Snickers Bundt Cake #BundtBakers

This Snickers Bundt Cake is rich and super chocolate-y with a tender crumb. The Snickers pieces sink to the bottom of the pan while baking which means the top of the cake is full of them! Pour yourself a cold glass of milk and enjoy a large slice!

This month our Bundt Bakers host is Patricia from PatyCo Candy Bar and since May is the month we celebrate mothers, she encouraged us to use Mom’s favorite candy bar as inspiration or an ingredient to bake our Bundts. What a lovely idea!

I sent my mom a quick text, “What’s your favorite candy bar?” fully expecting her to say Heavenly Hash, a marshmallow confection with almonds, covered in chocolate. Honestly it’s the only candy bar I can ever recall her eating. Since the Elmer's brand (her favorite) are only available during the Easter season (and in Louisiana - where they are made) Mom usually has a supply in the deep freezer for when a craving comes on the rest of the year. 

You are probably ahead of me here since I’ve named this post Snickers Bundt Cake. That was indeed her surprising response. 

Snickers Bundt Cake

If you search “Snickers Cake” there are all sorts of recipes online but I kept this simple, making a devil’s food cake batter and just adding Snickers to that. It got several thumbs-up from family and friends. 

Ingredients

2 cups or 250g flour

2 cups or 400g sugar

3/4 cup or 90g natural unsweetened cocoa powder 

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 cup or 240ml canola or other light oil

1 cup or 240ml milk

1 cup or 240ml coffee - cooled but not cold

2 eggs

1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

12 mini Snickers bars (3 1/2 oz or 100g by weight if you are cutting up larger bars) plus extra to decorate if desired

Method

Preheat oven to 375˚F or 190°C. Thoroughly grease a 10” Bundt pan and coat it with cocoa.

Whisk the dry ingredients together in a large bowl. Cut the mini Snickers into six pieces each.

 

Add them to the dry ingredients and stir to coat so that they don’t stick together.

In a separate large bowl add the oil, milk, coffee, eggs and vanilla. Whisk to create a rich batter. Add the dry ingredients to the wet. Fold until well combined.

Pour the cake batter into your prepared pan.

Bake for 55-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. 

Leave the cake to cool for about 10 minutes in the pan and then run your skewer around the outside and middle of the cake to loosen it. Turn it over onto a wire rack to continue cooling. 

If you are using Snickers to decorate the edge of the cake, cut the mini Snickers in three slices, like a loaf of bread and put them around the outside. Ideally do this when the cake is still a bit warm. The Snicker pieces will start to melt slightly. As they do, press them into the cake so they’ll stick. 

Leave to cool completely before cutting in slices to serve. 

Enjoy! 

Check out all the wonderful candy bar Bundt cakes! Many thanks to our host, Patricia 

• Almond Joy Inspired Bundt Cake from Magical Ingredients
• Coconut Slice Bundt from Sweet Sensations
• Hershey's Chocolate Almond Bar Bundt from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Hershey's Cookies'n'Creme Bundt Cake from Patyco Candybar
• Nuggle Mini Bundt Cakes from Passion Kneaded
• Snickers Bundt Cake from Food Lust People Love
  
  

#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.

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Italian Sausage and Chicken Ragù - Instant Pot

This Italian Sausage and Chicken Ragù is not only delicious stirred through with a fresh herby ricotta, thanks to the Instant Pot, it is also quick enough for a weeknight meal. 

I honestly don’t know what took me so long to start using my Instant Pot. As I’ve mentioned before, it took a kitchen renovation to motivated me but, boy, howdy, do I love that thing now!

Anytime I see a slow cooker recipe that starts out by sautéing or browning something in a pan on the stove first, I think, HA. I can make that in the Instant Pot and skip the stove step. And I usually do. 

For anyone unfamiliar with the term ragù, it's just a fancy (Italian) way of saying meat sauce. Merriam-Webster defines ragù as "a hearty, seasoned Italian sauce of meat and tomatoes that is used chiefly in pasta dishes and that is typically made with ground beef, tomatoes, and finely chopped onions, celery, and carrots."

Italian Sausage and Chicken Ragù with Herby Ricotta

This recipe is adapted from a slow cooker one in the New York Times cooking section. The original took six hours to cook and contains only chicken. I highly recommend the addition of the hot Italian sausage to this dish you will make and serve in less than 30 minutes in your Instant Pot.

Ingredients

For the ragù:

19 oz or 538g hot Italian sausage

1 small carrot

1 small yellow or purple onion 

4 cloves garlic

2 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 10 oz or 290g each)

1 can (14.5 oz or 411g) crushed or diced tomatoes 

3 tablespoons tomato paste

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 sprig fresh thyme (or 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme)

1 sprig fresh oregano (or 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano)

1 ½ teaspoons red-pepper flakes, plus more to taste

Fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the herbed ricotta topping: 

1 cup or 250g whole-milk ricotta

Heaping 1/4 cup chopped soft fresh herbs, such as chives, oregano, parsley or basil, or a mix

zest 1 medium lemon

1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar

1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt

To serve:

10 oz or 285g tagliatelle, fettuccine, linguine or other long, thick pasta, cooked al dente according to package instructions.

Method

Peel and chop the carrot, onion and garlic. 

Remove the casings from the Italian sausage and put it in the Instant Pot on sauté. Cook for several minutes using a wooden spoon to break the sausage into crumbles as it browns. 

Add in the carrot, onion and garlic. Sauté, stirring often, for a few minutes more until the vegetables soften. 

Nestle the chicken breasts into the sausage and vegetables. 

Top with the canned tomatoes, tomato paste, olive oil, thyme, oregano, crushed red pepper and a sprinkle of fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Secure the lid on the Instant Pot and set it manually to 9 minutes. 

When the time is up, safely release the pressure. Remove and discard the herb sprigs.

Transfer the chicken breast to a cutting board and use two forks to shred the chicken then return it to the Instant Pot and stir well. 

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the pasta according to the package directions until al dente. 

While the pasta cooks, chop your herbs and combine them in a small bowl with the ricotta, lemon zest, balsamic vinegar and salt. 

Taste the sauce, adding more red-pepper flakes, if you like, and salt if needed.

Divide the pasta among bowls. Top with ragu and a good spoon of the herby ricotta. 

Enjoy! 

It’s MultiCooker Monday! Check out the variety of small appliance recipes my friends are sharing today. Many thanks to our host and organizer, Sue of Palatable Pastime. 

• Meringue Kisses in Toaster Oven from Sid's Sea Palm Cooking
• Slow Cooker Thai Peanut Chicken from Making Miracles
• Beef Barbacoa Tacos from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Italian Sausage and Chicken Ragu - Instant Pot from Food Lust People Love
• Ropa Vieja in the Slow Cooker from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• How to Cook Jowar/Sorghum in Instant Pot from Magical Ingredients

                                                         

Multicooker Monday is a blogger group created by Sue of Palatable Pastime for all of us who need encouragement to make better use of our small appliances like slow cookers, Instant Pots, Air Fryers, rice cookers and sous vide machines. We get together every third Monday of the month to share our recipes. If you are a food blogger who would like to post with us, please request to join our Facebook group. 

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Chorizo Chickpea Tomato Pasta

This Chorizo Chickpea Tomato Pasta is a flavorful one-pot meal that the whole family will love. Dish it up and sprinkle on the feta!

Today my Sunday FunDay friends are sharing recipes made with ingredients that add umami, the fifth taste our taste buds detect. It is usually associated with meat, seafood, tomatoes, mushrooms and cheese so this dish has umami to spare with chorizo, tomatoes and feta.

Make sure to scroll down to see the links to the other umami-rich recipes. 

Chorizo Chickpea Tomato Pasta

My can of tomatoes were fire-roasted (hence the specks of black in the photo of the simmering pot) but any crushed tomatoes will do. This recipe is adapted from Delicious.co.uk.  I'm not a fan of the dill in the original and just happened to have some chorizo in the refrigerator. If you do not or if you want to make this vegetarian, substitute some lovely oil-cured olives, which add loads of umami as well. 

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil

4 oz Spanish-style chorizo

1 onion

2 cloves garlic

1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper, plus extra to serve

1 1/2 teaspoon brown mustard seeds

7 1/2 oz or 215g ditalini or other small pasta shape

14.5 oz or 411g can crushed tomatoes

15 oz or 425g canned chickpeas, drained and rinsed

2 cups or 480ml chicken or vegetable stock

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Fine sea salt to taste

For topping:

3 1/2 oz or 100g feta, crumbled

crushed red pepper

Optional for garnish: parsley 

Method

Finely dice the onion and garlic and cut the chorizo into small cubes. 

Heat the oil in a deep pot and add the cubed chorizo and fry for a few minutes which will release the gorgeous red oil. Add in the onion and garlic. Sauté gently for 6-8 minutes until softened but not colored.

Turn up the heat slightly, and make a little space in the middle of the pan. Pour the mustard seeds in the space and sprinkle the crushed red pepper over the chorizo and vegetables. Fry for 1-2 minutes more until the mustards seeds begin to pop. 

Pour in the pasta and stir to coat.  

Add the tomatoes, stock and chickpeas. 

Give the whole thing a good stir. 

Bring to the boil then turn the heat down and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring frequently, until the sauce has thickened and the pasta is tender. 

Add in the baking soda and stir well. 

It will bubble up as the soda neutralizes some of the acid in the tomato sauce. This is a secret I learned from an Italian-American nonna and I use it every time I make tomato sauce of any kind. It makes the sauce a little bit sweeter.

Season with salt to taste but keep in mind that feta can be quite salty and you will be stirring some through to serve. 

Serve in bowls sprinkled with feta and more crushed red pepper and parsley, if desired.  

Enjoy! 

Need more recipes with umami? Click on the links below! Many thanks to our host, Sue of Palatable Pastime.

• Umami Bomb Tomato Sauce from Making Miracles
• Steaks with Gouda Sauce from Amy's Cooking Adventures
• Tomato and Blue Cheese Salad from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Cucumber Kimchi Salad from Palatable Pastime
• Chorizo Chickpea Tomato Pasta from Food Lust People Love
• Fried Chicken Wings - Korean Style from Sneha's Recipe
• Umami from the Sea: Sea Palm-Kale Salad and Uni Handrolls from Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• Patatas Bravas from Mayuri's Jikoni
• Easy Vegan Pad Thai from Cook with Renu

We are a group of food bloggers who believe that Sunday should be a family fun day, so every Sunday we share recipes that will help you to enjoy your day. If you're a blogger interested in joining us, just visit our Facebook group and request to join.

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