Me brag? Oh, please!

The point of this post isn't to brag about how while our new baby was napping I threw off the new parent daze to throw together dessert for our friends tonight. It also isn't to brag about my beautiful huckleberry bundt cake in the picture above since I did post the recipe here recently, although if I was to brag I would say how fucking cool does that look?! The point is if you are into the bundt as I am then you have to get the Williams-Sonoma "Heritage" bundt cake pan that we got as a Christmas present from sis Jane. This was the initial use, and I am...okay...I am feeling really damn smug about it. Get yours and you'll see what I mean!

The perfect finish: Huckleberry Bundt Cake

At the tail end of our dinner party last night, after the protein fest and the most insane mashed potatoes ever (future posts coming on those two!), we didn't need to be brought to our knees by some super-rich dessert. The only thing keeping my blood flowing at that point was all the red wine we slurped down (sorry for the extra workout this morning, recycling guy). Which is why one of my favorite desserts is a classic bundt cake. Fast, easy, and delicious, this particular version has the perfect crumb and flavor. Plus, if you are fortunate enough to have some huckleberries that you had the brilliant foresight to stock away in early fall lying in wait in your freezer, then all the better (blueberries would also work). If you need one more reason to make this, and assuming your guests didn't wolf it all down, this is also a perfect treat to have with your morning coffee!
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Huckleberry Bundt Cake
from Bon Appétit

Using frozen huckleberries in the batter will keep the fruit from sinking to the bottom of the pan as the cake bakes.
Makes 12 servings.

ingredients:
3 cups all purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 2/3 cups sugar
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
3 large eggs
1 tablespoon grated orange peel
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3/4 cup buttermilk
2 cups frozen huckleberries (or blueberries)
Powdered sugar Optional)

method:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter and flour 10-inch-diameter Bundt pan. Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt in medium bowl. Using electric mixer, beat 1 2/3 cups sugar and butter in large bowl until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, 1 at a time. Beat in orange peel and vanilla. Beat in dry ingredients in 3 additions alternately with buttermilk in 2 additions. Fold in berries. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake until tester inserted near center of cake comes out clean, about 1 hour.

Cool cake in pan on rack 10 minutes. Turn cake out onto rack and cool completely. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Wrap in plastic and store at room temperature.) Transfer cake to plate, sift powdered sugar over if using, and serve.

When the pressure is on, lay down a Bundt!

As I've stated before in previous posts, I'm a big "cake guy" when it come to desserts. And as I've also made clear, I'm very fortunate because w is a "likes to make cake" girl, and her layer cakes kick ass. But last Monday we were having friends over for dinner (check out the crazy good bolognese recipe that was the entree in a post tomorrow...or Saturday) and she was working, so any cakiness, or any other dessert, was up to me. For some reason...hunger, low blood sugar, old-school yearnings....I'd been having thoughts of bundt cakes lately. I love the idea of the bundt cake in all its self-contained cooking goodness. Pour the batter in the pan, slide into the oven, pull it out, done. Especially when the above mentioned bolognese was cooking for several hours on the stove and there were other details to attend to (like making sure there was enough gin to get me through the evening), I needed it fast and easy. I checked out some cookbooks...nothing. Went online to epicurious...jackpot! I found this recipe for blueberry-buttermilk bundt cake. I didn't have blueberries, but I did have a stash of last fall's huckleberries at the ready, so this was it. Too easy, and with a sprinkling of powdered sugar on top, quite lovely to look at if you ask me. And yeah, pretty freaking good too. Plus this would also make a great brunch cake with coffee, too. Ease, versatility, old-school appeal, and deliciousness....that's my kind of multi-tasking!









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Blueberry-Buttermilk Bundt Cake
Bon Appétit

Using frozen blueberries in the batter will keep the fruit from sinking to the bottom of the pan as the cake bakes.
Makes 12 servings.

ingredients:
3 cups all purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 2/3 cups sugar
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
3 large eggs
1 tablespoon grated orange peel
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3/4 cup buttermilk
2 cups frozen blueberries (or huckleberries if you're fortunate enough to have some!)
Powdered sugar for sprinkling on top (optional)

preparation:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter and flour 10-inch-diameter Bundt pan. Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt in medium bowl. Using electric mixer, beat 1 2/3 cups sugar and butter in large bowl until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, 1 at a time. Beat in orange peel and vanilla. Beat in dry ingredients in 3 additions alternately with buttermilk in 2 additions. Fold in blueberries. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake until tester inserted near center of cake comes out clean, about 1 hour.

Cool cake in pan on rack 10 minutes. Turn cake out onto rack and cool completely. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Wrap in plastic and store at room temperature.) Transfer cake to plate, sift powdered sugar over, and serve.