Olive Oil & Blackberry Bundt Cake

Ingredients
5 large eggs
1-1/2 c sugar
2/3 c olive oil
1/2 tsp almond extract
1 tsp. vanilla
3/4 c almond flour
1-3/4 c unbleached cake flour
3/4 tsp. salt
1-1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 c milk
1-1/2 c fresh blackberries

Preheat oven to 325*. Grease a 10-12 c bundt pan.

In a large mixing bowl, beat together the eggs and sugar until very light and pale yellow, about 3 minutes. Add the olive oil and extracts and beat until incorporated.  In a separate bowl combine the flours, salt, and baking powder.

Add the dry ingredients to the liquid mixture alternately with the milk, starting and ending with the dry ingredients. Stir until smooth.  Gently fold in the blackberries. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 45-50 minutes, until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean.

Remove the cake from the oven and place it on a rack to cool. Turn it out of the pan onto a rack after about 10 minutes to cool completely.

Recipe adapted from King Arthur Flour.

Enjoy!

Apple Cider Donut Cake

Directions

1/2 cup of unsalted butter, softened

1 cups apple cider

1 T boiled cider

1/4 c unsweetened applesauce

1/2 cup buttermilk, at room temperature

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup packed light brown sugar

3 large eggs, at room temperature

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1 teaspoon pure vanilla bean paste

For the Cider Glaze:

1/4 cup butter

1/4 cup sugar

1/8 cup water

1/4 cup apple cider

1 T boiled cider

For the Cinnamon Sugar Coating:

6 tablespoons granulated sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 350ºF and spray a bundt pan with baking spray.

In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter, sugar, and brown sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing until incorporated. Add the oil and mix well.  Add the applesauce and mix again. 

Stir together the apple cider, boiled cider and buttermilk.

In a separate bowl add flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, nutmeg, cloves & cinnamon.

Add the flour mixture and apple/milk mixture alternatively in three additions, scraping the bowl as needed and mixing after each addition. Add the vanilla and beat once more, just to combine.

Spoon batter into prepared pan. Bake for 35-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Place the cake in its pan on a cooling rack for ten minutes. Turn out onto a plate and brush with glaze.

While cake is baking, prepare Cider Glaze. Melt butter, sugar and water over medium high heat. Bring mixture to a boil and let boil for 1-minute. Remove from heat and immediately add the ciders, stirring to combine.

Prepare the Cinnamon Sugar Coating. Combine sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Sprinkle the warm, glazed cake with cinnamon sugar, using fingers to rub it onto the sides of the cake, if necessary…I used a sugar shaker and it hits all sides of the cake perfectly.

 

Recipe adapted from Runcible Eats.

Enjoy!

Pumpkin Apple Cake with Maple Pecan Bacon Topping

Ingredients

2 eggs

3/4 cup regular white sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

2/3 cup vegetable oil

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup pumpkin puree

2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon cinnamon

4 cups apples, cored, peeled and diced

Maple Glaze

Pecan Bacon Crumble

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Make Pecan Bacon Crumble. Set aside. Keep oven temp at 350 degrees.

In a medium bowl, using electric mixer, beat eggs, white sugar and brown sugar until light in color and creamy, about 4-5 minutes.

Add oil and vanilla extract and beat for 1-2 minutes more to blend in the ingredients. Add pumpkin puree and continue beating for 1 more minute to combine.

In a separate medium bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon.

Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix just until combined. Do not over mix. Fold in the apples.

Spray the bundt pan with baking spray. Carefully pour the batter into the bundt pan.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 50 or 60 minutes or until a tooth pick inserted in the cake comes out clean. Let the cake cool on a wire rack for about 40 minutes. Invert the bundt pan onto the serving platter and let the cake to cool further.

Drizzle cool cake with Maple Glaze and Top with Pecan Bacon Crumble.

Maple Glaze: Whisk together 1 c confectioners' sugar, 1/4 c pure maple syrup, 1 T very soft butter, 1/2 tsp. vanilla, If too thick add more syrup; too thin, add more confectioner's sugar.

Pecan Bacon Crumble: Line a baking sheet with a silicon mat or parchment. In a medium bowl beat 1 egg white. Add pinch of salt, 1/4 c pure maple syrup, 4 strips of crisp cooked bacon, chopped fine and 1/2 c toasted pecans, chopped. Spread out on prepared baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and stir.  Mixture should be moist and sticky with no liquid. If liquid still remains, return to oven for another 5-10 minutes or until no liquid remains.  Stir and set aside to cool.

Recipe adapted from Julia's Album.

Orange Blossom Bundt Cake

Ingredients

1 c. unsalted butter

2 1/2 c. all -purpose flour

2 c. sugar

3/4 tsp. fine salt

2 tbsp. orange liqueur

1 tbsp. orange zest

2 tsp. pure vanilla extract

5 large eggs

1/2 c. Buttermilk

HONEY BUTTER GLAZE

1/2 c. Honey

1/4 c. orange liqueur

6 tbsp. unsalted butter

3 tbsp. sugar

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Butter and flour a 10-cup Bundt pan.

Beat butter on medium speed with an electric mixer until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Gradually beat in sugar and salt until light and fluffy, 1 to 2 minutes. Beat in orange liqueur, orange zest, and vanilla. Reduce mixer speed to low and add eggs, one at a time, beating just until blended after each addition. Add flour alternately with buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour, beating just until blended after each addition.

Spoon batter into the prepared pan. Gently tap pan on counter a few times to remove any air bubbles. Bake, rotating pan once, until a long wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean, 1 hour to 1 hour and 5 minutes.

During last 10 minutes of baking, prepare Honey Butter Glaze. Spoon two-thirds of warm glaze over cake in pan, allowing glaze to soak in between spoonfuls. Cool completely in pan on a wire rack. Invert onto cooling rack. Warm remaining glaze and gradually brush outsides of cake. Garnish with orange zest.

For the Honey Butter Glaze: bring the honey, orange liqueur, unsalted butter, and sugar to a boil in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring often, until the sugar is dissolved. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring constantly, until thickened, 2 minutes.

Recipe from Country Living magazine.

Raspberry Mocha Mini Bundt Cakes

A coffee chocolate chip cake filled with a cream cheese vanilla bean creme and raspberry jam and topped with a mocha bittersweet ganache. There is a dehydrated raspberry, chocolate covered espresso bean and mini chocolate chips on top.

Ingredients:

1 Box Yellow Butter Cake Mix
1/2 tsp. baking soda (due to the acidity of the buttermilk and the coffee)
1/4 c Kahlua
1 T espresso powder
3 large eggs
1/2 c buttermilk
1/3 c mini chocolate chips
1 c seedless raspberry jam
1 8 oz. pkg. cream cheese, softened
1/2 c heavy cream, whipped
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste (I used paste)
9 oz. bittersweet chocolate chips or chopped bittersweet
1 c heavy cream
1 T espresso powder
2 T Kahlua
Raspberries and Mini Chocolate Chips for decoration, if desired

Preheat oven to 350*.  Spray two (2) mini bundt pans with baking spray; set aside.  Note: If you only have 1 pan, bake them in batches.

In a large mixing bowl combine cake mix, baking soda, eggs and buttermilk.  In a small microwave safe bowl, combine the Kahlua and espresso powder and heat in microwave for 16 seconds. Stir until thoroughly blended.  Add to the cake mixture and blend for 30 seconds on low speed. Raise to medium and continue beating for 2 minutes. Stir in mini chocolate chips.

With a medium scoop, fill each bundt mold halfway with batter.  Bake for approx. 14-16 minutes or until tops spring back when lightly touched.  Cool in the pan 5 minutes then turn out onto a rack until to cool completely.  Prepare a baking sheet with parchment or wax paper.  Cut about a 1/2" slice from the top of each bundt and place the tops and bottoms side by side on the baking sheet.

Make the creme by beating the cream cheese until light and fluffy, add the vanilla and blend.  Fold in the 1/2 c whipped cream.  Fill a pastry bag fitted with a medium round tip and pipe onto one half of each bundt.  Fill a second pastry bag fitted with a medium round tip with raspberry jam and pipe onto the 2nd half of each bundt.  Place the two (2) halves together and chill for 30 minutes in the refrigerator.

Remove the chilled bundts and begin making the ganache.  In a heatproof bowl place 9 oz. of bittersweet chocolate chips.  In a small saucepan bring 1 cup of heavy cream just to a boil over medium heat.  Pour the hot cream over the chocolate and begin to whisk. Add 1 T espresso powder and 2 T Kahlua and continue to whisk until smooth.  Immediately spoon the chocolate over each bundt.  Decorate as desired.  Chill until ready to serve.

This recipe adapted from Taste of Home's Mini Almond Fudge Cakes.

Apple Cake with Orange Cream Cheese Swirl & Caramel Glaze

Ingredients:

Cake:
3 medium peeled, cored, and grated Granny Smith Apples
3 medium peeled, cored and diced Granny Smith Apples
2 tsp fresh lemon juice
4-1/2 C all-purpose flour
1-1/4 C firmly packed brown sugar
1 C granulated sugar
3 tsp cinnamon
1-1/2 tsp baking soda
1-1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp ground ginger
5 large eggs, lightly beaten
1-3/4 C canola oil
1-1/2 tsp vanilla

Swirl:
1 8 oz. pkg. cream cheese, softened
1/2 C confectioners' sugar
2 T all-purpose flour
1 large egg
1 T orange zest

1. Preheat oven to 325. Spray a 15-cup bundt pan with non-stick baking spray w flour. Set aside.
2. In a medium bowl combine apples and lemon juice. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugars, cinnamon, baking soda, salt and ginger. Make a well in the center and add eggs, stirring to combine. Stir in oil. Fold in apples and vanilla. Set aside.
4. In a small bowl, stir together cream cheese,confectioners'sugar, flour, egg and orange zest.
5. Pour half of batter into prepared pan. Spoon cream cheese mixture over batter, avoiding edges. Top with remaining batter. Using a knife, pull blade back and forth through batter to swirl cream cheese layer. Smooth top.
6. Bake until a wooden toothpick inserted near center of cake comes out clean, approximately 1 hour and 15 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack for 20 minutes. Remove from pan, and let cool completely. Drizzle Caramel Glaze over cooled cake.

 Caramel Glaze:
1-1/2 C suar
1/2 C water
1/2 tsp fresh lemon juice
3/4 C heavy cream
1/4 C unsalted butter, softened
1 C confectioners' sugar, sifted

1. In a medium saucepan bring sugar, water and lemon juice to a boil over medium-high heat. Cook, without stirring, until mixture turns a light amber in color and reads 340 on a candy thermometer, 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from heat, and carefully whisk in cream and butter (mixture will boil up). Let cool completed. Add confectioners' sugar, whisking until smooth.

Yield: 12 to 16 servings

This recipe adapted from Fall Baking edition of Taste of the South Magazine.