Express Chocolate Espresso Bundt

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I love to bake from scratch. I love to decorate a cake with flowers and sprinkles. But I also love to eat cake right now/five minutes ago. This is not a new realization but what is new is my decision to [gasp] use boxed cake mixes every once in a while. 

My new non-judgey feelings toward cake mixes led me to this recipe: Express Chocolate Espresso Bundt. The recipe drew me in with "express" (because I want cake now), started to get interesting at "chocolate" (because chocolate). The recipe got real at "espresso" (because caffeine holds a special place in my heart) and then the ingredients were already measured and on the counter by the time I read the word "Bundt" (beautiful cake that requires zero decoration).

Add these things together, bake for less than an hour and voila, instantly beautiful cake that can be eaten immediately.

And if you are trying to figure out what to do while the cake is baking, whip up a batch of salted caramel sauce and dip the pieces of the cake directly into the warm caramel. Just a thought...

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Express Espresso Chocolate Bundt
from Bundt Cake Bliss

1 box devil's food cake mix (15.25 oz)
1 small box instant chocolate pudding mix
4 eggs
1/2 cups strongly brewed coffee
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup sour cream
1/4 cup cocoa powder
2 tsp instant espresso powder

Make the cake: Preheat oven to 350°F. Prepare a 10-12 cup Bundt pan using butter or Pam baking spray. 

Place the cake mix and pudding mix in the bowl of a stand mixer and mix for 30 seconds on low. Add the remaining ingredients and mix at medium speed for 4 minutes. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.

Bake for 50-60 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
 

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This post was done in partnership with Nordic Ware who sponsored this recipe by providing the Bundt pan that was used in this recipe. As always, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

Crown Bundt

What's gold, Scandinavian, crown-shaped, and a fun place for a toddler to store cereal and cashews? If you answered Nordic Ware's new bundt pan, you were spot on. If you follow my blog, you know that I love Nordic Ware's products for a number of reasons: they are designed and produced a stone's throw away from me, their quality is great, and they are colorful and fun and decorative enough to look like they are meant to sit on your counter (as opposed to being placed there because you don't have any more room in your condo for a bundt pan).

And what's more fun than this pan made to honor the company's 70th anniversary? Seventy years. That is something to be proud of so why not celebrate with a sugar and butter and banana filled cake covered in a salted honey peanut butter glaze? 

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Banana Bundt Cake with Honey Peanut Butter Glaze

Cake
1 1/4 cups ripe bananas, mashed (about 3 large bananas)
4 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 sticks unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2 cups sugar
4 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups full-fat sour cream

Glaze
1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup powdered sugar
2 tbsp honey
Salt, to taste
Cream (or milk)

Make the cake: It is important to note that this recipe makes enough for one 10 cup bundt + one 9" cake round or two 6" cake rounds. I would recommend just going for it and freezing the extra layers so that you have something to pull out in a few weeks.

Preheat oven to 350°. Using a spray meant for baking (like this one), spray the bundt ensuring that every crevice is covered (I also use a brush to ensure that it is evenly spread).

Mash bananas and place them in a small bowl; set aside. In a medium bowl, mix flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt; set aside.

In a large bowl of a stand mixer, beat melted butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time, then stir in vanilla. Beat in the flour mixture alternately with the sour cream. Fold in bananas. Pour batter into prepared pan and tap against the counter top to ensure that batter is evenly spread and so that all bubbles come to the surface.

Bake in preheated oven for one hour or until a cake tester inserted in center comes out clean. 

Make the glaze: in a medium bowl, mix the peanut butter, powdered sugar, honey and salt until combined. Add cream or milk until it reaches desired consistency.

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Brown Sugar Bundt Cake

I love decorating cakes with sugary, buttery frosting with sprinkles and flowers and chocolate and anything else that makes you smile. But sometimes the prettiest cake is also the simplest.  And in my opinion, the simplest cake is one baked in this gorgeous geometric bundt pan.

Please, don't cover this cake with any additional decoration; it is way too pretty on its own. And guess what, it tastes just as good as it looks.

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Brown Sugar Bundt Cake
from King Arthur Flour

1 cup butter
1 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup sour cream
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Make the cake: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Using a baking spray (not cooking oil), lightly grease a 9 or 10-cup Bundt pan making sure that every crevice is covered (use a pastry brush for this).

In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating for a minute or two between additions. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl.

Add the baking powder, salt, and baking soda, then gently beat in half the flour. Gently beat in the sour cream and vanilla, then add the remaining flour, mixing just until blended.

Scoop the batter into the prepared pan and get ready to get some aggression out: find a firm surface such as a cutting board to firmly tap the pan on. This forces trapped air bubbles out and get the batter into every nook and cranny of the pan.  Bake for 55 to 60 minutes, until a cake tester or toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Remove the cake from the oven, and cool in the pan for 15 minutes before transferring to a rack to finish cooling. 

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