Lemon Blueberry Van Halen Bundt #BundtBakers

This Lemon Blueberry Van Halen Bundt is a rich and buttery pound cake, filled with cream cheese and blueberries then drizzled with a lemon cream cheese glaze.

If you are a fan of Van Halen, you’ve probably discerned that my contribution for this month’s Bundt Bakers is a pound cake, so I'll elaborate further to say it's flavored with lemon and stuffed with blueberries. There’s also cream cheese and blueberry jam right up in there.

It’s not “an old time, long lost recipe” but one I adapted off of my friend Jenni’s blog, Pastry Chef Online, who in turn adapted it from an original recipe by a certain Miss Patsy. And while I don’t know Miss Patsy, I’m going to hazard a guess from her name that she is “home grown and down home, “ so the renaming of her pound cake is maybe appropriate, if you don’t think too hard about the rest of the Van Halen lyrics. As Jenni has proven myriad times, this recipe is easily adaptable and a great jumping off place for buttery rich pound cakes of various flavors.

This month our theme for Bundt Bakers is Hidden Surprises so, even after adding all the lemon, I couldn’t leave Miss Patsy’s recipe well enough alone; I had to try and put something inside. I chose blueberries and cream cheese, which sounded like a great idea, until the filling sunk. And that is when I added a glaze to the instructions because I had to hide it again. If you don’t mind the look of a blueberry upside down Bundt, leave off the glaze because it was delicious. Rather ugly actually, but definitely delicious. On the other hand, a lemony cream cheese glaze is never a bad thing. Your call.

Ingredients
2 1/4 cups or 285g flour
3/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
2 1/4 cups or 450g sugar
1 1/8 cup or 255g unsalted butter, softened
3 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
Zest of 1 lemon
1/4 cup or 60ml whole milk
1/4 cup or 60ml cream
1/4 cup or 60ml fresh lemon juice

For the filling:
2 1/2 oz or 70g cream cheese, cold
1 3/4 oz or 50g fresh blueberries, plus a few extra for decorating, if desired
1/4 cup or 80g blueberry jam

Optional lemon glaze:
1/2 cup or 60g icing sugar
1 1/4 oz or 35g cream cheese, at room temperature
1 teaspoon butter, at room temperature
1 teaspoon lemon juice
2-3 teaspoons milk

Method
Preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C and prepare your 10-cup Bundt pan by greasing and flouring it or using the non-stick spray that has flour already in it.

Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt together in a bowl and set aside.

Measure your milk, cream and lemon juice together in a measuring cup and stir well. It's going to kind of thicken and get all sour creamy/buttermilky and that's a good thing.

In the bowl of your stand mixer or with electric beaters, cream the butter and the sugar together until light and fluffy.

Add in the vanilla and then the first egg.

Beat well until combined. Scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl with a rubber spatula and add the other two eggs, one at a time, beating well after each.

Add in half your flour and beat well, followed by half your liquid mixture and beat until thoroughly combined.

Scrape the sides of the bowl well and continue beating, adding the balance of the flour and then the balance of the liquids, along with the lemon zest. Beat well.

Spoon two-thirds of your batter into the prepared Bundt pan. Use a spoon to make a very shallow channel in the batter.

For the filling, cut the cream cheese up into small chunks and mix lightly with the jam and fresh blueberries.

Spoon your filling into the channel.

Then top it with the balance of the batter and smooth it out.

Bake in your preheated oven for about 45-50 minutes or until the top is nicely golden and the Bundt begins to just pull away from the sides.

Let the Bundt cool in the pan for about 10 minutes and then turn it out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

This is not a thing of beauty

The filling will probably sink to the bottom of the pan, which becomes the top of the cake, making an upside down blueberry cream cheese topping. Which, as I mentioned, while delicious, is not particularly attractive. At least in my opinion. If you’d like to hide it with a glaze, whisk all the glaze ingredients together, adding just enough milk to get it to the consistency you'd like, and then drizzle it (or use a piping bag) to decorate the top of the Bundt.

If you've added the glaze, top with a few blueberries, if desired.

Enjoy!

Many thanks to our host this month, Anshie of Spice Roots for a great, if somewhat vexing, theme and for all the work it takes to host. Have a look at how the rest of our group handled the Hidden Surprises challenge:

• Almond Crunch Cake by Magnolia Days
• Balsamic Strawberry Filled Bundt Cake by Our Good Life
• Banana Maple Bundt Cake with Chocolate Star by Un Mordisco Un Pecado
• Black and White Surprise Bundt Cake by Patty's Cake
• Chocolate and Vanilla Polka Dot Bundt by Passion Kneaded
• Chocolate Bundt Cake with Oreo Cheesecake Filling by Recipes, Food and Cooking
• Chocolate Cheesecake Filled Peanut Butter Bundt Cake by Sew You Think You Can Cook
• Citrus Raspberry Bundt by Noshing With The Nolands
• Confetti Zebra Cake by Eat, Drink, Be Mighty
• Cookie Dough Bundt Cake by Liv for Cake
• German Mozarthupf by A Kingdom for a Cake
• Graham Cracker Bundt Cake with Key Lime Cheesecake Swirl by Brooklyn Homemaker
• KitKat Surprise Bundt Cake by Simply Veggies
• Lemon Blueberry Van Halen Bundt by Food Lust People Love
• Orange and Strawberry Jam Bundt Cake by Baking Yummies
• Pear and Blue Cheese Bundt by Jane's Adventures in Dinner
• Polka Dot Bundt Cake by Brunch with Joy
• Raspberry Filled Lemon Bundt by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Real Deal Nutella Bundt Cake by Baking in Pyjamas
• Savory Monkey Bread Stuffed Bundt by Adventures in All Things Food
• Sour Cream Boozy Hazelnut Bundt Cake by Sidewalk Shoes
• Spring Break S'mores Cake by Tea and Scones
• Strawberry Cheese Cake Bundt Cake by Basic N Delicious
• Strawberry Twinkie Bundt Cake by I Love Bundt Cakes
• Strawberry Swirl Cream Cheese Pound Cake by Big Rigs 'n Lil' Cookies
• Surprise Bundt by Mummy & Cute
• Surprise Filled Chocolate Bundt Cake by Media Ración Doble, Por Favor
• Surprise Inside Carrot Bundt Cake by Making Miracles
• Triple Lemon Bundt Cake by Baking and Creating with Avril
• Tropical Surprise Bundt Cake by Spice Roots

#BundtBakers is a group of Bundt loving bakers who get together once a month to bake Bundts 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 Lemon Blueberry Van Halen Bundt! 

Beer Cheddar Fondue #BeerMonth

Beer Cheddar Fondue is made with sharp cheddar cheese mixed and melted with beer. You won't be able to stop dipping in till it's gone. Serve with lightly steamed vegetables and/or crusty bread. A great snack or, indeed, meal!

The brewing of beer is one of the oldest arts of civilization. In fact, according to archaeologist Brian Hayden at Simon Fraser University in Canada, beer might well have been the motivating factor behind the sowing of grain which was the beginning of the end of our largely nomadic hunter-gatherer societies. And not a few millennia later, beer was being used as partial payment for workers building the pyramids. And, yet, here I am, for the very first time, taking part in the celebration of Beer Month, organized by Sophia of NYFoodgasm. What took me so long? After all, I’ve been a fan since way back.

One of my earliest memories of beer is sipping the foam, just the foam, mind you, off the top of my father’s freshly poured lager. The bubbles tickled my nose and the slightly hoppy taste was endured for the tickle, and because it was a privilege to be allowed that tiny sip of foam in the first place. My mother says that when she first met my father, he did not drink, but by the time I came along, or became conscious of such things, I do remember him manning the grill or a fishing pole or a crab net, not always with a beer in hand, but often.

Daddy taught me how to pour one properly, down the side of the glass, until almost the end of the bottle, to keep the foam from overflowing. No one wants a big head on his beer, says he. And he passed on his policy of drinking locally brewed beer, wherever he lives, a guideline that has proved valuable to me too. (Although I did draw the line at banana beer in Uganda. - It's a thing! - But the Bell Lager's not bad.) I take that a step farther and try to order what’s on tap when we are out as well. And I often incorporate beer into both sweet and savory recipes. With so many great beers out there, it seems a shame not to take advantage, doesn’t it?

Check out this map of the most popular beers of the world – I’ve supped 29 of these and many others not on the Most Popular list. (Most popular doesn't always mean the best.)

 Source: VinePair.com

How are you celebrating Beer Month? Scroll down to the bottom of this post for some great recipes from my fellow bloggers and then some suggestions from my archives. But meanwhile, melt some cheese for fondue!

Beer Cheddar Fondue

The only thing better than a slice or two of extra sharp cheddar to nibble while you sip a cold beer, is extra sharp cheddar melted with that beer (and another for sipping!) in a cheesy fondue.

Ingredients
For the fondue:
8 3/4 oz or 250g extra sharp cheddar
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2/3 cup or ml beer, plus possibly more to get to dipping consistency
3 teaspoons dry mustard
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper (We like things spicy. Reduce, if you must.)
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

For garnish:
2-3 teaspoons chopped green onions

To serve:
Mixture of fresh vegetables and/or loaf of crusty bread

Method
Depending on your vegetable, steam according to this chart on the lower end of the scale. If the veggies are too soft, they’ll likely fall off the fondue fork and get lost in the cheese. I set my timer and put the trimmed Brussels sprouts in first and added the rest as needed until finally the snow peas went in for barely any time at all.

Remove the steamer and immediately plunge into cool water. Drain.

If you aren’t serving immediately, you can refrigerate the vegetables but take them out in time for them to get to room temperature before serving. Or take the chill off in the microwave but do not overcook!

Grate your cheese and then toss it with the flour in a bowl.

Put about two inches or five centimeters of water in the bottom of a double boiler or in a pot with a metal bowl set on top. Bring the water to a boil and then turn the fire down to medium. Add the beer to the top of the double boiler or the metal bowl, then whisk in the dry mustard, cayenne and Worcestershire sauce. Cook for about one minute.

Add half the cheese to the beer mixture and cook until the cheese is melted, stirring constantly.

Add the remaining cheese a small amount at a time, stirring after each addition until the cheese is melted.

Add more beer, just a little at a time, if the mixture becomes too thick for dipping. If you finished off that first can thinking you wouldn't need the rest for the recipe, open another. It's Beer Month. Live large.

Pour into a warm fondue pot, garnish with chopped green onion tops, and keep warm over low heat.

Serve with your lightly steamed vegetables and/or cubes of crusty bread for dipping. And, of course, your favorite beer for drinking.

Enjoy!

#BeerMonth participants and MORE beer recipes!! Sending out a huge thank you to Sophia, chief Beer Month cheerleader and organizer extraordinaire!

• Triple IPA Chili Verde with Pork from our host and organizer, Sophia of NY Foodgasm  Follow her on Facebook and Pinterest.
• Beer Bacon Mac and Cheese from Lauren of Hall Nesting.
  Follow her on Facebook and Pinterest.
• Beer Braised Chicken Stew from Debra of Bowl Me Over.
  Follow her on Facebook and Pinterest.
• Beer Braised Pork Carnitas from Heather of girlichef.
  Follow her on Facebook and Pinterest.
• Beer Cheddar Fondue from Stacy of Food Lust People Love.
  Follow me on Facebook and Pinterest.
• Beer Mimosa with Raspberries from Lori of Who Needs a Cape.
  Follow her on Facebook and Pinterest.
• Iron Skillet Chicken + Carrots with Toasted Lager Mustard Sauce from Ashley of Big Flavors From a Tiny Kitchen.
  Follow her on Facebook and Pinterest. 

Pin this Beer Cheddar Fondue!

From my archives - click on titles to open recipe post

My recipes with beer in them

Slow Cooker Beef and Guinness Pie

Tangzhong Rye Bread

Mocha Porter Quinoa Loaf

London Porter Cake with Lemon Glaze

The Post Bender (Hangover Cure)

Spicy Cashew and Feta Beer Muffins

Best recipes to eat while eat while drinking beer

Spicy Georgia Sugared Peanuts

Cheese Stuffed Soft Pretzels

Spicy Keema Naan

Bak Kwa or Grilled Chili Pork Jerky

Ploughman's Lunch Muffins

Spicy Roasted Corn Shrimp Dip

Snorker and Spicy Slaw Sandwiches

Spicy Sticky Wings

And if you've scrolled down this far, pull up a chair and let my father pour you a cold one. This one's Pilsener on the beach near Salinas, Ecuador, brewed in nearby Guayaquil. And it's delicious.

Mennonite Paska #BreadBakers

Peel and blend a whole orange and a whole lemon to create this slightly sweet yeast bread traditionally served for Easter in the Mennonite community. The buttery sugar glaze is not optional. Neither are the sprinkles. 

This month’s Bread Bakers challenge, chosen by our creative host, Camilla of Culinary Adventures with Camilla is to bake a traditional Easter, Passover or springtime bread, perhaps venturing into another culture or country to expand our horizons. I was determined to make homemade matzo because it’s impossible to find here and I thought with a homemade version at my disposal, I could try all the matzo-based recipes I’ve been seeing on the web like chicken soup with matzo balls, Chocolate Peanut Butter Matzo S’mores, Northern Fried Chicken and Chocolate Toffee Matzo, just to name a few. But the more I researched what it would take to make matzo at home, the more I realized that my sad, sad oven which can barely be coaxed up to 425°F or 218°C on a good day, was just not up to the task. So I started scouring the internet for something new, something different, something tasty.

According to Lovella, one of the authors of Mennonite Girls Can Cook and the sharer of this paska bread, she inherited the recipe from her husband’s grandmother and it’s one of the most viewed pages on their site. I was intrigued by the whole orange and lemon that are pureed then added to the dough. Lovella also declares, and I can confirm, leftovers make fabulous French toast or eggy bread.

Adapted from Lovella’s Paska Bread – I baked two in bread pans and one in a Nordic Ware 12-cup Anniversary Bundt pan but this could easily be stretched to fill four pans. Lovella made five to seven so they must have been smaller!

Ingredients
For the bread:
2 packets active dry yeast (1/4 oz or 7g each)
1 cup or 240ml warm water
1 tablespoon sugar
1 medium lemon
1 medium orange
1 1/4 cup or 295ml milk
1/2 cup or 115g butter, plus extra for buttering the mixing bowl before the first rise and the baking pans
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup or 150g sugar
About 7-8 cups or 875g-1kg flour, with a little extra for kneading

For the glaze:
3 tablespoons butter, softened
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Good pinch salt
2-3 tablespoons milk
2 cups or 250g icing sugar

For decorating: colored sprinkles

Method
In the bowl of your stand mixer, put your yeast, the tablespoon of sugar and warm water and allow your yeast to proof. After 10 minutes, if you have a bunch of foam in the bowl, proceed. If not, throw it all out and start over with new yeast.

Meanwhile, zest your lemon and orange with a microplane or fine grater into the vessel of your blender.

Use a sharp knife to cut all the white pith and peel off of the citrus and then cut off and discard any hard membranes between the pegs. Remove any seeds and discard. Add the orange and lemon to the zest in the blender.

Put your milk and butter in a microwaveable measuring cup and heat them in the microwave on a low setting until the butter is just melted. Add them to the blender and blend for two to three minutes.

Add in the eggs, the rest of the sugar and the salt. Blend again for a minute or two.

Pour the mixture into the bowl of your stand mixer (where the yeast has been hanging out and, if all is going to plan, foaming) and mix well.

Start adding the flour, a cup at a time, mixing very thoroughly in between, until you have a nice soft dough. You may not need all the flour.

You can use the dough hook to knead the dough but it should be quite sticky still so I found it easier to take it out and knead it for several minutes on a lightly floured countertop.

Before kneading

After kneading

Wash out your large bowl and rub the insides with butter. I keep empty butter wrappers folded up in my freezer door for this purpose. One use only, but they work beautifully. Go ahead and prepare your baking pans in the same manner.

Return the kneaded dough to the buttered bowl and cover the bowl with a loose tea towel. Leave it in a warm place for about hour.

Before then after the rising. This dough soars.

When the dough has risen, divide it into three or four even pieces.

Press them out gently and fold them over in thirds lengthwise. Put them buttered pans, seam side down, and sprinkle on a little more flour.

Cover the pans loosely with tea cloths and put them back in the warm place for about 45 minutes. About 15 minutes before the second rising time is up, preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C.

When the oven is preheated, carefully remove the tea cloths and place the loaves in the oven to bake.

As you can see, I could probably have made one more loaf.

Bake uncovered for 35-45 minutes or until the internal temperature of the bread reaches 200°F or about 134°C or the bottoms sound hollow when tapped.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool briefly in the pan. Turn the loaves out onto wire racks to cool completely.

Meanwhile, make your glaze by whisking the butter, lemon juice and salt with one teaspoon of milk. Add in the sugar and stir well. Add additional milk a little at a time until you reach your desired pouring consistency.

When the loaves are completely cool, pour over the glaze and quickly decorate with colored sprinkles while the glaze is still sticky. It will harden after pouring, making the loaves easier to wrap and carry.

Enjoy!

Do you have a traditional Easter, Passover or springtime bread you make each year? Perhaps you’ll find a new favorite in this great list from my fellow Bread Bakers:

• Casatiello by Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• Choereg - Armenian Easter Bread by Chef Mireille's East West Realm
• Colomba Pasquale (Easter Dove Bread) by Cook's Hideout
• Cornish Saffron Easter Bread by Pastry Chef Online
• Folar (Portuguese Easter Bread) by Passion Kneaded
• Hot Cross Buns by En la Cocina de Caro
• Hornazo De Salamanca - Spanish Easter Bread by Ruchik Randhap
• Hungarian Egg Twist by Hostess at Heart
• Hungarian White Bread by Magnolia Days
• Individual Braided Easter Bread by Hezzi-D's Books and Cooks
• Italian Easter Bread by La Cocina de Aisha
• Lambropsomo - Greek Easter Bread by Spice Roots
• Lithuanian Easter Raisin Bread by My Catholic Kitchen
• Matzo by A Shaggy Dough Story
• Mennonite Paska by Food Lust People Love
• Pääsiäisleipä - Finnish Easter Bread by Bakers and Best
• Pane di Pasqua - Italian Easter Bread Wreath by Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Polish Bobka Easter Bread by Seduction in the Kitchen
• Russian Kulich by That's My Home
• Springtime Sweet Bread by Cooking club
• Strawberry Fritters by Cindy's Recipes and Writings
• Tsoureki (Greek Easter Bread) by Simply Veggies

                                                              

#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. Links are also updated after each event on the BreadBakers home page.

We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient. This month Camilla at Culinary Adventures with Camilla has chosen breads from around the world that are traditional for Easter, Passover, or Springtime. Thank you for hosting, Camilla!

If you are a food blogger and would like to join us, just send an email with your blog URL to foodlustpeoplelove@gmail.com.

Sliced up and ready to become French toast