Baking Bad: Bundt Friday! Bundt cake recipe

“Smell your bundts. Smell your neighbours bundts”

Since I was a pretty avid Sabrina the Teenage Witch viewer right up into my teens, I have always appreciated the understated one liner style comedy the show could always produce; even funnier now in adulthood than they were then. One line that I regularly say, for no reason at all is the one quoted above. I never really knew what a bundt was, other than that it was in Sabrina, and it can cause issues if you put truth sprinkles on it.

When I was moseying around Lidl one day, I spotted a bundt tin and bought it purely for nostalgic reasons. When I began looking into bundt recipes I soon realised that you can make any style cake, throw it in this dome shaped tin and call it a bundt. I was disappointed, to be honest. Nonetheless, I recently put my bundt tin to use and decided to go for a Mocha sponge. Turns out, Bundt tins are trickier than I thought.

Ingredients for Mocha Bundt Cake

200g of self raising flour

150g of caster sugar

2tbs of pure cocoa (I use Bournville by Cadbury as it’s 100% Cocoa with no added ingredients)

2tbs of Instant Coffee Mixed with half a mug of cold water

4 Eggs

1Tsp of Caster Sugar

1 Teaser Bar/Bunny

Method

Sieve the flour into a large mixing bowl

Add the sugar

Add two eggs and mix

Pour in the coffee and cocoa powder with two more eggs and mix again

Mix until you have a thick but slightly runny batter; it should almost fold into your tin

Bake in a preheated Oven for 25 minutes.

Melt your teaser bar/bunny and spread around the wall of the hole

How did it turn out?

Well, it turned out quite well, however I must confess that the ingredients used were a little copious for my tiny tin.

About 15 minutes into baking time the mixture started oozing over the sides of the tin. I had to quickly tidy up and let it continue baking before it totally destroyed the oven. Here’s a little tip, if you have a relatively small bundt tin, just fill it up about half way, otherwise it will start to take on a life of its own.

I was glad that I didn’t use butter in my recipe for this cake; the consistency was just right for a coffee based cake and I think the butter would have made it a little less spongy, if you get me. While it was a little wonky on the base due the massive overflow of chocolatey goodness, the bundt tin really makes for a beautiful cake.

It may have gotten off to a potentially explosive start, but a little trimming and a dash of caster sugar, and it was quite a pretty cake.

The pattern on the tin is pretty much all the presentation you need with a cake like this.

The teaser bar was a nice touch; the little hint of extra chocolate and the crunch of the malteaser bits made the cake a little more special.

The Reaction

My 12 year old nephew Adam is now my designated cake tester. He certainly takes after his Aunty Claire when it comes to his love for cake. He had two slices, and I’m pretty sure he would have had three if we let him, so that can only be a good thing. The expert effectively gave it two thumbs up.

Elsewhere I got yummy noises and I was asked for the recipe; both compliments any baker would be proud of.

Baking Bad Tunes:

 I very much enjoy baking to soul music. And yes, I did dance around like Duckie in Pretty Pink when this one came on. Fun Claire Fact; this is one of my very favourite songs of all time.

Have you ever baked a bundt cake? Be honest, it was because of Sabrina, wasn’t it? 

Baking Bad: Homemade Protein Bar Recipe

Episode 6 of Baking Bad takes a more healthy approach to baking. Some people will know I’m attempting to turn my lifestyle around so some of my baking will be healthier than previously.

I couldn’t find a baked protein bar recipe so I decided to create my own. Such a risk, really, since I have trouble following tried and tested recipes.

Ingredients for Homemade Protein Bars:

250g of Porridge Oats

1 scoop of Protein (I use vanilla)

6 Bananas

1/2 Jar of Peanut Butter

1/4 cup of Almond milk

Method for Baking Banana Bread: 

Blend the oats in until they look like a fine flour

Mash the bananas like your life depends on it, until there are no big lumps.

Mix in the peanut butter

Add the milk.

Spread on a flat, slightly deep baking tray

Bake for 15 minutes

Let it cool down before cutting into bar shapes; handy hint, use a pizza cutter.

How did it Turn Out?:

I was nervous about this, because I was sure it wouldn’t raised but of course, I forgot that oats expand! The mixture rose beautifully, if a little bit too much on one side. It turned a golden brown colour and it smelled devine when I took the tray out of the oven.

Flavour wise, these baby’s are fantastic; is there any better combo than bananas and peanut butter? No, no is the answer to that question. I was a little disappointed in these bars, however, because despite the delicious taste they are very, very dry. I would recommend adding slightly more almond milk than I did (1/4 as mentioned in the ingredients list) and perhaps use 1/2 a cup. I know protein bars a dry anyway, but it couldn’t hurt to be a little easier on the palette and almond milk is fully of goodness.

Aside from the dry texture, these are pretty tasty and I will definitely make them again. If you are trying to snack healthy these are a great way to satisfy your sweet cravings.

Baking Bad Tunes:

Blur seemed a good choice for my healthy baking escapades.

I would love if you could share some baked protein bar recipes with me, to add a little variety to my healthy snacks. Please feel free to do so below. 

Feel free to tweet me your pictures if you try this recipe out, I’d love to see your pictures. 

Baking Bad: Banana Bread Recipe

Episode 5 of Baking Bad took a while to complete production! Last weekend I tried my hand at Banana Bread and it was the most anxiety inducing baking experience I have ever had.

This is something I have been threatening to bake for years but I never got around to it. The concept of it, for some reason, was incredibly daunting , I mean banana bread, is it sweet? Is it savory? What if it is lumpy? Definite baking anxiety.

It was touch and go for a while with this one. Could this be the first disaster of Baking Bad? 

Ingredients for Baking Banana Bread:

200g of Self Raising Flour

4 Bananas

150 g of Sugar

150 g of Butter

2 Eggs

A little extra butter for greasing the loaf tin.

Method for Baking Banana Bread: 

Cream the butter and sugar together

Sieve the flour in to a big mixing bowl.

Throw the sugar in.

Lump in the eggs. 

Mash the bananas up until only slight lumpy and add to the mix. 

Blend away with a handheld whisk. 

Make sure your loaf tin is greased (ideally with the same butter used in the mix) 

Pour the mix into the tin. 

Bake for 1 hour at 150 degrees

How did it Turn Out?:

I was surprised at the results of this banana bread. When I made the mix I was sure it was not how it was supposed to look. Banana bread is always brown so I was apoplectic at the sight of the creamy mixture that mellowed before me.

The offending mixture

I grumpily put the tin in the oven expecting an absolute disaster when the hour was up. Thankfully, when the oven beeped I was greeted with a delicious smelling, brown loaf of Banana bread.

Using real butter instead of margarine was definitely a good choice. The cake was light  as a feather and the flavour worked really well with the banana. As for the overall flavour; yes, it’s boasting but it was pretty amazing. This is probably the cake I am most proud of baking. It was slightly different to any other banana bread I had ever tasted, and not necessarily in a bad way.

I was surprised at how easy it was to make. If you, like me, find the idea of baking Banana Bread a little off putting, go for it. It is too tasty not to!

The final product

 

Reaction to the Banana Bread:

This went down a treat in chez Kane with my brother and Mam taking a particular shine to it. I was asked the following day if I was baking more, so this recipe seems to be a good one.

Baking Bad Tunes:

I was listening to a bit of Mr Otis Redding while baking my Banana Bread!

Have you got any banana bread recipes of your own? 

Feel free to tweet me your pictures if you try this recipe out, I’d love to see your pictures. 

Baking Bad: Christmas Special – Mince pies

It’s the Baking Bad Christmas Special! In this episode of Baking Bad, we’re talking festive baking.

Today I baked traditional Mince Pies and some not so traditional Christmas Buns. I won’t go into detail about the buns. They’re a run of the mill cake mix with an obscene amount of food die thrown in; I’ve left pictures below!

Traditional Mince Pies.

Ok, Ok. I cheated on this one. While I was perfectly comfortable attempting to make “mincemeat” for the pies without poisoning anyone, I am not yet ready to tackle shortcrust pastry. I bought a packet of jus-rol. Don’t judge me!

The Ingredients: 

1 Jus-Roll Shortcrust Pastry

1 egg for glazing.

150mls of Jameson Whiskey

1 1/2 packets of Mixed fruit and fruit peel.

150 grams of Brown Sugar.

1 1/2 teaspoons of all spice.

1 Lemon and Lime for zest.

100g of butter.

Method:

This is a very easy recipe, particularly if you’re cheating with some Jus-Roll.

• Throw the fruit into a mixing bowl.
• Grate the zest of the lemon and lime in.
• Stir in the butter.
• Add the spices and cinnamon.
• Dissolve the sugar in some Whiskey for five minutes.
• Pour it into the fruit mix.
• Leave the mixutre for at least 24 hours.
• The next day (or later if you’re not in a rush.)
• Follow the instutions on the Jus-Roll packet (I will eventually tackle pastry, maybe).
• Cut out circle shapes and fill your mince pies.
• Glaze with butter and egg yolk.
• Cook in the oven for 25-30 Minutes.

Results: 

The extra egg and butter on the pastry gave a nicer flavour than the plain, store bought pastry would have on its own. I was actually really surprised at how tasty they were and they seem to be going down well with the family.

Here are a couple of pictures of the Christmas Buns I made.

What I listened to: 

 

Baking Bad: Chocolate and Raspberry Fluffins

It’s time for Episode three of Baking Bad! For those who are just catching to this wildly mildly popular blog series; I am setting myself a challenge to tackle a number of baked goods and posting them here, for better or worse. Of course there is a musical element to it; how can one bake without a soundtrack to sing along to?

This time around I decided to experiment with a creation known as “Chocolate and raspberry Fluffins”. I made them up and I quite enjoy the title I gave them.

The Ingredients: 

150g Self Raising Flour

100g of Caster Sugar

150g Cadbury Drinking Chocolate

5 Table Spoons of Raspberry Marshmallow Fluff

2 eggs

Method:

• Sieve the flour in to a big mixing bowl.
• Sprinkle sugar in.
• Add the Drinking Chocolate powder.
• Add the eggs and blend.
• Scoop the four spoonfuls of Marshmallow fluff into the mixture and blend again.
• Fill Muffin Cases with the rather gloopy mix – I had a very willing helper!
• Bake for 25 minutes at 200 degrees.

Results: 

They “Fluffins” turned out well. They had a rather mousey appearance and texture; they fluffiest softest cakes I have ever tasted.

The Raspberry and chocolate flavours were complimentary although on the negative side I probably could have done with adding a touch more chocolate for a nicer bite; perhaps some chocolate chips.

Reaction: 

Well; I’ve been told to hold off making them again for a while. Not because they were awful but because my eldest brother scoffed the majority of them and he could do without that again, so he says. I take that as an enormous compliment. They were a differenct kind of treat; a twist on the traditional cupcake or muffin and everyone seemed to enjoy their light texture and combination of flavours.

What I listened to: 

There is something sensual about baking with chocolate so I gave Marvin Gaye a whirl on the ol’ radio.