The cake has dark chocolate chips and a mix of almonds, walnuts, & pecans as well as the aforementioned apples. (1/25/10) The recipe for this was from the Bundt Cookbook (put out by Nordic Ware, maker of many bundt pans, including mine).

#3 - Chocolate Ribbon Pound Cake. It's delicious, even if the ripple effect did not work out. (I realized later that I had accidentally used baking soda instead of baking powder, so I'm guessing that's why the ripple did not work--all the ripple bits sunk to the bottom, meaning they ended up at the top of the cake.) This is a sour cream poundcake (super moist!) with orange, chocolate chips, and chopped pecans, topped with an orange glaze. So good! I think that this may have been my favorite cake of BCS2. (2/1/10) The recipe for this was from the Bundt Cookbook.


#4 - Date Walnut Bourbon Cake. And yes, I picked a bourbon cake in honor of the Saints. I don't really remember much about this cake, except, the glaze needed at least twice as much bourbon as suggested in the recipe. It was a perfectly fine cake. (2/7/10) The recipe for this was from the Bundt Cookbook.


#5 - Meyer Lemon-Cranberry Cake. This was the most highly anticipated cake of BCS2. A friend from Oakland offered to procure the Meyer lemons called for in the recipe, so I would have the real deal. The best part was that instead of buying them, she pilfered them from a neighbor's tree, which made them extra special in my book. I'm sorry to report that I was somewhat disappointed in this one (probably because my expectations were so high). It looked lovely, though. And the Main Squeeze and his brother liked it. In fact, everyone else who tried it, liked it. So clearly, I'm the weirdo. What can I say? It was a bit dry to me. I still think I'd like to give it another whirl at some point in the future. (3/1/10) I found this recipe on the Food Network's web site while searching for bundt cake recipes.

[In one of those serendipitous moments, I was listening to Car Talk on NPR, when they mentioned bundt cakes! Now, as those of you who are familiar with the show know, they have been known to recommend bringing your mechanic sweets to get on his (or her) good side. Imagine my happy surprise when I heard the Car Talk guys recommend bringing a bundt cake if you really need to bamboozle your mechanic. "Brownies are fine for a simple job, but if you really want to throw them off, bring a bundt cake." (Not an exact quote, I don't think, but as close as I could remember.) No, I didn't actually bring my mechanics a bundt cake, but I have brought them donuts before. Here's a fun fact: I was on Car Talk, back in '98, I believe it was. (3/6/10)]

# 6 - Mexican Chocolate Cake. I did not love this cake. It was pretty boring. The glaze (just a simple chocolate & cinnamon one) was a hit with our guests that evening. The recipe was for bundt cup cakes (I should get a bundt cupcake pan.), but I just made it in my regular bundt pan. It was on the small side. (3/7/10) The recipe for this was from the Bundt Cookbook.

# 7 - Black Mocha Cake with a Chocolate-Kaluha Glaze (which turned out to be more of a ganache). Although a bit of an aesthetic mess, it is quite moist and delicious. This is actually a repeat from BCS1. This is one of the few bundt cake recipes that I've found that isn't a pound cake or pound-cake adjacent. It's like a regular chocolate cake. And the glaze I stole from a different cake (the Chocolate Grand Marnier cake that started Bundt Cake Season) and substituted Kaluha for Grand Marnier, since we were having Mexican food for dinner. The reason it was a bit of an aesthetic mess, was because I had asked the Main Squeeze to take it out of the oven for me, and he misunderstood my instructions--he turned it out of the pan immediately, rather than letting it cool for 10 minutes or so, first. It was still very tasty, so no harm done. (3/15/10) The recipe for this was from the Moosewood Restaurant Book of Desserts.

#8 -Cocoa Ripple Currant Cake. This time, the ripple actually worked! In fact, it's a double ripple. This cake was made using my brand new, totally amazing, KitchenAid 90th Anniversary Stand Mixer, which many folks chipped in to get me for my 40th birthday. Depending on the weather, this could have been the last bundt cake of the season, though there was one more I want to squeeze in... (4/20/10) The recipe for this was from the Bundt Cookbook.

#9 - Cranberry Pecan Cake with an Orange Glaze. Tasty, but I should have made the glaze thicker so there could be more of it. I actually took a chance and changed the recipe--I substituted butter for shortening (I am wary of shortening)--and it turned out fine. (4/28/10) The recipe for this was from the Bundt Cookbook.

And so ended Bundt Cake Season Two. As you can see, Bundt Cake Season Two was shorter than Season one--though I made more cakes in BCS2 (nine) than BCS1 (seven--though one was made twice, so one could argue that there were eight cakes in BCS1)--running from January through April vs. late November through mid-May. So, as you can see, Bundt Cake Season is a moving target.

Monday, October 25, 2010

Bundt Cake Season One

This post also appeared in my other (very neglected) blog last spring. So for those of you trying to keep track of where we are, Bundt Cake Season had its intital run in 2008-2009.

Having established the history of Bundt Cake Season, I thought I'd share the cakes of the first Bundt Cake Season. Unfortunately, after all this time, I do not remember the exact order of the cakes--I actually had to refer to my two bundt cake recipe sources to jog my memory of which cakes I made last season. So here's the list, in no particular order:

Chocolate Grand Marnier Cake - This is the cake that started it all, the one brought to Thanksgiving. I recall that it was well received. It has a chocolate & Grand Marnier glaze. Need I say more?

Irish Whiskey Cake - I made this for the Main Squeeze's dad's birthday (which falls shortly after Christmas). It's really just a fancy fruit cake--but with real (dried) fruit (which are soaked in whiskey), not that scary artificial-colored stuff you find in traditional fruit cakes. And this one was tasty, again, unlike traditional fruit cakes.

Honey Cake - A bit of a disappointment, actually. The farm where we have had our summer farm share would sell really fabulous honey cakes for Rosh Hashanah, and I was hoping to replicate that. No dice. My search for a fabulous honey cake recipe continues.

Black Mocha Cake - I don't have much memory of this one. I think it was totally serviceable. Clearly, I should make it again sometime to refresh my memory.

Pecan Cardamon Poundcake - My favorite of Bundt Cake Season One, by far. It was so good, I made it a second time for a pot luck. So. Good. I think it's the coffee glaze that tips the scale to awesomeness.

Brandied Raisin Sour Cream Pound Cake - Another one that does not stand out for me. Again, totally serviceable, but nothing to write home about, I guess.

Nutty Orange Cake - this was the only cake I made from my Bundt Cookbook (which is put out by Nordic Ware, the company that makes many bundt cake pans, including mine) last season. It was delicious! You line the pan with ground nuts (and other ingredients, I just don't remember what exactly--breadcrumbs and butter, probably) so you end up with this really lovely nut topping when you turn it out. The orange flavor was good too.

And that's it. As for length of Bundt Cake Season One, it started in November and ran through mid-May.

Monday, October 18, 2010

Bundt Cake Season: The Beginning

This post originally appeared on my other (terribly neglected) blog this past February; however, it obviously needed to be posted here as well.

I'm not sure exactly why it came up, but a couple of years ago, while visiting with the Main Squeeze's relatives, it was mentioned how, years ago (I think it was about 30) the Main Squeeze's uncle was aghast at the cost of his wife's recent purchase: a bundt pan. But over time, he had come to see the error of his ways, because he had enjoyed so many delicious cakes from that very pan. It turned out to be money well spent.

This conversation got me to thinking. You see, I do not have a particularly strong sweet tooth. ( I don't dislike sweet things, but they are not my weakness.) I did not grow up in a home where we had dessert regularly, nor were baked goods usually to be found. They were an occasional item, and therefore a special treat. And I have, in the past, found iced cakes to be too sweet. Now, that could very well be due to too many grocery store bakery cakes, which I find too sweet--the icing is so sweet, it makes the roof of my mouth itch-- and too boring and so not worth the calories. (I might have even said, on occasion, that I didn't really like cake.) But bundt cakes, on the other hand, are usually not cloyingly sweet. So the mention of the bundt pan set off this light bulb, "Hey, I like bundt cakes. They're not too sweet. And they're kind of retro. I should get a bundt pan." What made this idea especially perfect, is that I had some graduation money from the aforementioned aunt and uncle and I had been waiting for the right thing to spend it on, and a bundt pan would definitely fit that bill.

I had actually seen the bundt pan I wanted at the fancy kitchen store in town probably a year before I bought it. It caught my eye because it was so lovely. Initially, I couldn't rationalize buying an expensive bundt pan, since I'm not a big baker (this was before the aunt-uncle-bundt-pan-light-bulb moment.) Then, after I decided getting a bundt pan was a good idea, I wavered on getting the specific one that I wanted, because it's a ten-cup pan, and most recipes are for a twelve-cup pan. Eventually, I just said screw it, I'm getting the fancy bundt pan that I want and we'll see how the cakes work out.

So, two Novembers ago, graduation cash in hand, I went to the fancy kitchen store and bought the fancy bundt pan I had been coveting. (This is it, in case you are wondering. I had forgotten it's the Bavarian Bundt Pan, which is hilarious and fitting, since my heritage is predominately German.)

My first bundt cake was made for Thanksgiving, which we were celebrating with the Main Squeeze's family that year. (A funny aside, the Main Squeeze was not terribly pleased that I was bringing this bundt cake to Thanksgiving, because "Thanksgiving is pie's holiday," and this cake was clearly encroaching on pie's big day.) I wanted to show the Main Squeeze's aunt and uncle what I had used the graduation money for, so in spite of a certain person's protestations, I brought a bundt cake to Thanksgiving.

And thus began, what would turn out to be, the first Bundt Cake Season.

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Why Do Bundt Cakes Need a Season?

You may be asking, "But, Tamatha, bundt cakes are delicious, why do they have to be restricted to a specific season?" The answer is simple, when it's hot outside, the last thing you should be doing is baking something for a good hour.

Bundt cakes usually fall on the denser end of the cake spectrum, and therefore require long baking times. The warm days of late spring and early fall, and the freakin' hot days of summer are not the time to be heating your house from the inside! Also, I'm a fan of a more seasonal approach to cooking. When it's chilly out and you're all cozy, that's when you want a delicious slice of bundt cake. The summer is a time for delightful strawberry shortcake or a huge bowl of cherries or a sweet-tangy rhubarb pie baked by a friend (I'm afraid of pie crusts; I don't make pies). These things are all the more enjoyable because you don't have them all the time, but are, instead, reserved for certain times of year.

So that's why there's a Bundt Cake Season.