Bundt

 I told you I was on a British kick last week well it has not been fully kicked I guess. This week all I have wanted to eat or cook is cake. You would think I would be sick of it but who is ever sick of cake. I tried eating real food a few nights ago for dinner instead of cake and you know what, I was sad after, it just wasn't cake.Last night I decided to make a Bundt cake, I hadn't made one since I was in high school(almost 10 years gulp). The bundt cake originally came from Europe. Unlike other cake pans the bunt has a hole in the middle (for my movie lovers you can all remember My Big Fat Greek Wedding bundt exchange) this hole or "chimney"is there specifically so that more of the batter is touching the pan. Not only the outside rim of the batter but the middle as well. This helps the cake cook more evenly and even quicker than other cakes. I was so nervous that the cake would get stuck in the pan. It is known to do that. Also when I put the batter in the cake pan it filled all the way to the top. Which I knew was not good.

I put the cake in the oven and sat down. I literally sat on my kitchen floor watching the cake. When you fill a cake pan you tend to only fill it half way since it will expand. Mine started at the brim before I even cooked it. I knew it was going to expand but I didn't know how much and I was so scared it was going to go all over my oven. So I did what any logical human would do I sat and watched it slowly get higher and higher. By the time it was done there was no longer a hole in the middle the dough had fallen in and made its own little cake. It looked like the worlds largest muffin. You couldn't even see the hole in the middle it got eaten by the batter. Which defeats the whole purpose of a bundt cake, as we just learned.

It felt like I was sitting shiva for my cake. I was just sitting and watching it get higher and higher. Mourning the moment that it would fall down the side and die. Or I had put so much and it would have to bake forever I would have to leave it in the oven for days to bake all the way through and during that time the top would burn. Finally, after an hour of baking it was finally done (I did leave my kitchen floor during the hour and would return to it periodically). It had expanded only about an inch or two which was amazing all in itself. It didn't even fall off the sides and onto my oven. It just sat their like a giant mushroom. Nicely browned and beautiful. 

After I let it cool a little I did a little trick. I took a long carving knife and found the top of the pan and just sliced the excess off in one fail swoop. It went from being way to much cake to the perfect size of cake. Plus it made it flat again so it didn't look like it had a muffin top. When you do this it's easier if you do it in the pan so then you can use the top of the pan as a guide. Just rest the knife on top and slice. I then put a plate on bottom and flipped. It slid right out, what a relief that was. You have to make sure with a bunt even more than any other type of cake pan to fully grease it. If you use cooking spray or butter and flour. With all the ridges of the bunt cake there is so many more places the dough can stick. 

In the end I was so proud of it. Not only did it come out of the pan nice and easy it taste so good. You may ask, "How would you know what it taste like you didn't slice it?" Well, since I cut the top off I got to eat my cake without actually eating into my cake. Which is a nice bonus for me. 

Now onto what type of cake this is. This is an apple pecan cake. It then has a cream cheese filling that is the lightly browned part of the cake you can see in the picture above. I then made a praline glaze and added some more pecans to the top. A few things about this particular cake, I used a recipe as a guide but I did substitute bananas for the oil. I am not a fan of oil in my cake. When it comes to substitutions they are out their just make sure you get the measurements right. Sometimes just because it calls for one cup of something doesn't mean you need one cup for the substitution. I would say to always double check. Also the praline glaze was supposed to be praline frosting. When I made it, it would not thicken so I tasted it and it still tasted good. So I decided to call it a glaze and go with it. Sometimes you can make mess ups work but never feel obligated to toss something and start again if it taste good. My advice just re-name it, you made it you can call it what ever you want.


As for this cake it was eaten by my co-workers. Next week I will try and make something that isn't cake. I am sure my husband will be glad for that as well. Remember when you cook it's your food so you get to make the calls. Even if you are using a recipe feel free to change, or add when you want. As long as you like the end result. As I like to say, it's Friday and Friday is cake day.