Lemon Blueberry Bundt Cake

Alas, summer is coming to an end.  And yet I feel like it never began.  The day after school ended I had to pack my bags and move into a dorm room to take Philosophy and Essay Writing for the next seven weeks.  Although I met the most amazing people I have yet encountered in my life and learned more than I thought was possible in seven weeks and discovered my wild side, there was a severe lack of beach-going, swimming, cold watermelon, s’mores by a campfire, homemade ice cream, berry-picking, slacking off and feeling like a bum, tanning in the summer sun, and my grandmother’s garden-fresh vegetables.  And after seven weeks of writing essays, listening to three-hour lectures, running around campus to find a place with a printer AND a stapler, and sweating like a madwoman in our un-air-conditioned dorm rooms I returned home for only a week before I had to pack my bags again and leave for California for my last three college visits.  I’d like to add I am SO DONE with college visits.  Twenty college visits has been more than enough for me to get a feel for colleges across the country.  They’ve all started to meld together into one large blob of brick buildings, core curriculums, dorms, and sports facilities.  But here I am, back home for one last week full of meetings and summer-reading and unfortunate rain and cold weather and stuffing my face with chocolate chip cookies before school starts. Don’t get me wrong, it’s been a great summer.  It just doesn’t really classify as summer in my mind.

But this cake, it tastes likes summer.  The bright lemon flavor will blind out the rain you might see falling outside your window.  The bright, juicy bursts of blueberry scream summertime.  And the sweet tanginess of the glaze reminds one that life is sweet, although it might be a little tangy sometimes.  Just like my summer.  It’s been a lot more hard-work than I had ever expected to do during the summer time.  Yet that work was balanced out with the sweetness of what a great time I had meeting people of so many ethnicities and personalities in the freedom and fun of a college setting.  But regardless of what your summer was like, if you’re in need of a taste of summer, this cake IS summer.

Blueberry Lemon Bundt Cake – thank you Baking Addiction, for reminding me that summer exists.

For the Cake:

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus 1 teaspoon for blueberries and zest – I used half white whole wheat and half all purpose
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 4 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup sour cream – I used light sour cream
• 2 cups blueberries
• 2 tablespoons grated lemon zest
• juice of one lemon
• nonstick cooking spray, for pan

For the Cream Cheese Glaze:

• 1 (4-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
• 1 tablespoon butter, softened
• 2 cups confectioner’s sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon milk

Directions for the Cake:

*For best results, coat the inside of the Bundt pan with cooking spray just before filling it with the batter to prevent it from pooling in the bottom.

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a bowl, whisk 2 1/2 cups flour with baking powder and salt; set aside.
2. In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugars on high speed until light and fluffy.
3. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until incorporated.  Beat in vanilla and lemon juice.
4. Reduce speed to low; add flour mixture in three addictions, alternating with two additions of sour cream.
5. In a bowl, toss blueberries and zest with remaining teaspoon flour; gently fold into batter.
6. Coat a 12-cup non-stick Bundt pan with cooking spray.  Spread batter in prepared pan.
7. Bake cake on bottom rack of oven until a toothpick inserted into center of cake comes out clean, 60 to 70 minutes.  Cool in pan 20 minutes.  Invert onto a rack; cool completely, top side up.  Dist with confectioner’s sugar before serving or drizzle with cream cheese glaze.

Directions for the glaze:

1. Mix the cream cheese with the butter, confectioner’s sugar, vanilla extract, and milk in a bowl.
2. Heat in a microwave for 10-15 seconds.
3. Drizzle spoonfuls over the cooled cake.

If there’s no coffee in it, why is it addictive?

Coffee cake.  I have yet to find a coffee cake that actually contains coffee.  But to tell the truth, this cake is as addictive as if it really did have coffee in it. 

Oh, hey there pecan, brown sugar, cinnamon, cocoa, cranberry swirl.


Each time I open the bundt pan container to grab a slice I’m hit in the face with an enticing, sugary coffee cake aroma.  I’m sure that if I made a perfume out of it I could make some money.  The next most popular perfume?  Right after Dior?  I think so.

I do have a confession to make though.  This is not the first time I have made this coffee cake.  The first time I wasn’t pleased with the swirls, so I deemed it unworthy to share.  But this time, oh this time, it was perfect.  Everything I imagined it to be and more.  

Sour Cream Coffee Cake from Epicurious
Just a warning the batter can get quite stiff and it was a little difficult for me using a hand mixer.  If you have a stand mixer I highly recommend using it.  Hopefully I’ll get one for christmas

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cups coarsely chopped walnuts – I used pecans and I toasted them a tad beforehand, letting them cool before I mixed them in with the sugar mixture.
• 1 1/4 cups (packed) golden brown sugar
• 4 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 4 1/2 teaspoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 6 tablespoons dried currants – I used about 1/3 cup cranberries.
• 3 cups cake flour – I used white whole wheat flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 16-ounce container sour cream – I used light sour cream

The Fun Part:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter 12-cup Bundt pan. Mix first 5 ingredients in small bowl. Set nut mixture aside. Sift flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt into medium bowl. Using electric mixer, beat butter and 1 1/2 cups sugar in large bowl until blended. Beat in eggs 1 at a time. Mix in vanilla. Mix dry ingredients and sour cream alternately into butter mixture in 3 additions. Beat batter on high 1 minute.
2. Pour 1/3 of batter into prepared pan. Sprinkle with half of nut mixture. Spoon 1/3 of batter over. Sprinkle with remaining nut mixture. Spoon remaining batter over.
3. Bake cake until tester inserted near center comes out clean, about 1 hour. Cool cake in pan on rack 10 minutes. Cut around pan sides to loosen cake. Turn cake out onto rack and cool 1 hour. Transfer to platter.
4. Whisk powdered sugar and milk in small bowl until smooth. Drizzle over coffee cake. Serve slightly warm or at room temperature. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cool completely. Wrap in foil and let stand at room temperature.)

Bundts Fix Everything, Just Like Windex.

Last Thursday was not exactly a good day.  It was just one of those days in which nothing seemed to go as planned.  One of those days when your hair does not look as good as you had planned.  When you probably failed that english quiz you studied hours for.  When you repeatedly pronounced the word “mask” incorrectly in Spanish.  And yet, a small brown box is enough to put a smile on your gloomy face.  The long awaited bundt pan had arrived.

Therefore, it was only appropriate to bake a bundt for National Bundt Day, which was Sunday November 15.

Maybe Bundts make me so happy because ever since I watched”My Big Fat Greek Wedding” every time I hear the word bundt I think of that movie, and that movie was hilarious.  Even if you haven’t seen it (if you haven’t, rent it now), make this bundt.  It will still make you happy, even without having seen the movie.

Browned Butter Pumpkin Bundt Cake

• 1 1/2 sticks (3/4 cup) unsalted butter, melted and allowed to turn golden brown then cooled
• 2 1/4 cups organic all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 T cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp cloves
• 1/2 tsp ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/4 cups  pumpkin – one can
• 3/4 cup buttermilk
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup dark brown sugar
• 3 large eggs

1. Preheat oven to 350F
2. Grease and flour pan
3. Mix dry ingredients together and set aside
4. Beat cooled butter and sugar until well mixed. Beat in eggs one at a time
5. Beat in vanilla
6. Fold in pumpkin
7. Add flour and buttermilk alternately and mix until smooth
8. Spoon into baking pan
9. Bake at 350F until done, about 50-65 minutes
10. Allow to rest for 5 minutes and then remove from pan to cool.

For the glaze I mixed together…

2 T maple syrup

1 cup Sugar

2 T milk

WARNING:  I added too much milk and it was not viscous enough so it just poured off the sides.  I would add a little bit of milk at a time until your desired consistency is reached.  Also, next time I might try adding some maple extract.