Courgette Bundt Cake

The courgette season is upon us, the green beauties are popping up overnight and so the annual race to keep up has commenced. Courgettes are  a very versatile vegetable easily grown in the vegetable garden , easily incorporated into many recipes as regularly readers of my blog will know I have a love for courgette cakes, so here's another.

Picking up on the current trend for bundt cakes on the internet and twitter, please welcome the Courgette Bundt Cake.

Ingredients

• 225g Grated courgette
• 250g self raising flour
• 3 eggs - free range
• 175g golden caster sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp ground allspice
• 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 150ml sunflower oil

Bundt tin approx 10 inch , oiled and flour dusted

Preheat oven to 180c normal / 160c fan

Method

• Grate your courgettes , I used my food processor grating blade.If you don't have one, place in a large bowl after grating.
• Now add all the other ingredients
• Mix well until well incorporated
• Pour into your prepared tin
• Bake for 35 minutes approximately until it tests cooked with a skewer.
• Leave to cool in tin for approx 15 minutes
• Tip up onto cooling wire rack, allow to cool fully
• Now ice or frost to your taste, I just used a simple glace icing drizzle.

I am entering this cake in Dollybakes & Laura Loves Cake  calendar cakes challenge for "British Summertime" as courgettes are for me a signal of summer and dolly just loves a bundt cake !

This is also my entry is Simple and Seasonal for August , hosted by Fabulicious Food

In celebration of National Bundt Day UK I'm linking up with the lovely DollyBakes

Chocolate & whiskey bundt cake

Last weekend I had a marathon baking session, to create some 'thank you' cakes for the care staff at my late Father in laws care home as way of a token of thanks. Amongst other cakes was this dark delight, with a more adult flavour. Dark and foreboding this is definately a cake I will be making again, drizzled with white chocoloate the contrast with the almost black cake is great. I am sure you could substitute other alcohol for the whiskey, maybe amaretto, rum or coffee liquer and it  would work as well.

Ingredients

• 1 cup of cocoa , plus a couple of spoons for dusting your tin
• 1 1/2 cups of freshly brewed coffee
• 1/2 cup alcohol of your choice
• 1 cup of butter
• 2 cups of caster sugar
• 2 cups of plain flour
• 1 1/4 tsps of bicarbonate of soda
• 1/2 tsp of salt
• 2 eggs - free range
• 1 tsp vanilla

Method

• Use will need a 10" bundt tin or a round cake tin of a similar size
• Preheat the oven to 160c 
• Oil spray your tin and then dust with cocoa powder
• Combine the coffee, alcohol, butter and cup of cocoa in a saucepan, over a low heat melt and combine the ingredients
• Take of the heat and add the sugar, stirring until dissolved
• Allow to cool slighty
• Now mix all the flour, bicarb and salt in a seperate bowl.
• Whisk the eggs and vanilla together in a jug, then whisk into the cooled cocoa mix
• Now whisk in the dry ingredients, until throughly mixed
• Pour into your prepared tin
• Bake in the oven for 40-50 mins, until tested cooked with a cocktail stick
• Cool in the tin for a couple of hours before removing from tin
• Once cooled drizzle with melted chocolate to decorate or sprinkle with icing sugar
• The cake keeps well and the moisture level and flavour improves.

I am refreshing this post to take part in Baking with Spirits challenge hosted by Janine who blogs at Cakeoftheweek.

                                               

In celebration of the Bundt, this post is being linked to National Bundt Day UK with Dollybakes

Danish Cinnamon Swirl Bundt Cake

This weeks post continues the odyssey of the bundt tin, after a busy couple of days I finally got round to baking. The recipe includes sour cream which helps to create a moist tender crumb, I did however get a bit worried that this cake might stick in the tin despite spraying with a vegetable oil spray but I managed to get the cake out with a sharp inversion. The resultant cake is tasty and has a lovely cinnamon swirl.

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup vegetable margarine
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 3 eggs - free range
• 1 tsp vanilla paste
• 1 cup sour cream
• 2 1/2 cups plain flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp bicarb
• 2 tbsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 cup demerara sugar

Method

• Pre heat your oven to 180c
• Oil your bundt tin
• Mix the ground cinnamon and demerara sugar together in a separate bowl
• Cream your margarine and granulated sugar
• Now add all the other ingredients and mix well in your mixer
• Now pour half of the mixture in your prepared tin
• Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar on top
• Now top off with the rest of the mixture and level.
• Bake for approx 45-60 minutes until golden and fully baked when tested with a skewer
• Cool in tin and then tip out until a wire rack

In celebration of all things Bundt, I'm joining in National Bundt Day Uk from Dollybakes

Spicy Torus Cake aka Spicy Bundt Cake

I have secumbed to the trend sweeping through the baking nation , I have purchased a bundt or kugelhopf tin ! According to Mr B the correct geometrical term for this shape is a torus so that is what this cake has now been christened. Given that most recipes are from the US of A and thats where I have taken my inspiration from, this recipe is in cups, now I know that some bakers detest american cups but personally I love them, you just have to commit and buy a good set to get good results.

I love spiced cakes, my favourite spice being cinnamon, this recipe features both cinnamon and cloves, the warm comforting aroma that rises from the oven when baking is delightful  and  it scents the whole kitchen.

Ingredients

• 1 cup vegetable margarine
• 2 cups of caster sugar
• 3 eggs - free range
• 3 cups plain flour
• 1 tbsp ground cinnamon
• 2 tsp ground cloves
• 3/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 cup buttermilk ( if you can't get it milk acidified with lemon juice)
• Icing sugar to spinkle 

Method

• Preheat your oven to 180c
• Grease / oil your tin
• Cream your margarine and sugar until light and fluffy, use a mixer if you have one.
• Add your eggs , don't worry about the curdled look
• Add the flour, cinnamon, cloves, salt and bicarb, sift as you go.
• Mix well and pour into your prepared tin.
• Smooth top
• Bake for 50-55 mins until tested as cooked
• Cool in tin for 10 mins and then turn out to cool fully on wire rack.
• Dust with icing sugar to serve.

In celebration of the bundt , I am linking this post to DollyBakes National Bundt Day UK celebration