Sim B

I don’t even have the time to list all my excuses relating to my lack of blogging … instead I offer up these delicious cakes as a peace offering. Hopefully they will bring you as much joy as they did me!

My wonderful friend Gen (a fearless and superb cook, baker, mother, friend etc) gave me the most beautiful birthday present. A Nordicware bundt pan. I think this might be the highlight of my year. So needless to say … I’ve been baking bundt cakes. (Drool over their products here: www.nordicware.com … and then try and hold yourself back from searching for them on eBay!!!) The thing about a bundt pan … is that it can take an “ordinary” cake and turn it into a work of art. They’re that good.

The first cake I made, to “christen” the pan, needed to be special. For those of you who have a copy of Nigella’s “Kitchen” … turn to the index and search for the “Maple and Pecan bundt cake“. More drooling.

Ally of Simply Delicious made a beautiful version of this awhile back … and I think she used a normal ring cake tin … which would be the best substitute if you don’t have a bundt pan/tin. Here is her recipe … http://simply-delicious.co.za/2010/11/25/maple-and-pecan-stuffed-coffee-cake-and-a-book-giveaway/. I’d been planning on making the cake ever since I saw her post … and let me just say that it didn’t disappoint. I followed Nigella’s recipe … and it was dreamy. (I’ve lent the book to my mom … but will post the recipe later in the week. In the meantime here are the pics!)

Note: this is a bit fiddly … but worth the effort.

First prepare the filling – gooey maple syrup, pecan nuts and cinnamon. Try not to eat this straight away! (Can you imagine how delicious this would be drizzled over some warm pancakes/crumpets/flapjacks???)

Once you’ve mixed up the cake batter, line the bottom of your pan with some of the mixture (enough to “seal” any gaps) and then create a layer of the nutty-syrup mixture.

Top with the rest of the cake mixture and bake.

Once cooled, dust with icing sugar. Take photo’s … because this baby isn’t going to survive for very long.

Slice through to reveal a hidden center of deliciousness!!!

The source … Nigella’s Kitchen!

So after the success of Nigella’s cake … I turned to the other ”domestic goddess” across the pond, Martha of course, to see what “bundt offerings” see had in store for me. 

I settled on a similar cake … the Almond Bundt … which is basically the almond version of Nigella’s pecan-wonder.

Here is the recipe – which I’m not going to rewrite because I don’t have the time!

(http://www.marthastewart.com/261735/mini-almond-bundt-cakes?czone=food%2Fcake-center%2Ffavorite-cake-recipes)

So, a few points to note. The original recipe is for “MINI” bundt cakes. And I was reading the recipe off my mobile phone … which as you know has a VERY small screen. And so I missed the “not so fine print” at the beginning that said to double the recipe if you’re using a 12 cup bundt pan (ie a standard sized ring tin.)

But here is the thing … I didn’t double the recipe … and it turned out just fine … BUT … this will only serve 4 gluttons and one mini-glutton. Seriously … it was gone by the time Rafa was serving up for the second set.  (I made this on Sunday for tea while we watched the French Open men’s final.)

Here is the other thing. The glaze calls for 2 CUPS of icing sugar (confectioners sugar). TWO CUPS!!! Holymoly … I know the yanks like their sugar … but let me just say that 2 CUPS is madness people.

I used about 1 heaped tablespoon of butter and 3 heaped tablespoons of icing sugar … and enough milk to render the paste into a runny-enough glaze. It was MORE than enough because the inside of the cake is filled with a sugary-nutty-cinnamony mixture. Another point … if you were a patient person … you would wait until the cake was cool before drizzling over the glaze. I am not such a person. My cake was warm … the glaze completely melted into the cake (but served enough purpose to keep the flaked almonds sticking to the outside).

Which brings me to the inner mixture. Brown sugar, chopped almonds, cinnamon and nutmeg. (You see the resemblance to the previous cake.) Again, if you were doubling the mixture I’m not sure you really need to double the filling mixture as well – I think it would just end up being too sweet. But then I think you can adjust this to your own preference.

The glaze – please note the tiny amount I made … it was more than enough.

There are no more photo’s … because the cake was consumed before it was possible to take another snap.

Happy bundting …

x sim x