Vanilla Bundt Cake

Tis’ the holiday season and kitchen disasters are just around the corner. Unfortunately, I had one when I decided to make a Bundt cake as a gift for some VIPs :). Later on I found out that it was undercooked and overly sweet to the liking of the gift recipients :(. Now every time I get home from work I would bake a Bundt cake because I really want to perfect the recipe and never again give something that awful! Here I am back at blogging because I have made a success trying out  variations of a recipe I have been playing with the last few weeks. I adapted the recipe from King Arthur Flour’s Lemon Cake but this time I tweaked it a bit to suit my taste. Instead of a lemon cake I made vanilla bundt cake and added additional butter to it. After countless disasters, now I have my own recipe to keep. Hopefully the next time I give this as a gift, it’s a perfect ten.

Trust me, I’ve tried a lot of variations for the last few weeks. I was only able to jump and say ‘Eureka’ yesterday! But first let me tell you the misfortunes I’ve been through.  I played around with the type of flour to use. I tried all-purpose flour and the cake came out floury in taste, too dense and not at all buttery. I then tried unbleached flour  and it came out too crumbly. But the one thing that ultimately worked for me is cake flour. I guess it was a no brainer to use cake flour since I am making cake. But you can’t blame me for trying different types since as a cook you want to try out the possibilities out there and if possible make substitutes to the recipe. But one humbling thing I learned from baking cakes is never underestimate the science in it. Unlike cooking where substitutes are possible, baking is a totally different arena. Measurements are needed and using the right type of ingredients are a must.

I also encountered the cake sticking to the Bundt pan. So I did research and figured that by using non-stick spray and sifting a bit of flour into the pan works best. This avoids the cake from sticking to the ringed, fluted, grooved pan. Not to say the least, another disaster I had was when I turned it upside down, the cake was sliced into two! If I had glue I wish I could have salvage it but too bad I cannot.

BTW, the best time to turn the pan upside down and remove the cake from the pan is  10 minutes after removing the cake from the oven.  If you let it stay there too long you have the chances of the cake sticking to the pan. While if you do it right away there’s a possibility that the  cake will be cut in half.

Chances are everyone will have different experiences when baking something (due to the type of oven we use, the type of pan, the virtue of patience one has). But I have been making the same recipe below for the last 2 days and all I can say is that it’s perfect. I brought them to work and left them at the pantry. They were wiped out in a flash! I had to check the garbage bin to see if it was a hit or miss but indeed this recipe satisfied everyone..because the first time I made it I saw 2 pieces thrown into the bin :). No need to ask just check the bin!

Now a days, cakes are getting fancier and fancier. Am not going to be surprised if the next fad is a cough syrup cake (LOL!). But as always in me, I want to go back to the basics first and perfect something before I move on to greater things :). Also I want a recipe that I can keep and pass on to my loved ones. (Here it is Mom!) a classic Bundt cake. You can’t go wrong giving this as a gift for the holiday. Young and old will like it and it can be made into many varieties like a marble cake, lemon poppy seed cake, rum cake or whatever you fancy. I am currently experimenting on a marble cake so the recipe should follow later on :)

Now bring it on!

For the cake:

3 cups, all cake flour (no compromise)

1 tsp. salt

2 tsp. baking powder

1 ½ cups unsalted butter, softened 

2 cups granulated sugar

3 T pure vanilla extract

4 large eggs, room temperature

Confectioner’s sugar for dusting

Directions:

Grease a 9 – 10 cup non-stick Bundt pan with cooking spray

Pre-heat oven to 530 degrees.

I used a hand mixer to combine the ingredients.

In a small bowl, scoop cake flour into the measuring cup (not the other way around). This will ensure you have just the right amount of flour and do not add too much flour into your batter.  If you scoop flour using your measuring cup chances are you are adding too much than what the recipe calls for.

Add in the baking powder and the salt. Set aside.

In a bigger bowl, add the sugar and butter together. Beat until light and fluffy. Stir in the vanilla.

Break each egg and add one. Mixing at to ensure they are incorporated well.

Pour in the flour  and the milk alternately. Starting with the flour and end with flour.

Pour the batter in to the greased pan carefully.

Place at the center of the oven rack and bake for 50 – 60 minutes or until the cake tester comes out clean. 

After 10 minutes, place a plate on top of the cake pan. Turn it upside down and tap on the cake pan. Gently pull out the pan. Voila...you have yourself a bundt cake.

With a sifter dust powdered or confectioner's sugar on the cake. Slice and enjoy!