It seems as though I've been back at work much longer than the 8 weeks I have. Already maternity leave seems a dim and distant memory. But ... Yay, Mike and I have the next few weeks off work. Which means I have a bit more time to play with. So venturing into the kitchen yesterday led to these lovely Blueberry and Cornmeal Mini Bundts.
The recipe is simple, but the inclusion of cornmeal gives a lovely texture to the cake and slightly crunchy exterior. The fresh blueberries give a lovely little pop of fruit that bursts on your tongue. Very, very delish! The original recipe, from Cake Keeper Cakes by Lauren Chattman, is an American one (and for one large bundt cake), so uses cup measurements - I've included what my 'cups' then weighed in grams as a guide, where this might be helpful.
The mix made just enough to fill a Nordicware 6 mini bundt pan. The one I have (see a full picture here - unfortunately I couldn't find a UK example on the net) has some lovely patterns on the interior.
I had intended making a simple lemon icing glaze for them, but once they turned out of the tin, decided that would lose some of the lovely patterning. So I just restrained myself to a dusting of icing sugar.
Blueberry and Cornmeal Mini Bundts
Ingredients
1 cup (135g) plain flour plus a little extra for dusting the fruit
1/2 cup (62g) fine ground cornmeal
1 tspn baking powder
1/2 tspn bicarbonate of soda
1/4 tspn salt
1 1/8 cup (218g) packed soft light brown sugar
1/2 cup (112g) softened unsalted butter
2 eggs (weighing around 52g each in the shell - I got a mixed weight box and weighed them)
1 tspn vanilla extract
1/2 cup buttermilk (I used 100ml milk with 1 tspn lemon juice added)
1 cup (150g) blueberries
Preheat the oven to 160 Fan / 180 Conventional / 350 F / Gas 4. Grease and flour a 6 hole mini bundt pan.
Dust the blueberries with a little flour - this will prevent them sinking to the bottom of the pans while baking.
Mix together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, and salt in a bowl.
Beat the sugar and butter together in a stand mixer until light and fluffy - about 3 minutes on medium. Add the eggs one at a time, and beat each time until just mixed in. Add the vanilla and mix in.
Add a third of the flour and mix, then add half the buttermilk and mix. Continue adding a third of the flour, half the buttermilk and then the final third of the flour, mixing each time. Scrape down the bowl as necessary. Stir in the blueberries.
Spoon the mixture into the bundt pan so that the cups are around two thirds full (mine were nearer three quarters and so they rose up over the rims a bit, to give a muffin top effect - although sank back a bit on cooling).
Bake in the centre of the oven for around 40 minutes, until risen and golden and a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean. Remove and leave to cool for 10 minutes, before turning out onto a wire rack to complete cooling.
As this is a very American recipe, using blueberries and bundts, I'm entering them into this month's United Bakes of America challenge hosted by Gem of Cupcake Crazy.
The little cakes were lovely with a coffee / tea. Mike and I really enjoyed them as the cornmeal did give a lovely texture to the cake, while it still was moist with the fruit. I'll definitely be making them again, and probably playing around with the flavours, too!
Enjoy,
Susie
these are so cute - where did you buy the bundt tin if you dont mind my asking?
ReplyDeletex
Thank you! I got the Bundt tin from a kitchenware shop in Cardiff, strangely enough, called Kitchens (they also have an online store). It's called the Garland Pan by Nordic ware. I love Nordic ware cake pans as they are always brilliant quality. It's just a pity we don't tend to get the full range in the UK.
DeleteI am drooling - but how did you manage to gt them out of the pans so perfectly?? If that had been me, it would have been a crumbly disaster!
ReplyDeleteAhh, I gave Wilton's 'Cake Release' a go. I bought some a while back but hadn't used it (was worried about it affecting the taste) but with the pan I used for these was worried about them not coming out properly, so gave it a go. It worked brilliantly - just used a pastry brush to get into all the nooks and crannies - and they just fell out when I flipped the pan (with the wire rack held against it :) ). Didn't affect the taste at all, so will definitely use it again. You could just use melted butter and flour though. :)
DeleteIt seems Bundts are going for world domination...they've become really popular recently! Yours look absolutely fab, I love the flavour combination and they look so cute in individual tins! :-)
ReplyDeleteHmmm, maybe Dollybakes has something to do with it? ;)
DeleteLove your mini bundts! I have that tin and need to put it to equally good use!
ReplyDeleteThanks! Yes, you must, and I look forward to reading about it! :D
DeleteWow, they just look so sophisticated and chic... I love all the different patterns. A joy! Lovely recipe too. Good to know about the spray release stuff too as I too would have been really worried!
ReplyDeleteThanks Dom - pleased you like them! :)
DeleteThese look gorgeous! I absolutely LOVE the tin!
ReplyDeleteThanks Lottie! There are some absolutely gorgeous tins out there - you could end up spending a fortune on them if money were no object. Especially love the Nordic ware ones. :)
DeleteThat's so funny - the first thing I thought of was 'how on earth did you get them out of the tins?' I have a big bundt (try saying that quickly), which I rarely use because the stress of turning it out (and having half the cake stay in) is too much for me. I wonder if that spray release stuff is available here...
ReplyDeleteThere are two kinds you can get - one by Dr Oetker which is a spray, and one by Wilton which is a gel and you have to brush it on or wipe it on. I've used both at times and they both work pretty well. I prefer the Wilton one though, as it doesn't seem so oily. :)
Deletewow these look amazing!! I love mini bundts and saw this tin when I was in America but had to refrain as I couldn't carry everything back! I did however get a different mini bundt tin from Williams-Sonoma.
ReplyDeleteThanks Ros - I can't wait until we go to Florida next year. I think I'll need an extra suitcase to bring back everything I'm planning :)
DeleteWow talk about America overload, blueberries...cornmeal and Bundts?! I love it! The absolute perfect UBA bake, thanks for joining in with these delicious bakes, your bundt pans are so amazing!
ReplyDeleteYes - very American! Thanks Gem, glad you like it! :)
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