Bacon Broccoli Mac and Cheese Bundt #BundtBakers

This bacon broccoli mac and cheese Bundt is a delicious main course made with a wonderful cheesy sauce that includes heavy cream, extra sharp cheddar and five whole eggs.

I’m not sure why I did but when I decided to host this month’s Bundt Bakers event, I chose cheese as the main ingredient. Cheese means that both sweet and savory bakes are an option! This could not have come at a better time.

Like the rest of the world, we’ve been self isolating for several weeks because of the novel coronavirus. We don’t eat a lot of sweets so I really wanted to make something we would eat for a main course, rather than a dessert. Thank God for cheese.

Bacon Broccoli Mac and Cheese Bundt

This Bundt is much more than just baking your usual mac and cheese in a Bundt pan. The bacon, broccoli and eggs make this a full meal. Leftovers, if you should be so fortunate as to have any, are just as delicious the next day.

Ingredients
12 oz or 340g large elbow macaroni
5 1/3 oz or 150g small broccoli florets (no stems –about 1/2 small crown)
12 oz or 340g (7-8 slices) thick cut bacon
1/4 cup or 56g unsalted butter, plus more for greasing the Bundt pan
1/3 cup or 41g flour, plus more for flouring the Bundt pan
1 medium onion, chopped finely
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 cups or 360ml milk (I used 2 percent fat)
1/2 cup or 120ml heavy cream
12 oz or 340g extra sharp cheddar cheese (or a combo of your favorite cheeses), grated
1 teaspoon mustard powder (I use Colman’s)
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
5 eggs
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt

Bacon Broccoli Mac and Cheese Bundt

While this recipe calls for only broccoli florets, don’t discard the stems after you’ve cut off the little florets. They are not only edible once you trim the hard outer stalk, they are delicious in a salad.

Method
Thoroughly grease and flour your 12-cup Bundt pan. I suggest using a classic design since we are baking with cheese, which can tend to stick. Bundt pans with too many nooks and crannies would be asking for trouble.

Cook your elbow macaroni in salted boiling water, according to the package instructions. Add in the broccoli florets for the last 3 minutes of cooking time. Drain the macaroni and broccoli florets and rinse with cool water. Set aside in the colander to drain completely.

Meanwhile, cut the bacon into pieces and fry them in a skillet until crispy. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon and drain on some paper towels.

Remove all but 1/4 cup or 60ml of the bacon fat and save in a clean jar for future recipes.

Add the butter to the skillet and once it has melted, Add in the flour and stir to create a light roux without any lumps.

Add in the onion and garlic and sauté till they are softened and translucent.

Turn the heat under your skillet right down to simmer and whisk the milk and cream into the roux.

Raise the flame a little and cook, whisking all the while, until the sauce thickens. This takes just a few minutes. You know you have the right thickness when a spatula pulled through it leaves a brief show of pan, then the sauce flows right back in.

Toss the mustard powder, smoked paprika and cayenne with the grated cheese then add it to the white sauce.

Remove the pan from the heat and stir until the cheese is melted. Set aside to cool for a few minutes.

Preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk the 5 eggs with salt.

Whisk your cooling cheese sauce into the eggs a tablespoon or two at a time, until it’s all mixed in.
You don’t want to add all of the warm cheese sauce at once since the heat will cook the eggs and you’ll end up with eggy lumps. No one wants that.

Sprinkle the bottom of the prepared Bundt pan with some of the bacon bits.

Stir the cooled macaroni, broccoli and the rest of the bacon into the egg/cheese sauce mixture.

Spoon the mixture into the Bundt pan and bake for 50 minutes in your preheated oven.

Cool on a wire rack for about 10 minutes and then loosen the sides and around the center hole with a wooden skewer. Invert on a plate to serve.

Enjoy!

Check out all the other lovely Bundts with cheese!

• Bacon Broccoli Mac and Cheese Bundt from Food Lust People Love
• Chocolate Cream Cheese Bundt Cake from Making Miracles
• Cream Cheese Bundt Cake from Sneha's Recipe
• Cream Cheese Swirl Coffee Cake from Patyco Candybar
• Easy Peasy Cheesy Pull Apart Bread from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Mascarpone Lemon Cud Bundt Cake from Nunca es Demasiado Dulce
• Sausage Egg and Cheese Breakfast Bundtlettes from Palatable Pastime
• Strawberry Cream Cheese Bundt from Sweet Sensations

#BundtBakers is a group of Bundt loving bakers who get together once a month to bake Bundts with a common ingredient or theme. You can see all of our lovely Bundts by following our Pinterest board. We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient. Updated links for all of our past events and more information about BundtBakers can be found on our home page. c

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