Coffee and Cardamom Pound Cake

When I first saw this recipe, I was curious about the combination of coffee and cardamom. I love both coffee and cardamom but have never tried them together in a bake before. I'm so glad I did. This cake is a winner!

I made half a recipe, using a half-bundt pan. I halved all of the ingredients, except for the sugar, which I've further reduced to 100gm. The cake smells amazing while baking. I skipped the icing as we are not fond of frosting, we prefer our cakes plain. I let the baked cake sit overnight and sliced it the next day.

It was moist with soft tender crumbs. A winner! I love the combination of coffee and cardamom, balances really well together. This is one cake that I would make again.

I made half of the recipe and baked in a half-size bundt pan (6-cup capacity). The recipe below is the full recipe to be baked in a 23cm bundt pan.

Coffee and Cardamom Pound Cake
(Sweet by Yotam Ottolenghi and Helen Goh)
90ml full-fat milk, at room temperature plus an extra 20ml for the coffee
6 large eggs, at room temperature
2 tsp vanilla extract
200gm self-raising flour
100gm plain flour, plus extra for dusting
1/2 tsp salt
300gm caster sugar
300gm unsalted butter, soft but not oily, diced, plus extra for greasing
1-1/2 tsp freshly ground cardamom
1-1/2 tbsp instant coffee granules
2 tsp Dutch-processed cocoa powder

Icing :
1-1/2 tbsp instant coffee granules
45ml full-fat milk, warmed
240gm icing sugar, sifted
30gm unsalted butter, softened

1. Preheat the oven to 195C/175C Fan/Gas Mark 5. Grease and flour a 23-cm bundt tin and set aside.
2. For the cake : Place the milk, eggs and vanilla extract in a medium bowl and lightly whisk, just to combine.
3. Sift the flours and salt directly into the bowl of an electric mixer with the paddle attachment in place, then add the sugar and mix on a low speed for 30 seconds. Add the butter and half of the egg mixture and continue to mix until the dry ingredients are incorporated. Increase the speed to medium and beat for 1 minute. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. then gradually add the remaining egg mixture, in two batches, making sure the first batch is fully incorporated before adding the next. Don't worry if your batter looks slightly split ; it's due to the large proportion of eggs in the mix, but it won't affect the final result.
4. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and divide the mixture between two bowls. Add the ground cardamom to one bowl and fold to combine. Warm the extra 20ml of milk in a small saucepan, then place in a small bowl with the coffee granules and cocoa powder. Stir until the coffee dissolves and the consistency is that of thick but pourable milk. Combine this with the cake mixture in the second bowl.
5. Spoon the two mixtures into the prepared tin in four alternate blocks, two of each colour, then use a skewer or small knife to make a zigzag-shaped swirl once through the mix, to create a marble effect. Do not be tempted to overdo the swirling as you will lose the effect of the marbling.
6. Bake for 40-45 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean. Remove from the oven and set aside for 10 minutes. The cake tends to dome in the oven, so if this happens and you want a perfectly flat base (the top will become the bottom once it's inverted), just slice off the top to flatten it out before turning the cake out on a wire rack to cool completely.
7. To make the icing : Combine the coffee and warm milk in a small mixing bowl. Add the icing sugar to the coffee mixture, together with the soft butter. Whisk until smooth and thick, then spoon over the cooled cake, so that it drips unevenly down the sides. Allow the icing to set slightly before serving.

I'm linking this post with Cookbook Countdown #32 hosted by 

Kitchen Flavours and Emily's Cooking (Makan2) Foray

Marble Cake

I like marble cakes, and have tried quite a number of recipes from various cookbooks. This marble cake is different from the rest as there's melted white chocolate mixed into the plain batter. Since there's dark chocolate used for the chocolate batter, then why not white chocolate for the plain batter, a delicious idea! A lovely recipe, from the cookbook, Classic German Baking, which is fast climbing its way up in the list among my top favourite baking book.

The author, Luisa Weiss, got this recipe from her assistant, Maja, which is her family recipe. The only change I made was to reduce the sugar to 170gm. This cake is baked either in a Gugelhupf or bundt pan. I've used my bundt pan and bake for exactly 45 minutes.

Cake is moist, with soft closed crumbs. The white part of the cake with an almost velvety crumbs, best as described by the author on the melted white chocolate in the batter "Don't worry, this doesn't make the batter taste of white chocolate. When the cake is baked, the white parts simply tastes richer, toastier, and more complex". 

A slice or two is very nice with either coffee, tea or just a glass of milk.

The recipe can also be found here or from the book Classic German Baking, page 72

kitchen flavour's notes :
reduced sugar to 170gm
baked in a bundt pan for 40 minutes

I'm linking this post with Cookbook Countdown #27 hosted by 

Kitchen Flavours and Emily's Cooking (Makan2) Foray

Rum and Raisin Cake

It's IHCC's first Potluck Week for 2018. I've made Rum and Raisin Cake from the cookbook Sweet by  Yotam Ottolenghi and Helen Goh. Ever since I bought the book, this is the recipe I've been wanting to make, I love cakes with rum, and this cake did not disappoint.

The only change I've made is to reduce the brown sugar slightly and omitted the glaze, as I prefer eating cakes without any glaze or frosting. As long as the cake is moist, buttery and delicious, the glaze or any frosting would not be missed, at least for me.

The raisins needed to be soaked in rum the day before. 

The batter is really thick, thicker than most bundt cakes I've made, and that got me worried that the cake would be heavily densed. I was tempted to add a few tablespoons of milk, but decided to follow the recipe instead. The filled bundt pan with the batter was a weight! 

During baking, the cake almost did not rise at all, the level of the batter when filled into the pan was almost exactly that as when the cake was done baking. It smells incredibly rum-delicious when the cake was baking.

When the cake has cooled for 15 minutes, I turned the cake out of the bundt pan, and that was when I knew that the cake would be OK, as it was quite soft and tender to the touch.

This cake smells incredibly fragrant from the rum, with moist, surprisingly soft tender crumbs, maybe due to the sour cream used for the batter, and not only it is rum-fragrant, you can taste the rum too, a definite plus in my books, delicious!  I really like this cake, and would love to make a yellow version of it by replacing the raisins with sultanas and using white sugar instead of brown. 

Recipe can be found from guardian.com here, or from Sweet , page 124.

kitchen flavour's notes;
reduced brown sugar to 200gm
omitted salt, as I've used salted butter

I'm linking this post with I Heart Cooking Clubs (IHCC), theme for this week

January 2018 Potluck

and

I'm linking this post with Cookbook Countdown #25 hosted by 

Kitchen Flavours and Emily's Cooking (Makan2) Foray

Lemon Pound Cake

Sometimes what we crave is just a simple buttery cake, no fuss with any frostings or creamy topping. In fact, I have always prefer plain cakes like this Lemon Pound Cake.

This is one of the best lemon pound cakes I've baked. The cake is moist with dense but delicious soft crumb texture. Very buttery and lemony, with the addition of the lemon glaze poured over the cake, it is packed with lemony flavour,  in every bite.

I've made half a recipe, using half the amount of the ingredients, but I have further reduced the amount of sugar and lemon juice. (refer to the notes in the recipe below). 

The lemony glaze is brushed over the cake while still warm.

This cake is moist, dense with soft velvety crumbs. If you love lemons then you will love this cake. Goes perfectly with a cup of warm tea.

Lemon Pound Cake
(adapted from Tate's Bake Shop Cookbook, by Kathleen King)
makes 1 ten-inch Bundt cake
2-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
2-1/2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon grated lemon zest
5 large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice, from about 4 lemons

Lemon Glaze :
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice, from about 4 lemons
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup water

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a 10-inch Bundt pan with lots of pan spray and sprinkle it with granulated sugar. (Flour will leave an unattractive residue on the cake).

To make the cake :

In a medium bowl, cream the butter and sugar until  they are light and fluffy, Add the vanilla and lemon zest. Mix them together. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.

Mix the sour cream and lemon juice together. Add the flour and sour cream mixture alternately, finishing with the flour. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan.

Bake it for 1 hour or until a cake tester or toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the centre.

To make the glaze :

Mix all the ingredients in a small saucepan and stir. Cook them over low heat without stirring till the sugar disssolves. Turn the heat up to medium and cook the mixture until it becomes syrupy. Don't overcook it or the syrup will start to brown.

When the cake is baked, cool it for 10 minutes in the baking pan and invert it onto a plate. (Place the plate against the bottom of the pan and turn it over).

Slowly pour the glaze over the cake and let it cool.

kitchen flavour's notes :

I've made half a recipe with the following changes :

- reduced the sugar to scant 1 cup

- use only 2 tablespoons of lemon juice for the batter as the lemon was really sour.

(even with the reduction of the sugar and lemon juice, the cake bakes up really moist with full lemony flavour, delicious!)
- did not sprinkle granulated sugar in the bundt pan, I sprayed lightly with a baking spray already contained flour, and it works out fine

 I'm linking this post with Cookbook Countdown #22 hosted by 

Kitchen Flavours and Emily's Cooking (Makan2) Foray

Chocolate-Bourbon Bundt Cake : Cookbook Countdown #6

Cookbook Countdown is a monthly cooking/baking event, which I'm co-hosting with Emily's Cooking (Makan2) Foray.  Everyone is welcome to join us. How does it work? To summarize, you may select a cookbook from your own cookbook collection, to cook or bake from each month. That selected book shall be your cookbook of the month. You may cook any recipes and as many recipes as you want from your selected book of the month. This is a fabulous way of using your cookbooks at least once! For more information on how to join Cookbook Countdown, please click here. 

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I made this boozy moist chocolaty cake, Chocolate-Bourbon Bundt Cake, for Father's Day. Another fabulous recipe from my selected cookbook for this month, at Cookbook Countdown #6, Williams-Sonoma : Home Baked Comfort by Kim Laidlaw.

Made only half a recipe and used my half-sized bundt pan with a 6-cup capacity. I've reduced the sugar slightly, using scant 3/4 cup and for the bourbon, 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon. For half a recipe, I've baked the cake for 35 minutes.

As for the glaze, I find that when left to room temperature (as instructed in the recipe), it has thickened considerably and quite impossible to pour over the cake. I have therefore stirred in more cream, a little cream at a time, until I get the consistency I want.

This cake is delicious. It is moist, chocolaty bitter, though in a delicious way. And I can definitely taste the bourbon in it, very, very nice! Top with the chocolate glaze, this makes a wonderful cake for any celebration, though, with the amount of bourbon used, definitely not for young kids! Served with a scoop of homemade vanilla ice cream, this is a divine dessert treat! As with cakes like this, the taste gets even better the next day.  

Chocolate-Bourbon Bundt Cake
(adapted from "Williams-Sonoma : Home Baked Comfort", by Kim Laidlaw)
1 cup (8oz/250gm) unsalted butter
4 oz (125gm) bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
1/2 cup (1-1/2oz/45gm) natural cocoa powder
2 cups (10oz/315gm) all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp kosher salt
3 large eggs
2 cups (1lb/500gm) granulated sugar
1 cup (8oz/250gm) sour cream
3/4 cup (6floz/180ml) bourbon
2 tsp pure vanilla extract

For the dark chocolate glaze :
1/4 cup (2fl oz/60ml) heavy cream
4 oz (125gm) bittersweet chocolate, chopped
2 tbsp light corn syrup
1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Vanilla ice cream or whipped cream for serving

Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350F (180C). Butter and flour a 10-cup (2-1/2qt/2.5-l) Bundt pan.

In a small saucepan, melt the butter and chocolate over low heat, stirring with a whisk. Add the cocoa powder and stir until smooth. Let cool.

In a bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt. In the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the eggs and sugar on medium speed until lightened. Stir in the sour cream, bourbon, vanilla, and cooled chocolate mixture on low speed. Stir in the dry ingredients just until combined. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan.

Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, about 40-45 minutes. Let cool in the pan on a wire rack for about 15 minutes, then unmould the cake onto the rack and let cool completely.

Meanwhile, make the glaze. In a small saucepan, warm the cream over low heat. Add the chocolate and corn syrup and stir with a whisk until the chocolate is melted and the glaze is smooth. Let cool to room temperature, then stir in the vanilla. Place the wire rack over a sheet of parchment paper or foil and pour the glaze over the top of the cake, letting it run down the sides. Slide the cake onto a serving platter. Serve thick slices with ice cream or whipped cream.

I'm linking this post with Cookbook Countdown hosted by 

Kitchen Flavours and Emily's Cooking (Makan2) Foray

Bake-Along's Anniversary and Farewell Bake : Lady Bird Lemon Bundt Cake

It's Bake-Along 5th Anniversary! And Bake-Along is saying goodbye! 

It seems like only yesterday when we, Lena, Zoe and myself, started Bake-Along. I remember how excited we were, with dozens of ideas and suggestions on how to make Bake-Along a fun event. We did not expect that it would last for 5 years. Well, this month of May, marks Bake-Along's 5th Anniversary, five full years of baking together with friends. And now, a farewell post as well. It has been a great, wonderful, fabulous 5 baking years. We have done some bakes that we would never have thought of making on our own. My heartful thanks to everyone, for the support and encouragement, particularly to Lena and Zoe, my wonderful baking buddies, for the glorious 5 years of Bake-Along. We have done well indeed!  

I've made a lemony bundt cake, Lady Bird Lemon Bundt Cake. This cake is the recipe of Lady Bird Johnson, the wife of the 36th President of the United States, Lyndon B. Johnson. Her recipe is so popular that it has been passed around thousands of time over the decades, and there are many versions of it.  If you google for info from the web, you would find many similar recipes to this.

Thank you, Bake-Along for 5 delicious years !

A moist, lemony cake with close tight crumbs. Do not skip the lemony frosting, it is good with the cake. Don't forget that pot of tea!

The recipe below is my measurement for half a recipe. I've used a small bundt pan with a 6-cup capacity. For the full recipe to make in a 10-inch Bundt pan, please refer here.

Lady Bird Lemon Bundt Cake
(adapted from "Cake Simple", Christie Matheson)
100gm butter, at room temperature, plus melted butter for greasing the pan
160gm cake flour, plus more for dusting the pan
1/2 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
120gm sugar
4 egg yolks
90ml whole milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon freshly grated lemon zest
1/2 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

Preheat the oven to 325F (165C/gas 3). Brush the inside of a 10-cup Bundt pan thoroughly with the melted butter and dust it lightly with flour. (Use a pastry brush to help distribute the flour and tap out any excess).

Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl until thoroughly combined.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter with the sugar on medium speed for 2 to 3 minutes, until light and fluffy. In a medium bowl, whisk the egg yolks until they are light and lemon-coloured, then add them to the butter-sugar mixture and beat until just blended.

With the mixer on low, add the flour mixture (in three increments) alternately with the milk (in two increments), beginning and ending with the flour and beating until thoroughly incorporated after each addition. Add the vanilla, lemon zest, and lemon juice, beat for 2 minutes.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan, smooth the top, and bake for about 1 hour, until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Let the cake cool for about 15 minutes in the pan on a wire rack, then invert the cake onto the rack and let it cool completely. Pour the icing over the cooled cake and serve. The cake will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days. (The un-iced cake will keep, wrapped well in a layer of plastic and a layer of foil, in the freezer for up to 2 weeks).

Lemon Icing
1 cup (90gm) confectioners' sugar
1/4 cup (28gm) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 tablespoon freshly grated lemon zest
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 teaspoon heavy cream, plus more as needed

Combine the confectioners' sugar with the butter, lemon zest, lemon juice, and cream in a small bowl and stir vigorously until the mixture is smooth, thick, and pourable. Add more cream if needed to obtain the desired consistency.

If you would like to join Bake-Along's last bake, you may bake any Bundt Cake, leave a comment below and we shall mention the link to your post. Thank you!

Please visit the following links for more bundt cakes!

Veronica of Peng's Kitchen has made a lovely Rainbow Bundt Cake

Lemon-Zucchini Pound Cake

This is a lovely cake to enjoy with a cup of tea. Zucchinis and lemons in a buttery, moist cake, yummy!

A slice (or two!) is wonderful with a cup of warm tea.

Freshly grated zucchinis, these are later squeezed to drain out excess juice, and there's a lot of juice!

I made half a recipe and used my half-size Nordic-Ware bundt pan. I made a simple glaze by omitting the half-and-half and uses a lesser amount of sugar. 

With, moist, buttery, and almost velvety-like crumbs texture, this cake is simply delightful. Your kids would not know that those speckled bits are zucchinis! Give this cake a try, I'm sure you would enjoy it as much as I did!

Lemon-Zucchini Pound Cake
(adapted from "The Big Book of Cakes", Betty Crocker)
Cake :
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter, softened
2 cups powdered sugar
4 eggs
2/3 cup milk
2 teaspoons grated lemon peel
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 cup shredded zucchini (about 1 medium), squeezed to drain

Glaze :
1 cup powdered sugar
1 tablespoon butter softened
1 tablespoon half-and-half
1 teaspoon grated lemon peel
2 tablespoons lemon juice

1. Heat oven to 350F. Grease 12-cup fluted tube cake pan with shortening; lightly flour.
2. In medium bowl, mix flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In large bowl, beat 1 cup butter with electric mixer on medium speed about 2 minutes or until creamy. Beat in 2 cups powdered sugar. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add flour mixture alternately with milk, beating well on low speed. Stir in 2 teaspoons lemon peel 2 tablespoons lemon juice and the zucchini. Spoon batter into pan.
3. Bake 50 to 60 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 15 minutes, remove from pan to cooling rack. Cool completely, about 1 hour.
4. Meanwhile, in 1-quart saucepan, heat all glaze ingredients just to boiling over medium heat, stirring constantly; remove from heat. Let stand 30 minutes. Drizzle over cake.

Kitchen Flavours notes:
*** for half a recipe, I used 3/4 cup powdered sugar. For the glaze, I used 1/4 cup powdered sugar, half tablespoon butter and 1 tablespoon lemon juice, omitted the half-and-half.

I'm linking this post with 

Cook-Your-Books #22 @ kitchen flavours

Blueberry-Orange Bundt Cake

Bake #44 at The Home Bakers (THB), Blueberry-Orange Bundt Cake, is selected by Diana of Domestic Goddess Wannabe.

A lovely cake made with cream cheese and butter, flavoured with orange juice and zest, it has a whole cup of yoghurt, and is dotted with fresh blueberries all over. I have reduced the sugar and the sweetness turns out just right. 

The cake bakes up really moist, with dense but soft, almost velvety crumbs. 

A slice is perfect with a cuppa tea! I've really enjoyed this cake.

For the full recipe and instructions, please visit the host of this bake, Diana of Domestic Goddess Wannabe. To view other members' bake, please visit The Home Bakers (THB).

Vanilla Bean Bundt Cake

It has been ages since I last baked a bundt cake. A couple of weeks ago, I was thinking of having plain butter cake, not just any butter cake, but one that is baked in a bundt pan! LOL! Why is it that sometimes the pan that is used to bake the cake is so important? I have no idea, really, except that I want a plain bundt cake! 

I took one of my cookbooks off my bookshelf, "Cake Simple" by Christie Matheson, who is the co-author behind the famous cookbook "Flour" by Joanne Chang, and several other cookbooks. Cake Simple is a lovely book, all on bundt cakes, big and minis, and this is the fourth recipe that I've tried so far, and all are wonderful.

This cake uses vanilla bean pod and a little bourbon, which I've replaced with rum, to soak the vanilla seeds before mixing into the batter. Other changes I've made was to replace the buttermilk with a mixture of homemade yoghurt and milk. Both brown and caster sugar are used for this cake. As usual, I have reduced the sugar, for the caster sugar from 1 cup to 1/2 cup ; and for the brown sugar, from packed 1/2 cup to loosely packed scant 1/2 cup. And the sweetness turns out just right.

The cake is very moist, tender and absolutely delicious! It has a soft dense crumbs and the taste of the rum is lightly visible in each bite.

This is one lovely cake. Another winner recipe from this book. I did not make the glaze as it does not need it, already good on its own. 

Vanilla Bean Bundt Cake
(adapted from "Cake Simple", Christie Matheson)
Serves 10-12
1 cup (230gm) unsalted butter, at room temperature (I use 250gm salted butter)
plus melted butter for greasing the pan
2-1/4 cups (270gm) all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting the pan
1 teaspoon bourbon (I use rum)
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt (omit this)
1 cup (200gm) granulated sugar (I use 1/2 cup)
1/2 cup (110gm) packed light brown sugar (I use scant 1/2 cup)
3 eggs
1 egg yolk
1 cup (240ml) buttermilk (I use 2/3 cup homemade yoghurt mixed with 1/3 cup milk)

1. Preheat the oven to 325F (165C/Gas 3). Brush the inside of a 10-cup (2.4-L) bundt pan thoroughly with the melted butter and dust it lightly with flour. (Use a pastry brush to help distribute the flour and tap out any excess).
2. Pour the bourbon into a small bowl. Scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean into the bourbon and stir to blend well. (reserve the scraped vanilla pod for making the glaze).
3. Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl until thoroughly combined.
4. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter with the granulated sugar and brown sugar on medium speed for 2 to 3 minutes, until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, and then the egg yolk, beating well after each addition until incorporated. Beat in the bourbon-vanilla mixture.
5. With the mixer on low, add the flour mixture (in two increments) alternately with the buttermilk, beginning and ending with the flour and beating just until combined.
6. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, smooth the top, and bake for 50 to 55 minutes, until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Let the cake cool in the pan on a wire rack for about 15 minutes, then invert the cake onto the rack and let it cool completely. Drizzle the glaze over the cooled cake, let the glaze set for a few minutes, and serve. The cake can be made 1 day in advance and kept in an airtight container at room temperature.

Vanilla Glaze

1/4 cup (60ml) milk

scraped vanilla bean pod (reserved from making the cake)

1-1/2 cups (140gm) confectioners' sugar

pinch of salt

In a very small nonreactive saucepan over low heat, combine the milk and the vanilla bean pod and heat to scalding (when small bubbles form around the edge of the milk but before it begins to boil). Remove the milk from the heat and let steep with the vanilla bean pod until the milk is cool.

Meanwhile, combine the confectioners' sugar with the salt in a small bowl. Remove the pod from the cooled milk. Add 2 tablespoons of the vanilla-infused milk to the sugar-salt mixture, and whisk until smooth and pourable, adding more milk as needed to obtain the desired consistency.

I am submitting this post to "Baby Sumo's Christmas Recipe Collection 2013" event hosted by Baby Sumo of Eat Your Heart Out.

Cook-Your-Books #7 hosted by Kitchen Flavours

THB : Lemon-Glazed Buttermilk Bundt Cake

Bake #19 at The Home Bakers (THB), Lemon-Glazed Buttermilk Bundt Cake, is chosen by Grace of Life Can Be Simple. Grace, you've picked a fine one! This cake is simply delightful, I ate three mini bundlets after taking these photos, while they are still warm and lemony delicious!  

The original recipe is baked in a big bundt pan, but I have scaled down the recipe to half and chose to make mini bundlets instead. Which got me exactly 12 mini bundlets. The only changes I made was to omit the nuts and use dried cranberries instead, and it was a super good choice! For the buttermilk, I have replaced with my usual mixture of homemade yoghurt and milk. I have also reduced the sugar slightly to 1/3 cup for half a recipe. 

Do not skip on the lemon glaze! It is lemony, not too sweet and so perfect when drizzled over the mini bundlets. Make such a pretty little cake!

The texture of the cake is very light, moist and tender, and I'm glad that I've substitute the nuts with dried cranberries, it was good!

I'm pretty pleased with this lemony cake, another keeper recipe!

For the full recipe, please visit Grace from Life Can Be Simple and to view other members' bake, drop by The Home Bakers (THB).

We are a group of home bakers who are currently baking from "Coffee Cakes" by Lou Seibert Pappas, until each recipe from this book has been baked. This is our bake no. 19 and we have 41 recipes more to go. If you are interested to be a member and join in our bakes, you may drop me an email at kitchenflavours@yahoo.com.

#50/100

THB : Lavender-Lemon Polenta Cake

It's time for The Home Bakers' bake today, and for our bake no 16, this lovely Lavender-Lemon Polenta Cake was chosen by Angela from The Charmed Cupcakes. Angela is a talented baker and as you can tell by the name of her blog, she loves cupcakes! Drop by The Charmed Cupcakes to view her creative and delicious cupcakes, believe me, you would be swooned!

The original name for this bake is Rosemary-Lemon Polenta Cake, but there's a variation for making this with dried lavender. Since I do not have any rosemary at hand, I used the dried lavender that I bought a  couple of months ago. 

I have replaced the buttermilk with a mixture of homemade yoghurt and milk, which are heated briefly together with the dried lavenders. This mixture is then poured over the cornmeal, and let stand for 1 hour to soften. I've made half a recipe and has reduced the sugar slightly to 1/3 cup, which is just nice. 

This cake has a lovely golden crust and a moist, soft, tender texture. The lovely floral scent of the lavender is really nice. The addition of cornmeal gives a very nice texture to this cake, since it was soaked and softened before baking, you cannot really taste the grainy cornmeal, in fact it balances off very nicely in terms of flavour and texture. Recipe includes a Lavender-Lemon Syrup for drizzling over the cake, but I have omitted that. I think this cake is good on it's own. A slice of this cake is very nice with a cup of warm tea.

Please visit Angela of The Charmed Cupcake for the full recipe, and to view the other members' bake, drop by The Home Bakers.

We are a group of home bakers who are currently baking from "Coffee Cakes" by Lou Seibert Pappas, until each recipe from this book has been baked. This is our bake no. 16 and we have 44 recipes more to go. If you are interested to be a member and join in our bakes, you may drop me an email at kitchenflavours@yahoo.com.

#28/100

THB : Chocolate Streusel-Ribboned Bundt Cake

This week's bake at The Home Bakers (THB), Chocolate Streusel-Ribboned Bundt Cake is chosen by Louanne from Louanne's Kitchen.  A lovely choice, this cake bakes up beautiful and is so moist, soft and tender.

This cake has a cinnamon-chocolate streusel ribbons the center and the top. The streusel are made up of butter, all-purpose flour, light brown sugar, ground cinnamon, cocoa powder and chopped walnuts or pecans. Prepare the batter and half of the batter is then poured into the bundt pan and sprinkle the top with half of the streusel mixture. The remaining half of the cake batter is poured over and the top is spread with the rest of the remaining streusel. Bake for about 35-40 minutes at 350F until golden brown and cooked. 

I love the golden brown colour of the crust.  The only changes I made was to reduce the amount of sugar from the original 3/4 cup to 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons, and it was just right. And I have substitute the sour cream with my homemade yoghurt.

The top of the cake, with the streusel, is now the bottom.

The delicious streusel in the center of the cake and at the bottom.

The cake is so moist and soft with tender textured crumbs. I love the streusel, so yummy! This is a delicious cake. I had two slices with some Chinese tea, yum! A lovely cake for tea-time with a cup of your favourite tea and great too with a cup of black coffee at breakfast.

Please do visit the host of this bake, Louanne from Louanne's Kitchen for the full recipe.  To view the other members bake on this cake, please drop by The Home Bakers (THB).

We are a group of home bakers who are currently baking from "Coffee Cakes" by Lou Seibert Pappas, until each recipe from this book has been baked. This is our bake no. 14 and we have 46 recipes more to go. If you are interested to be a member and join in our bakes, you may drop me an email at kitchenflavours@yahoo.com.

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