Old fashioned doughnut bundt cake

A point of clarification up front so that you don’t make the same mistake I did. When I saw the words “old fashioned donut bundt cake” strung together, I made the leap to a cake inspired by the categorical old fashioned donut. You know, the one that sort of looks like a star, has a sour cream base and is best with the clear glaze (don’t talk to me about chocolate)?

Alas, this is not that recipe. Instead this is a nod to the temporal old fashioned donut. As in, old timey. Both are delicious. But, sometimes it’s disappointing to think you are about to enjoy one thing when it’s really (per user error) another.

Nutmeg forward and dense, this cake would be a ringer as a Christmas morning treat. Sub-in egg nog for the buttermilk and you’ve got yourself Christmas dessert.

The original recipe calls for a cinnamon sugar topping, which is, of course, delightful. But, I opted for a tender, rich brown butter glaze.

Either way, you’ve got a winner. Especially if you aren’t confused about your donut varieties.

Old Fashioned Doughnut Bundt Cake

adapted from Erin Jeanne McDowell

Ingredients

for the cake

1 C (225g) unsalted butter, room temp
1 1/2 C (300g) granulated sugar
4 large eggs, room temp
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3 1/2 C (445g) all-purpose flour
1 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
2 tsps ground cinnamon
2 tsps baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp kosher salt
1 C (240 ml) buttermilk, room temp

for the icing

6 TBS (85g) unsalted butter
XX (350g) confectioner’s sugar, sifted
1 tsp light corn syrup
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
6 TBS hot water
1/4 tsp kosher salt

Directions

for the cake

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Generously grease (butter or spray) a 10-12 cup bundt pan.
In the bowl of a standing mixer with paddle attachment, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy (4-5 minutes)
Add eggs one at a time and mix until well incorporated, scraping down bowl after each addition. Beat-in vanilla.
In a medium bowl, sift together flour, nutmeg, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda and salt to combine.
Add half of the flour mixture to butter mixture and mix on low until just combined. Add half of the butter milk and mix to combine. Repeat. Scrape down bowl making sure batter is well mixed.
Pour batter into prepared pan and spread evenly. Rap pan on counter a couple of times to remove air pockets.
Bake until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out with only fine crumbs, 45-55 minutes.
Cool in pan for 10 minutes. Then invert onto a wire cooling rack and remove from pan. Allow to cool completely before icing.

For icing

Melt butter in a small saucepan. Bring up heat and allow to medium and let simmer until it reaches a deep golden brown and smells nutty. Remove from heat and allow to cool for a few minutes.
In a medium bowl, sift confectioners sugar and salt. Whisk-in brown butter, vanilla and corn syrup. Add hot water up to six tablespoons one tablespoon at a time until you reach desired consistency (more water for glaze, less for a thicker icing).
Pour icing over cake and allow to cool completely before serving.

I like big bundts and I cannot lie

I know, I know, I know. I really have nothing to say for myself.

Actually, I do.

I haven’t had some sort of blogging mid-life crisis. But, a girl only has so much free time. And most of my free time since the new year has been taken up by a little project we’re calling “Playa Remodel 15…15…15.” As I type there are men demolishing my kitchen:

It’s very exciting. But, as you remodel veterans know (and this rookie had NO idea), to get from idea to actual work is pretty much its own part-time job. We started gathering bids in January and work has just begun this week. We aren’t doing anything drastic. But because we’re living in the house at the same time, we’ve had to break it up into nine phases. And, I’ll let you in on a little secret: this is really just a test run for some bigger trouble we’re thinking of getting ourselves into later this year.

And then there was the matter of that hostile but totally legal URL takeover. You may have noticed the new address. If not, please update your feeds: www.tmhostess.com. Let’s just say that if you ever need to be saved from your own idiocy (speaking strictly for myself), Jennette Fulda at Make Worthy Media is your gal.

I do have a couple of months worth of baking adventures to share with you all. And of course, I took before pictures of the house so that I can share our misadventures

But, back to the bundts.

I mean really, who doesn’t like a big bundt?

This one was supposed to be a zebra cake. A beautiful marriage of vanilla and chocolate cakes.

I thought i had the technique down while I was constructing the batter.

It looked pretty goof going into the oven.

Alas, it came out more tabby cat than zebra.

Nevertheless, this is a fantastic cake recipe. It’s rich and moist and while I’ve included the original recipe for the ganache icing, I think it would be just a great with a dusting of powdered sugar. It’s everything a big bundt should be.

Zebra Bundt Cake

borrowed and not even slightly adapted from Bakers Royale

3 C cake flour, sifted
2 tsp baking powder
½ tsp kosher salt
2 ½ C granulated sugar, divided
½ C natural (not Dutch-processed) cocoa powder
6 TBS water
1 ½ C unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 ½ tsp vanilla extract
5 large eggs
½ C whole milk

Glaze

6 ounces bittersweet chocolate
2/3 C heavy cream

Directions

Sift flour baking powder and salt into a bowl (yes, this is a second sifting of the flour); 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 and beat eggs one at time, mixing well after each addition. Once all eggs are added, beat mixture until it becomes light and fluffy (it will resemble pancake batter, but slightly thinner).
Turn mixer speed down to low and add the flour 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. 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 pound cake for 50-60 minutes at 350 degrees F or until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. 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.

What’s orange and brown and oh so in the season?

This cake!

Things start to get a little frenetic around this time of year what with the big holiday season approaching. So, here’s what were going to do: two-a-weeks from here through the end of 2011. We’ve got a lot to cover. So, sit-up, pay attention and let’s do this.

I love Halloween. Well, I love fall in general, but especially Halloween. It’s fun, there are costumes, it’s a little scary. I like a little scary. Of course, there are lots and lots of treats. And this one is probably more for the grown-ups than the kiddos.

This recipe starts with zest. Lots of it: 1/4 of a cup (that’s about four large ones).

This is a pound-cake recipe. This isn’t some springy-light garden party recipe (though it would be great at a garden party, Andy Bernard). This is a hearty, stick to your ribs, get ready for the cold cake.

And here comes the surprise…chocolate. Chocolate and orange together are intensely and gorgeously delicious.

Orange, orange cake and chocolate chunks. Are you picking-up what I am putting down?

And, if the zest of many oranges isn’t orange enough, the still warm cake gets a nice soaking of orange syrup.

While we are talking about topping things, make room for some chocolate ganache. Because really, there is always room for chocolate ganache.

Of course, skip the food coloring and this bundt is no less addictive.

Soundtrack

Al Green. The Kitchen Gods requested it.

Barefoot Contessa Orange Chocolate

Chunk Cake

from Ina Garten

Ingredients

1/2 pound (16 TBS) unsalted butter at room temp.
2 C sugar
4 extra-large eggs at room temp.
1/4 C grated orange zest (4 large oranges)
3 C plus 2 TBS all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp kosher salte
1/4 C freshly squeezed orange juice
3/4 C buttermilk at room temp.
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 C good semi-sweet chocolate chunks
Orange food coloring (optional)

for the syrup

1/4 C sugar
1/4 C orange juice

for the ganache

8 ounces good semi-sweet chocolate
1/2 C heavy cream

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 10-inch bundt pan.

Cream the butter and sugar in a bowl or standing mixer (with a paddle attachment) for about 5 minutes or until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one-at-a-time, then the orange zest and food coloring if desired.

Sift together 3 cups flour, the baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl. In another bowl, combine the orange juice, buttermilk and vanilla. Add the flour and buttermilk mixtures alternately in thirds to the creamed butter, beginning and ending with the flour. Toss the chocolate chunks w/ 2 TBS flour and add to the batter. Pour into the pan, smooth the top and bake for 45 minutes to an hour, until a cake tester comes out clean. Let the cake cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the syrup. In a small saucepan over medium-low heat, cook the sugar with the orange juice until the sugar dissolves. Remove the cake from the pan, set it on a rack over a tray, and spoon the orange syrup over the cake. Allow the cake to cool completely.

For the ganache, melt the chocolate and heavy cream in the top of a double boiler over simmering water until smooth and warm, stirring occasionally. Drizzle over the top of the cake.