Friday, July 15, 2011

Brown Sugar Bundt Cake

I love ready-to-eat prunes in baking than actually eat them as they are. When used in baking and desserts, they tastes wonderful and the flavours really stands out. Prunes are rich with vitamins, high in fiber and virtually no fats! This cake recipe uses prunes and pears. I used apples instead of pears and some Sunsweet Ready-to-eat prunes which has been sitting on my kitchen table for the last two months or so! 

This cake is moist, soft and really good! Another wonderful recipe from Dorie Greenspan which is definitely a keeper. As usual, I reduced the brown sugar, and it is just right for me, it is not overly sweet, just the right amount of sweetness, together with the slightly sourish tangy prunes, this cake is wonderful. Good either with a cup of coffee or tea, though I would go for tea with this.


Whisk the flour, ground hazelnuts, baking powder, baking soda, salt  in a medium bowl. Cream the sugar and butter and add in the eggs. Add in the flour alternately with the buttermilk, ending with flour. 


I replaced the buttermilk with 2/3 cup of homemade yoghurt and 1/3 cup of milk, mix them together. Buttermilk is quite costly over here, and not easily available too, and once the carton is opened, it does not keep for long. This substitution of buttermilk with yoghurt and milk is one of the handy tips by Dorie, which is really great, as I always have homemade yoghurt in my fridge. I only buy commercial yoghurt as a starter, ever since I started making my own, which is gloriously creamy and delicious. If you have not tried making yoghurt before, try it, it is really very easy, no equipment is necessary. I did not use any special equipment at all. All you need is a deep pot, 1 litre of milk and 2 tablespoon of live cultured yoghurt starter! For homemade yoghurt recipe, click here


Add in the chopped apples and prunes, stir to combine. Pour into my lovely WILTON bundt pan :) and bake for about 60-65 minutes, check to see whether top is browning too fast, and cover with a piece of aluminium foil if needed. I checked the cake at 45 minutes of baking time, and found that it is browning too fast, so a piece of aluminium foil is placed on top.



 A lovely cake is ready!


 The prunes and apples are scattered all over the cake, yummy! I gave half of this cake to my nice neighbour!


The texture is really soft, moist, and yummy!

I'm sharing this with
Full Plate Thursday at  Miz Helen's Country Cottage
Recipe Swap Thursday at Prairie Story
Bake With Bizzy at Bizzy B. Bakes
Sweets For A Saturday at Sweet As Sugar Cookies


Brown Sugar Bundt Cake
(adapted from "Baking From My Home To Yours" by Dorie Greenspan)
2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup ground hazelnuts or walnuts (or 1/4 cup more all-purpose flour)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 cups (packed) light brown sugar (I use 1-1/2 cups, lightly packed)
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1-1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon pure almond extract (only if you're using ground nuts)
1 cup buttermilk, at room temperature
2 medium pears, peeled, cored and cut into 1/4-inch dices (I use apples)
1/2 cup moist, plump prunes, snipped into 1/4 inch pieces, or 1/2 cup moist, plump raisins (dark or golden)
Confectioner's sugar, for dusting


GETTING READY : Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 9 to 10 inch (12-cup) Bundt pan, dust the inside with flour and tap out the excess. If your pan is not nonstick, dust the interior of the pan with flour, then tap out the excess. (If you've got a silicone Bundt pan, there's no need to butter or flour it). Don't place the pan on a baking sheet - you want the oven's heat to circulate through the Bundt's inner tube.


Whisk together the flour, nuts, baking powder, baking soda and salt.


Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar together at medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, beating for 1 minute after each addition. Beat in the vanilla and the almond extract, if you're using it. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the flour mixture and the buttermilk alternately - add the flour in 3 additions and the buttermilk in 2 (begin and end with the dry ingredients). Mix only until the ingredients are incorporated and scrape down the bowl as needed. With a rubber spatula, stir in the pears and prunes. Scrape the batter into the pan and smooth the top with the spatula.


Bake for 60 to 65 minutes, or until a thin knife inserted deep into the centre of the cake comes out clean. (If the cake looks as if it's browning too fast, cover the top loosely with a foil tent). Transfer the cake to a rack and cool for 10 minutes before unmolding, then cool to room temperature on the rack.


When your're ready to serve, dust the top of the cake with confectioner's sugar.


STORING : Not surprisingly, this cake is a good keeper. It will keep for 5 days wrapped well and at room temperature - it's really better the next day after it is baked than it is on the bake day - and it can be frozen for up to 2 months; defrost still wrapped.





26 comments:

  1. me too, i don't actually like to eat prunes too, but add to baking, I'm ok..Thanks for the tips on replacement of buttermilk, i never use buttermilk before, thought to buy and try it, but due to big package, i have to find more recipes before i buy it. So this is one of the recipe i add to my baking waiting list, ^^

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  2. prunes and apples make your cake real yum ....lucky neighbor.... I wish I could be!!:)

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  3. Another recipe I have here at home that I didn't know I had. I have that book too and I think it's time I went through it again. What a lovely cake. Bundt cakes are always so much fun to make and eat. Have a great weekend Joyce!

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  4. My stomach is not just growling for this it is actually hurting for this cake. Divine creation- gorgeous and delicious and I really do need a piece right now or I might pass out

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  5. yummy cake..looks very soft.....

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  6. Kistchen flavours this cake look delicious and beauty! gloria

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  7. Wow! I love the crumbs and the texture of the cake, simply gorgeous.
    US Masala

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  8. Querida KF este cakes es increĆ­blemente delicioso y bello me encanta,abrazos grandes.

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  9. Heavenly!!! How can I resist this with a good cuppa! Thanks for sharing dear!

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  10. That's a beautiful cake. Love the shape.

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  11. Oh, I wish you had posted this last week! I had loads of those prunes in my hurricane supplies that I ended up giving to the red cross cause I couldn't think what the heck to do with them!

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  12. Irresistible cake and bundt pan! hehehe...
    May I know where you got the pan from??? I hardly find any bundt pan around.haish! :(

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  13. The cake does look soft and moist. Your neighbour must be very happy. :)

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  14. I've made a cake similar to this but it didn't have the bits of fruit. I'll have to try your version because it looks delicious!

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  15. I love prunes by themselves, so I'm sure I'd love this beautiful cake! I'm also going to try making homemade yogurt- we eat so much that I really need to make my own! :)

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  16. Lovely looking cake, love the mould...I read your yoghurt making post and was wondering which brand of live culture yoghurt did you use for making your yoghurt?

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  17. What a beautiful, yummy looking cake! Love all of the ingredients and would love a big slice right now. Have a great weekend!

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  18. i have never tried prunes in cakes, i just eat the pitted prunes from the tub. I might like to try that in cakes one day!

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  19. This cake looks so moist and delicious!

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  20. I am a glutton for brown sugar. A brown sugar cake has to be the greatest. This is gorgeous.

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  21. Hi Joy,
    This is a wonderful Brown Sugar Bundt Cake. The apples and prunes will make this cake so moist and full of flavor. Thank you so much for sharing with Full Plate Thursday and hope to see you next week. Hope you are having a great week end.
    Miz Helen

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  22. I've always loved prunes. This cake does indeed look incredibly moist...wonderful :)
    Hope you are having a wonderful weekend!

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  23. Beautiful bundt cake Joy! I love prunes and pears and this sounds like a wonderful pairing of the two. I imagine the addition of pears make it especially moist.

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  24. Hi everyone,
    Thank you for visiting! I appreciate all your comments! Wishing everyone a great week!

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