Bundt cakes are my favourite! Such beautiful designs, shapes, textures – they need little in the way of dressings or drizzles, they are beautiful in their own right and would stand out on any cake table. They do need time for proper preparation to ensure the cake does not stick to the pan after cooking though, so put the effort in and you will be rewarded with intricate designs and crisp edges and a cake which falls out of the pan with ease.  I know this because I have got it wrong a few times and the shear frustration of scraping a cake out of the mould because I haven’t prepared it properly is enough to make sure you do next time!! Cakes are not cheap to make and they take time and effort so the worst thing to happen is that it doesn’t come out of the pan in one piece.

How to grease a Bundt tin

Here are my top tips;

  • Grease the mould thoroughly- every nook and cranny! The more elaborate your Bundt tin is, the long this will take so put on some relaxing music, sit down and take your time.  It can be rather therapeutic if you let it.  Which ever oil/grease you decide to use, rub it in with a clean kitchen towel then go over it again to make sure you haven’t missed any bits. Use a pastry brush to really get into the corners if you need to.  Wipe off any excess.
  • Dust the greased Bundt tin with flour – plain flour if making a light coloured cake or cocoa powder if making a chocolate cake.  Again, make sure all of the tin is covered, then tip it upside down and shake out any excess flour/cocoa.
  • Place the prepared tin in the fridge while you prepare the cake mixture to keep it chilled.
  • When you pour the cake mixture into the prepared tin, swirl it round a little so that the mixture goes up the sides, this will help the cake to rise up the sides when cooking instead of rising only in the middle and becoming uneven down towards the sides.
  • Do not fill your Bundt tin all the way to the top.  As with any cake, the batter will rise by a few inches depending on what raising agent you used, how many eggs and how fresh they are, how much air is in the batter during mixing etc.  Your cake should rise a unless your raising agent is old or you mixed the flour too much into the eggs and thereby knocking out the air you incorporated when whisking.
  • Only leave your cake to cool for about 10 minutes before turning out on to a cooling rack.  Leaving in the tin longer could result in the cake sticking to the tin as it cools.  Place a cooling rack over the Bundt tin, hold the sides with a clean towel and quickly turn the Bundt tin upside down onto the cooling rack.  Give the tin a little bang of the counter top and the cake should easily come out. Remove the tin and leave the cake to cool completely.

 

For this cake, I used the Nordic ware Kugelhopf Bunt Tin which is approx. 8inches wide and 10 cups volume.

Vanilla and Almond Bundt Cake

The Balanced Kitchen
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 50 minutes
Course Dessert
Cuisine English
Servings 12 slices

Ingredients
  

  • 250 g softened butter plus extra for greasing the tin
  • 100 mls maple syrup
  • 50 g soft brown sugar
  • 5 large eggs gently whisked
  • 160 mls milk
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 tsp almond extract
  • 300 g wholemeal spelt flour plus extra for dusting the tin
  • 200 g ground almonds
  • 5 tsp baking powder
  • pinch salt

Instructions
 

  • For this cake, I used the Nordic ware Kugelhopf Bunt Tin which is approx. 8inches wide and 10 cups volume.
    Preheated oven 180 degrees C (fan)
  • Grease the mould thoroughly.
    Which ever oil/grease you decide to use, rub it in with a clean kitchen towel then go over it again to make sure you haven't missed any bits. Use a pastry brush to really get into the corners if you need to.  Wipe off any excess.
    Dust the greased Bundt tin with flour, again, making sure all of the tin is covered, then tip it upside down and shake out any excess flour.
    Place the prepared tin in the fridge while you prepare the cake mixture to keep it chilled.
  • Begin by creaming the softened butter in a bowl with an electric whisk (or use a wooden spoon or fork if you don't have an electric whisk, it will just take a bit longer). When the butter begins to cream and become smooth (after a few minutes), add the maple syrup and sugar to the bowl and cream together for a further few minutes.
  • Next, add the eggs one at a time and stir in. Finally, add the milk, vanilla and almond extract.
  • In a different bowl, sift the flour, ground almonds, baking powder and salt and combine.
  • Now combine the wet mixture to the dry by folding in the flour, being careful not to knock out the air or over mix the batter. Ensure there are no pockets of dry flour left in the batter by scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl with a spatula.
  • Pour the cake mixture into the prepared Bundt tin. There should be a few inches left at the top of the tin to allow for the cake to rise. To help the cake rise evenly, swirl the cake mixture up the sides of the tin then bang the tin on a worksurface to knock out any air bubbles.
  • Bake in a preheated oven at 180 degrees C (fan) for about 50 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean.
  • Allow the cake to cool for 10 minutes (no longer) then place a cooling rack on the tin, and hold using a clean kitchen towel, switching the tin upside down to release the cake. Give the tin a little bang on the kitchen counter to encourage it to release. It should drop out easily. If not, turn it back over and use a plastic spatula to run down the sides of the tin to help it to release and then try turning upside down again.
  • Once out of the tin, leave to cool completely before serving.
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