Piña Colada Bundt Cake #BundtBakers

A delicious treat of the tropical cocktail in cake form, this Piña Colada Bundt Cake is made with pineapple, coconut cream and, of course, rum. It is brushed after baking with a coconut pineapple rum syrup/glaze.

Once upon a time, a boy and a girl got married. He wanted to surprise her with the honeymoon so he only said, pack for a beach holiday. So she did. But the funny thing is (and it wasn’t so funny back then) the suitcases went to the Bahamas and the couple went to Barbados. Which was a big surprise for everyone. 

They consoled themselves by ordering cocktails by the pool where they could sit around in the hotel bathrobes and gift shop I 💙  Barbados t-shirts. Many, many, MANY consoling piña coladas were consumed before the suitcases turned up four days later. And they lived happily ever after. 

I’d say “The End” but there’s cake to come!  A tender, pineapple-y, coconutty cake with rum. Read on. 

Piña Colada Bundt Cake

For your canned pineapple, buy the kind in juice, not syrup, so you’ll have the necessary juice for the coconut pineapple rum syrup/glaze. This recipe is adapted from one on Real House Moms. It makes one 6-cup Bundt cake. 

Ingredients

For the cake batter: 

1 1/2 cups or 190g flour, plus extra for preparing the Bundt pan

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup or 100g sugar

1/3 cup or 75g softened butter, plus extra for preparing the Bundt pan

1 egg

1/2 cup or 120ml coconut cream

1 1/2 teaspoons aged rum 

1/2 cup or 90g chopped, canned pineapple, drained juice reserved

For the coconut pineapple rum syrup/glaze:

3/4 cup or 150g sugar

1/4 cup or 60ml pineapple juice

1/4 cup or 60ml dark rum

3 tablespoons coconut cream 

Optional for decorating:

a few good pinches sweetened flake coconut

diced canned pineapple

Method

Preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C. Generously butter then flour a 6-cup Bundt pan. 

In a small bowl combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

In a mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy; add the egg and beat until well mixed.

Add the rum and coconut cream and mix until incorporated.

Tip the pineapple bits in the flour bowl and stir them around till they are coated with flour.  Now add the flour mixture to the mixing bowl and beat until the batter is light and glossy. 

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

Bake for 30-35 minutes until toothpick comes out clean.

Meanwhile, make the coconut pineapple rum syrup. Cook the sugar, pineapple juice and rum together in a small pot over a medium heat until the sugar is dissolved and it has reduced by about one half. 

Take the pot off the heat and leave the mixture to cool. It will thicken up more as it cools. 

Whisk in the coconut cream.

Cool the cake in the pan on a rack for 5 minutes then remove cake from pan and cool completely.

Brush with the cake with the syrup/glaze. I spooned the syrup/glaze over the cake to start with but a lot just dripped off despite how thick it was so brushing it on seemed to work better. Keep brushing it on as the syrup/glaze soaks in. You may not use all of the syrup/glaze.

Decorate with a little sweetened flake coconut and bits of the canned pineapple, if desired. 

Enjoy! 

This month my Bundt Bakers are all sharing boozy Bundt recipes. Check out the links below. Many thanks to our host, Sneha of Sneha's Recipe. 

• Caramel & Rum Upside Down Pineapple Bundt Cake by Sneha's Recipe
• Coffee Liqueur Bundt Cake by Patyco Candybar
• Lemon Rum & Coconut Bundt by Sweet Sensations
• Mojito Bundtlets by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Piña Colada Bundt Cake by Food Lust People Love
• Rum Cake by Passion Kneaded

#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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Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Twists #BreadBakers

These Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Twists are made with an enriched brioche dough filled with peanut butter and chocolate chips and baked till golden. Enjoy them with a cold glass of milk or a cup of tea.

I’ve always been a fan of peanut butter cups but find they are a little too sweet for me these days. Recently I was introduced to the Trader Joe’s dark chocolate peanut butter cups and, boy, howdy, are those guys good! 

They were my inspiration for this month’s Bread Bakers’ theme which is “favorite breads.” Who wouldn’t love a soft brioche twist filled with the perennial favorite combination of peanut butter and chocolate?

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Twists

This recipe is adapted from James Morton’s first fabulous baking book, Brilliant Bread. I also have one of his other books, Super Sourdough and can highly recommend both. If you have a stand mixer, I recommend you use it for this recipe. The dough is really sticky to knead by hand. 

Ingredients

2 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon dry active yeast

1/3 cup or 78ml milk, slightly warmed

2 cups or 250g strong white bread flour -18g

1/4 cup or 57g sourdough starter (fed or discard)

1 large egg, at room temperature

1 egg yolk, at room temperature

1 teaspoon fine sea salt

1/3 cup or 75g unsalted butter, softened

3/4 cup or 194g creamy peanut butter

1/2 cup or 85g semi-sweet chocolate chips

Method

In a large bowl or the bowl of your stand mixer, combine the sugar and yeast with the warm milk and two tablespoons of the flour. Leave it for about five minutes. If the yeast has started foaming up, proceed with the next step. If not, your yeast is old and should be replaced. 

Add the flour, the sourdough starter, egg, yolk, milk and salt and combine to form a soft dough. 

Knead your dough for about 5–10 minutes, or until it is really starting to come together.  Add the soft butter and continue to knead until it passes the windowpane test, at least another 5 minutes. 

Cover and leave in a warm place to prove for one hour, or until doubled in size. Alternatively, leave to rest in the fridge for 10–14 hours.

Turn your proved dough out onto a lightly floured surface and sprinkle some more flour on top. Use a rolling pin to roll the dough out into a big square about 15 in or 38cm wide. 

Spread the peanut butter over one half. If your peanut butter is too stiff to spread easily, warm it slightly with a couple of quick zaps in a microwave. 

Sprinkle the chocolate chips onto the peanut butter. 

Fold your dough over to seal the peanut butter and chocolate chips. 

Use a sharp knife to cut the dough into strips. I got 10 strips out of mine but you can cut thicker or thinner strips, according to your preference.

Twist each strip and place them on a baking tray lined with greaseproof paper or a silicone liner. I couldn’t squeeze all 10 in one pan, try as I might. If yours are also too much for your biggest pan, put the remainers in a smaller pan. Don't crowd them because they need room to rise. 

Cover lightly with cling film and leave to rise for about an hour. At least half an hour before you’re going to bake, preheat your oven to 450°F or 232°C.

When you are ready to bake, turn your oven down to 410°F or 210°C and bake the twists for 10–15 minutes, until they are a light golden brown. We want them to stay soft and pillowy. 

I meant to turn my pans around halfway through because I know my oven doesn't brown evenly but we were watching the UEFA 2020 final and I completely forgot. If your oven has the same issues, you might want to turn your pan around at about the 7 minute mark. Also the extra ones were on a different oven shelf and got a bit darker. Still soft and delicious though! 

Remove from the oven and leave to cool on the baking pan for a few minutes. Cool completely on a wire rack and store in an airtight container. 

Enjoy! 

As I mentioned above, our Bread Bakers' theme this month is Favorite Breads. Many thanks to our host Kelly of A Messy Kitchen. Check out the great recipe links below. 

• Blueberry Pistachio Chocolate Sourdough from Zesty South Indian Kitchen
  
• Cinnamon-Honey Raisin Bagels from What Smells So Good?
  
• Cranberry Yeast Bread from A Messy Kitchen
• Garlic Rolls from Passion Kneaded 
• Hemp and Honey Whole Wheat Bread from Ambrosia
  
• Lemon Zucchini Loaf from A Day in the Life on the Farm
  
• No Knead Sourdough Sandwich Bread from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Twists from Food Lust People Love
• Sourdough Boule from 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. 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.

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Toasted Eggplant Crust Mini Pizzas

These Toasted Eggplant Crust Mini Pizzas are as delicious as they are adorable with quick tomato sauce and toppings baked on toasted eggplant slices.

We went through a phase a while back of attempting to eat keto, that is to say, without carbs or very low carb. It did not go well. I didn’t lose any weight, for one, and I can’t imagine the increased fat in the cheese, meat and bacon I consumed did my cholesterol any good. Nevertheless, I did create a couple of recipes we loved so I’ll call that part of the experiment a win. 

The first used leftover pork roast slices and eggplant to make stuffed cheesy rolls covered in a rich tomato sauce then baked. Seriously, so good! Most canned tomatoes are not considered keto because of the added sugar so the secret appears to be making your sauce from scratch with fresh tomatoes. 

The second recipe was for rice-free cabbage rolls made with both beef and smoked sausage. I don't know that I'll ever make traditional cabbage rolls again because the smoked sausage adds so much flavor and who needs the rice really?

These toasted eggplant mini pizzas were the third keeper. They kind of remind us of our favorite eggplant Parmigiana but with a lot less trouble. Also: pepperoni - always a welcome addition in my book. 

Toasted Eggplant Crust Mini Pizzas

These would be a great appetizer for any crowd, with the added bonus of being naturally gluten free and keto-friendly.

Ingredients

1 large eggplant (about 19 oz or 535g, but a little bigger or smaller won't matter too much.)

fine sea salt

For the fresh tomato sauce:

2 ripe medium sized tomatoes

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt 

Suggested toppings:

Mozzarella or your favorite pizza cheese, shredded

Pepperoni (get the mini ones if you can, so cute!)

Black olives, pitted and sliced

Sliced jalapeños

Anchovies

Crushed red pepper 

To garnish after baking: fresh basil

Method

Trim the stem of your eggplant and cut it into 1/2 in or 1 cm slices (I got 16.) If you look closely, you'll see the little pokes of the knife I made at the appropriate intervals using a measuring tape because I'm anal like that. Eyeball it if you want to. 

Sprinkle the eggplant slices lightly with salt and stack them in a colander and set aside in your sink or on a plate to catch any liquid that drips out so it doesn't make a big mess.

Peel your tomatoes. I find the easiest way to peel tomatoes is to cut a cross in the skin with a sharp knife and then use a fork to dip the tomato into just boiled water for about 10-15 seconds. The skin will then slip off easily. 

Core and finely chop the peeled tomatoes.

Combine them in a pan with the minced garlic, oregano, baking soda and salt. 

Cook over medium heat for about 17-20 minutes, or until the tomatoes and garlic are softened and most of the liquid has evaporated. Set aside to cool. 

By this time, your eggplant should have released some juice. Dry the slices off with a tea cloth or paper towels. 

Toast them on a non-stick griddle pan over a medium high heat until they are browned on both sides. This takes just 4-5 minutes a side. Unless you’ve got a really large pan, this is going to have to be done in batches. 

Keep a careful eye on the eggplant slices so they don’t burn, especially if you’ve cut some of them a bit unevenly and some edges are thinner than others. I use a spatula to press them down occasionally, to make sure the eggplant and the pan are making a good connection and shift them around the griddle so they brown evenly. 

When one batch is golden on both sides, remove it to a dry tea cloth or layer of paper towels on a clean work surface. The slices should be laid on in a single layer. If you stack the eggplant slices, they’ll continue cooking and steaming. We want them to cool off once they are toasted. 

At this point, if you are ready to bake the mini pizzas, preheat your oven to 400°F or 200°C.

Place your toasted eggplant circles on a baking pan lined with baking parchment or a silicone liner and top them with a small spoon of the tomato sauce, cheese and your favorite other toppings. I made one pan of 12 and the other of four.

Bake in the preheated oven until the cheese is melted and bubbling, just 6 -7 minutes. 

Garnish with fresh basil leaves and serve with extra crushed red pepper, if desired. Enjoy!

It’s high summer now in the northern hemisphere so tomatoes and basil are flourishing in gardens everywhere. To celebrate the season, my Baking Blogger group has chosen to showcase tomatoes and basil for today’s theme. Check out all the recipes below. Many thanks to our organizer and host, Sue of Palatable Pastime. 

• Baked Gnocchi With Tomatoes and Basil by Magical Ingredients
• Baked Feta Pasta by Sneha's Recipe
• Savory Cherry Tomato, Basil, & Feta Cookies by Faith, Hope, Love, & Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice
• Sourdough Pizza "Baked" on the Grill by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Thai Tomato Basil Baked Chicken by Palatable Pastime
• Toasted Eggplant Crust Mini Pizzas by Food Lust People Love
• Tomato and Goat Cheese Tarts by Karen's Kitchen Stories

Baking Bloggers is a friendly group of food bloggers who vote on a shared theme and then post recipes to fit that theme one the second Monday of each month. If you are a food blogger interested in joining in, inquire at our Baking Bloggers Facebook group. We'd be honored if you would join us in our baking adventures.

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