Buttermilk Raspberry Vanilla Bundt #BundtBakers

The tender vanilla crumb surrounds sweet raspberries for a little slice of summer berry heaven in this delectable buttermilk raspberry vanilla Bundt cake.

I’ve just finished reading Kate Morton’s The Forgotten Garden, which contains fairy tales interspersed with the story, an epic of family and secrets and generational connections. I can’t remember the last time I read a fairy tale before this. When I got to the first one, I almost skipped over it since it was an interruption to the main narrative and I wanted that to continue. But I honored the author's intentions and read it after all. I've been in a weird philosophical mood ever since.

Fairy tales are a genre that don’t often present themselves as adult fare but, honestly, they should be. Some of them are really scary. But they also open our minds to the possibility of magic and mystery in the world around us.

For instance, have you ever seen a magnified photo of a raspberry? The tiny “hairs” and round globes filled with juice and seeds are otherworldly; like little bunches of bright red grapes just the right size for fairies to eat. I think they’d be fans of my raspberry vanilla cake as well.

Buttermilk Raspberry Vanilla Bundt

If fresh raspberries aren’t available where you live, you can use frozen ones or feel free to substitute your own favorite summer berry.

Ingredients
For the cake:
2 cups or 250g all-purpose flour, plus more for flouring pan
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup or 75g unsalted butter, softened, plus more for greasing pan
3/4 cup or 150g sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
3/4 cup or 180ml whole fat buttermilk
1 1/2 cups or about 180g fresh or frozen raspberries

For the easy raspberry glaze:
5-6 fresh or frozen raspberries
1/3 cup or 41g icing sugar
water or lemon juice, as needed

Optional for serving (instead of the glaze): icing sugar

Method
Sprinkle two tablespoons of the sugar on the raspberries in small bowl. Set aside.

Preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C and generously butter and flour a 10-cup Bundt pan.

In another mixing bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

Beat the butter and the balance of the sugar with electric beaters or in stand mixer at medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes, then beat in the vanilla. Scrape down the bowl, then add the eggs one at a time and beat well with each addition.

Have a quick look at your raspberries and sugar and give them a stir. If they look really juicy, put one tablespoon of the flour mixture into the bowl and fold it into the berries. This will help them stay in the batter rather than falling to the bottom of the cake.

Add half of the remaining flour mixture and half of the buttermilk into the big mixing bowl. Beat on low until combined. Add in the other half of both and beat until just combined.

Spoon the sugary raspberries onto the batter along with any syrup they've created. Raspberries do tend to break down rather nicely. Gently fold them into the batter.

Spoon the batter into your prepared Bundt pan, smoothing out the top, if necessary.

Bake until the cake is golden and well-risen, about 40-45 minutes. A wooden toothpick inserted into center should come out clean.

To make the raspberry glaze, add the raspberries and powdered sugar to a small bowl. Mash the raspberries with the back of a spoon until they've completely dissolved into the sugar. Add a few drops of water or lemon juice till you get a pouring consistency, if needed. Warm the glaze over a low heat in a small pot, until it turns clear. Set aside to cool.

Cool the Bundt cake in the pan for about 10 minutes. Loosen the sides with your testing toothpick, then turn the cake out onto a wire rack.

Cool completely before sprinkling with a little icing sugar or spooning on the easy raspberry glaze to serve.

Enjoy!

My favorite part of summer is the plethora of seasonal fruit in farm shops and supermarkets so I was delighted when this month’s Bundt Baker host, Kelley of Simply Inspired Meals chose that as our theme. Check out all the other lovely summer fruit Bundts we’ve baked for you today.

• Amaretto Glazed Berry Bundt by Sweet Sensations
• Buttermilk Raspberry Vanilla Bundt by Food Lust People Love
• Cherries with Cherry Cheese Bundt Cake by PatycoCandyBar
• Eggless Orange Bundt with Orange Glaze by Sneha's Recipe
• Fresh Strawberry Bundt by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Mango Bundt Cake and Frosting by Merce's Cake
• Mini Strawberry Bundt Cake by Simply Inspired Meals
• Peaches and Cream Bundt Cake by All That's Left Are The Crumbs

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#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 our of 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.

Pin this Buttermilk Raspberry Vanilla Bundt!

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Fried Jalapeño Corn Puffs #BreadBakers

Crunchy on the outside and fluffy on the inside, these fried jalapeño corn puffs are savory doughnuts of a most delicious kind.

If you’ve been reading along here for the past eight years, you’ll know that I seldom deep-fry anything. I know, I know. Odd for a cook raised in the southern tradition. My grandmother thought nothing of frying chicken, often more than once a week, if we were visiting. I think she could do it in her sleep. Her fried chicken was the best, a dish I still attempt occasionally. Despite watching and helping her many times, even taking notes, somehow mine is never quite as good.

In fact, there are only three fried recipes on this blog, if you don’t count pan-frying in very little or no oil, which I do not: Spicy fried chicken à la Maya Angelou; deep fried cod fritters, a Brazilian specialty; and tali machchi, a spicy fish dish from Goa on the west coast of India.

But when our host for this month’s Bread Bakers chose fried bread leavened with yeast as our theme, I couldn’t resist making a savory snack. These would be perfect appetizers for a summer cocktail party, made with fresh sweet corn.

Fried Jalapeño Corn Puffs
These crunchy outside, fluffy inside little corn puffs are well worth heating up the oil and throwing an apron on. When deep-frying, always be aware of the possibility of popping oil, keeping your face well away from the pot. I also suggest making sure pets and children are not underfoot.

Ingredients
For the puff dough:
1/2 cup or 120ml warm water
1 teaspoon active dry yeast
1 tablespoon sugar
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon shortening, at room temperature
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 1/2 cups or 190g strong white bread flour
1 cup or 145g sweet corn niblets, fresh cut off the cob or frozen
1-2 jalapeños, depending on your spiciness tolerance

To fry the puffs:
Canola or peanut oil – enough to allow 2 in or 5 cm of oil in your deep frying pot

Optional for serving:
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Method
If you are using frozen corn, thaw it and leave it to drain on a clean kitchen towel or paper towels, until you are ready to add it to the dough.

Measure the water into bowl. Add the yeast and sugar. Set aside for a few minutes to make sure your yeast is active. It should begin to bubbly and froth.

Meanwhile cut the stems off the jalapeños and mince them finely. If you have a low tolerance for spicy heat, use only one pepper and remove the seeds and membrane before mincing. We fall very much into the spicier the better camp.

Whisk the shortening, egg and salt into the bowl.

Sift in the flour and mix well. This creates a very thick batter or a very soft dough. Same same.

Fold in the corn and jalapeños. Cover and let rise overnight in the refrigerator or until doubled in a warm place.

Heat your oil in a wide deep pot to the ideal deep-frying temperature of 375°F or 190°C. I always use a thermometer because I am very bad at guessing how hot the oil is. (If you don't have a thermometer, here are some tips from E-How.)

Use a tablespoon or cookie scoop to gently drop the batter into the hot oil, being careful not to overcrowd the pot, which lowers the oil temperature. I have a two-tablespoon cookie scoop. Filling it about halfway made these perfect little puffs.

Fry the puffs until golden brown on one side, turning them over to lightly brown the other side.

Use a slotted spoon to scoop the puffs out of the oil and drain on a wire rack or on paper towels. Keep warm in a very slow oven until all the puffs are fried.

Once my fried jalapeño corn puffs were all ready, I pulled them out of the warm oven and grated a little Parmesan over the top. I suggest you do the same.

Enjoy!

Many thanks to Sneha of Sneha’s Recipe, our host for this month’s yeasty fried bread event. It was an excellent challenge! Check out the great recipes our members have created today.

• Batterway Drop Doughnuts by Sara's Tasty Buds
• Buttermilk Beignets by Anybody Can Bake
• Fried Jalapeño Corn Puffs by Food Lust People Love
• Mochi Doughnuts by All That's Left Are The Crumbs
• Pączki by A Messy Kitchen
• Peruvian Pumpkin Sweet Potato Doughnuts by The Schizo Chef
• Samoan German Buns by Gayathri's Cook Spot
• Sufganiyot (Hanukkah Jelly Donuts) by Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Whole Wheat Bhatura by Ambrosia
• Yeasted Bhatura by Sneha's Recipe

#BreadBakers is a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme. You can see all our of lovely bread by following our Pinterest board right here. http://www.pinterest.com/flpl/bread-bakers/ Links are also updated after each event on the BreadBakers home page. http://www.foodlustpeoplelove.com/p/breadbakers.html We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient.

Pin these Fried Jalapeño Corn Puffs! 

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Fig and Stilton Muffins #MuffinMonday

Not quite savory and not quite sweet, these fig and Stilton muffins are the perfect marriage of fruit and cheese in a fluffy quick bread. Serve for breakfast, tea time or as an accompaniment to a light lunch.

I adore fresh figs but they are so hard to come by. My stand in, soft dried figs, can’t replace them but they are so much better than no figs at all. I always assumed that they were dehydrated to the soft state I bought them in, but for the very first time, I actually read the package as I prepared to bake these muffins.

It says, and I quote: Partially rehydrated dried figs.

Which brought up a question for me. Why dry them out completely if you are going to add moisture back at a later date? I spent a couple of days down the rabbit hole of internet research. Who knew dried fig production was such a popular subject for scholarly papers! The best explanation I came up with was that dried figs have a longer shelf life but people want to buy them soft. Hence the two-step process.

The figs are picked when at optimal ripeness then dried completely. They are gently rehydrated which plumps them up and makes them edible again. If you’ve never tried them, they have a similar texture to dried apricots, in other words, they are chewy and sticky. Not hard at all except for the very end of the stems.

Fig and Stilton Muffins

If you don’t have access to Stilton, substitute your favorite strong flavored blue cheese that crumbles well. The sweet sticky figs are the perfect complement to a strong blue cheese.

Ingredients
2 cups or 250g all purpose flour
1/4 cup or 50g sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup or 180ml buttermilk
1/2 cup or 120ml canola or other light oil, plus extra for greasing pan
2 large eggs
5 1/3 oz or 150g soft dried figs (about 9-10 figs)
3 1/2 oz or 100g Stilton cheese

Method
Preheat oven to 350°F or 180°C and generously grease cups and top of 12-cup muffin pan with oil. The fig and cheese make these more likely to stick than other muffins.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt together.

Remove any hard stems on the figs with a sharp knife. Chop the figs roughly and set aside at least 12 pieces to pop on top of the muffins before baking.

Add the rest to the flour mixture and fold gently until they are coated with flour, separating any bits that are stuck together.

Trim any hard rind off of your cheese and discard. Crumble the rest with a fork.

In another bowl, whisk together buttermilk, canola and eggs.

Add all the wet mixture to the dry ingredients mixing bowl.

Fold just until dry ingredients are just moistened.  You may still see some flour.

Now fold in the crumbled Stilton, saving a little bit for topping each muffin.

Divide your batter relatively evenly between the 12 muffin cups.  Top with the reserved fig and Stilton pieces.

Bake 20-25 minutes or until muffins are golden.

Remove from oven and let cool a few minutes before removing muffins from the pan. I suggest running a dull knife around the sides of the muffin first to aid in removal.

Enjoy!

Check out the other great muffin recipes my Muffin Monday friends are sharing today! 

• Crumb Topped Peach Muffins from Palatable Pastime
• Fig and Stilton Muffins from Food Lust People Love
• Jerk Chicken Sausage and Cheese Muffins from Passion Kneaded
• Lemon Poppyseed Ricotta Muffins from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Savory Cheese Muffins from A Day in the Life on the Farm

#MuffinMonday is a group of muffin loving bakers who get together once a month to bake muffins. You can see all of our lovely muffins by following our Pinterest board. Updated links for all of our past events and more information about Muffin Monday can be found on our home page.

Pin these Fig and Stilton Muffins! 

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Roasted Rhubarb Upside Down Cake #BundtBakers

Orange almond cake batter is spooned onto sweet roasted rhubarb and baked to golden perfection for a beautiful dessert your whole family will adore. Drizzled with the sticky rhubarb syrup and topped with chopped pistachios for a hit of color and crunch, this roasted rhubarb upside down cake is our new favorite sweet treat.

Years ago, when I was growing up in Houston, Texas, our neighborhood by-laws didn’t permit garage sales, so a couple of times a year the civic association organized a white elephant sale in a nearby stadium parking lot. For a $10 fee, you could park your car and display your wares right behind it. For my mom and me, those sales were a highlight. We’d set up and sell stuff, but we also loved to browse for treasures, so we’d take turns manning our own “stall” and shopping.

Fast forward many years and I discovered that my favorite childhood event is a common thing in the United Kingdom. It’s called a car boot sale since car boot = car trunk. No prior registration is necessary – anyone can just rock up with a full car and pay a fee, typically £8 ($10) and sell their junk, I mean, treasures. Best of all, during the summer time, car boot sales happen Every Single Weekend!

Last weekend at the car boot sale here in Jersey, we bought two huge chancre crabs, four gorgeous hydrangeas in pots, a couple of books and a healthy bunch of homegrown rhubarb. For Father’s Day on Sunday, I wanted to make something special for my husband who adores rhubarb. This cake did not disappoint!

Roasted Rhubarb Upside Down Cake

As I mentioned in yesterday’s post, the recipe for the roasted rhubarb, I decided to publish that separately since it actually makes twice the rhubarb you need for this cake. You can follow those instructions and use half the amounts if you don’t want the extra sweet roasted rhubarb, but I promise it will be eaten, and promptly, if you do!

Ingredients
For the cake batter:
1/2 cup or 113g butter, softened, plus extra for the pan
1/2 cup or 100g caster sugar
2 eggs
1 cup or 125g plain flour, plus extra for the pan
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup or 75g polenta or fine cornmeal, plus a little extra for the pan
1/4 cup or 30g ground almonds
2 tablespoons or 30ml fresh orange or clementine juice
2 teaspoons orange or clementine zest

To assemble: 1/2 of the roasted rhubarb from this recipe: Sweet Roasted Rhubarb
To decorate: 1 tablespoon roughly chopped pistachios

Method
Follow the link in the ingredients list for instructions to roast your rhubarb and set aside to cool while you prepare the cake batter.

Generously grease and flour a 6-cup Bundt pan. Sprinkle an additional teaspoon of fine cornmeal on the bottom. This makes a bit of a thin crust so the rhubarb doesn’t stick to the pan.

Preheat the oven to 350°F or 180°C. (Or turn it down if it's still hot from roasting the rhubarb.)

Beat the butter and sugar in a bowl until pale and creamy. Add the eggs, one at a time, and beat well.

Sift in the flour, baking powder, soda and salt. Whisk to combine.

Fold in the fine cornmeal, ground almonds, orange juice and zest until well combined.

Line the bottom of your Bundt pan with roasted rhubarb, saving any excess to serve alongside it. I chose all of the prettiest pinker bits, another reason to roast more that you actually need!

Spoon the batter into the Bundt pan and smooth the top with a spatula.

Bake for 30-35 minutes until it is golden and a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean. Remove from the oven but leave in the pan to cool for about 10 minutes. Any longer and it might end up sticking so do set a timer.

Turn the cake out onto a wire rack to cool completely. At this point, I used a dull knife to flick away some of the cornmeal "crust" on top to better reveal the beautiful rhubarb.

Drizzle or brush on some sticky syrup from the roasted rhubarb. Sprinkle with chopped pistachios with a little more syrup on top to help them stick.

Enjoy!

Many thanks to this month’s Bundt Bakers host, Sue from Palatable Pastime. We are sharing cakes that are perfect for picnics! Along with my little 6-cup Bundt which travels well, check out all the other great cakes we've baked for you.

• Cheerwine Bundt Cake from Palatable Pastime
• Elderflower and Blueberry Bundt - Bundt Cake Flor de Saúco y Arándanos from Merce's Cake
• Lemon and Pistachio Bundt Cake from Patyco Candybar
• Milk Chocolate and Caramel Popcorn Bundt Cake from All That's Left Are The Crumbs
• Pineapple Upside Down Bundt from Simply Inspired meals
• Roasted Rhubarb Upside Down Cake from Food Lust People Love
• Spiced Apple Streusel Cake from Sneha's Recipe

#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 our of 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.

Pin this Roasted Rhubarb Upside Down Cake! 

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Sweet Roasted Rhubarb

Sweet roasted rhubarb with a hint of orange and vanilla makes the perfect accompaniment to ice cream, cake or yogurt. We also love it topped with double cream or baked in an upside down cake.

Tomorrow I’ll be sharing a small orange almond Bundt cake recipe that uses half of this recipe of sweet roasted rhubarb but the more I thought about it, the more convinced I was that the rhubarb deserved its own post.

It is super simple to make, keeps well for several days in the refrigerator and it can be eaten so many ways. Even though I was roasting the rhubarb specifically to make the cake, I roasted twice the amount needed because my husband is a huge rhubarb fan and I knew he’d love leftovers. Also, I must confess, I had another more selfish motive as well. I wanted to be able to choose the prettiest dark pink bits for the cake.

Sweet Roasted Rhubarb

I make vanilla sugar by adding 2-3 vanilla pods to about 2 cups or 400g white sugar in airtight container and setting it aside for a couple of weeks in a cool cupboard. The sugar takes on the vanilla flavor and is wonderful in all sorts of recipes, or even just in a cup of warm milk before bed. If you don’t have vanilla sugar, substitute normal sugar and add one teaspoon of vanilla extract to the orange juice instead.

Ingredients
14 oz or 400g rhubarb, cut into 2 in or 5cm lengths
1/4 cup or 50g vanilla sugar vanilla extract
2 tablespoons or 30ml fresh orange or clementine juice
Good pinch flakey sea salt

Method
Preheat the oven temperature to 400°F or 200°C. Trim the dried ends and brown bits off of the rhubarb. Cut it into 2 in or 5cm pieces.

Pile the rhubarb on a baking tray. Pour on the juice, add the vanilla sugar and toss to coat.

Spread the pieces of rhubarb out so they aren’t touching.

Roast for 15-20 minutes or until the rhubarb is fork tender. Set aside to cool.

Store the rhubarb and the syrupy juice in a covered container in the refrigerator. Serve cold or warmed with something creamy like yogurt, ice cream or cream. Enjoy!

If you are a fan of rhubarb, you might also enjoy these recipes:

• Rhubarb Sauce Cookies
• Apple Rhubarb Pie 
• Rhubarb Fool Cocktail

Pin this Sweet Roasted Rhubarb! 

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Cranberry Pecan Quick Bread #BreadBakers

Made with jellied sauce, this cranberry pecan quick bread is full of tart cranberry flavor, rich nutty bits with just enough sweetness to be perfect with a cup of hot tea or coffee.

Last week I was tidying up the pantry. It’s such a great feeling to have all my cans in a row, organized by type. You know, beans together, tomato products side by side. Jalapeños in the back, along with the capers. Not such a great feeling was realizing that I had four, count them, four cans of jellied cranberry sauce. Part of expat life is buying seasonal items whenever you see them, because it’s likely that a holiday will roll around, and that special ingredient you must have will not be available.

But even I have to agree that keeping four cans of jellied cranberry sauce in stock is overkill, especially when pantry space is limited. Inspired by this recipe on the Ocean Spray website (because it uses an entire can - no one wants a half cup of leftover cranberry sauce in June), I am now down to three cans. I loved this cranberry pecan quick bread so much that can number three is earmarked for another loaf.

This is not in any way a sponsored post but I did use Ocean Spray Jellied Cranberry Sauce. Just so you know, in case you have a can or three lurking in your pantry.

Cranberry Pecan Quick Bread

The original recipe called for whole berry sauce but in our family it wouldn’t be Thanksgiving or Christmas without the jiggly slices, served straight from the can. In my adapted recipe, you need the moisture of the jellied cranberry sauce to balance the added oat bran.

Ingredients
2 cups or 250g flour
1/2 cup or 70g oat bran
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2/3 cup or 132g brown sugar
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 14-ounce or 397g can jellied cranberry sauce
1/2 cup or 120ml canola or other light vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup or 130g roughly chopped pecans

Method
Preheat your oven to 350ºF or 180°C. Prepare your loaf pan by greasing it or lining it with baking parchment.

Gently break up the jellied cranberry sauce with a fork, making sure to leave some of it in bigger pieces. Set aside a small handful of the pecans and a couple of tablespoons of the cranberry sauce for topping the batter with before baking.

Whisk together the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon in a large mixing bowl.

In another smaller mixing bowl, gently mix together the beaten egg, cranberry sauce, oil and vanilla. You want to keep the cranberry chunks chunky, as much as possible.

Pour the wet ingredients into the bowl with the dry ingredients. Fold them together until just mixed.

Sprinkle on the pecans and fold again to distribute the pecans throughout the thick batter.

Spoon the batter evenly into prepared loaf pan. Top with the reserved jellied cranberry sauce and chopped pecans.

Bake until golden brown and a wooden skewer inserted into the center comes out clean, 50-55 minutes. If bread begins to brown too quickly, cover it loosely with foil and continue to bake until it is done.

Leave the loaf to cool in the pan on a wire rack for 15-20 minutes. Remove the loaf from the pan and transfer it to the wire rack. Cool completely before slicing.

Enjoy!

This month I am hosting our Bread Bakers event with the theme Quick Breads. Although quick breads can take many forms, they have in common the use of other leavening agents instead of yeast to get rise we want in a baked good. I challenged the bakers to bake in loaf pans, rather than making muffins or the like. Check out what a great job they did by clicking on the links below:

• Banana Nut Bread from Sneha's Recipe
• Cheddar Bacon Chive Quick Bread from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Chocolate Quick Bread from Sara's Tasty Buds
• Coconut Sweet Bread from Passion Kneaded
• Cranberry Pecan Quick Bread from Food Lust People Love
• Espresso Banana Quick Bread with Espresso Streusel from All That's Left Are The Crumbs
• Irish Soda Bread from Anybody Can Bake
• Keto Low Carb Coconut Flour Bread from Cook With Renu
• Lady Grey Date Nut Bread from A Messy Kitchen
• Lemon Blueberry Bread from Palatable Pastime
• Lemon Pistachio Loaf from Ambrosia
• Summer Shandy Beer Bread from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Zucchini Bread from Simply Inspired Meals

#BreadBakers is a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme. Follow our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated each month on this home page.

We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient.

Pin this Cranberry Pecan Quick Bread!

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