Banana Bundt Cake with Toffee Sauce

I'm not kidding when I said I'm going to put this recipe on the blog but boy, did it take a long time for me to do it!

This cake was a hit in my family that I made it twice in a month.  I do love it as well, I thought the cake was very tender, not too sweet, and it allows you add a variety of ingredients to it; for example, dried fruits, chocolate chips, or nuts.  I keep the add-ons less than a cup because I fear that if it's too much, the batter will get too heavy and dense.

The original recipe didn't have anything on it but I added dried currants because they're my number one choice for dried fruits.  These were soaked in a bit of rum for a few hours.   Plus since I had that leftover toffee sauce from making sticky toffee pudding tart, I decided to use it up on this cake.  Everything worked well together and flavor profile was sublime.

I hope you'll enjoy it as well as my family did!

Banana Bundt Cake with Toffee Sauce

Makes one 10- or 12-inch Bundt cake


3/4 cup dried currants
1/4 cup rum or apple juice
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs, at room temperature
4 very ripe bananas, mashed (about 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 cups)
1 cup sour cream

About 1-1 1/4 cup Toffee Sauce


Place a rack in the center of the oven; preheat oven to 350F degrees.  Generously butter and flour or coat with baker's spray a 10- or 12-inch Bundt cake pan.

Combine dried currants with rum or apple juice and let macerate for a few hours.  Whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl.

Use a paddle attachment on a stand mixer, beat butter and sugar at medium speed until fluffy and pale in color.  Beat in vanilla, then add eggs, one at a time, beating for 1 minute after each.  Turn the speed to low, add bananas.  Slowly add dry ingredients and then all of the sour cream.  Fold the macerated currants with juice with a spatula until just combined.  Pour batter into prepared pan.  Smooth the top and bang the pan gently against the counter a few times.

Bake for 45 to 50 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean.  If the top starts to brown quickly, cover it lightly with a piece of foil.  Transfer the cake onto a rack and let cool for 10 minutes.  Unmold the cake to a rack and let it cool to room temperature.  If desired, the cake can be covered with plastic wrap and left overnight to develop more flavor.

When the cake is cool, drizzle the toffee sauce over the cake, letting it drips down the sides.


Source:  adapted from Baking with Dorie, Better Homes and Gardens Special Interest Publications, 2017

Apple-Cream Cheese Bundt Cake

Hiya....how's it going?  It's been a while since I've posted anything here.  After Christmas baking, I felt that I needed to take a break from going on like an Energizer bunny with sweets.  So I chilled out.  I enjoyed my Christmas break, spent time with my family but also finished all the cookies that were in the freezer.  It was a time well spent and I always believe that's what Christmas time is supposed to be; just hanging out with family and not worry about blogging or anything else.

My son is also is finishing his 8th grade this year so my time consequently is channeled towards school activities.  I can't believe he's grown so much, physically and mentally; a part of me is still wishing that he's about a year old.  That's why I kept his baby photo for my phone's wallpaper :D

About a couple of weeks ago, I slowly started to bake again.  I really wanted to recreate recipes that were posted in old blog but it's a slow going.  I've made some steamed cake--Indonesian style--which didn't turn out quite the way I wanted it to be so that needs a redo.  But I do have this cake which I made just before the break.  It's a Bundt cake--my favorite--that has cream cheese filling, apples and pecans.  Just sort of the cake which is so comforting in the winter time to be paired with warm drinks.  There's a lot of Bundt cake recipe that incorporates cream cheese filling nowadays that I think you've seen this one before.  No matter, I do love the cake and will share the recipe here.

Apple-Cream Cheese Bundt Cake

Makes 12 servings


Cream Cheese Filling:
1 (8 oz.) package cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Apple Cake Batter:
1 cup finely chopped pecans
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
3/4 cup canola oil
3/4 cup applesauce
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups peeled and finely chopped Gala apples (about 1 1/2 lbs.)

Praline Frosting:
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup unsalted butter
3 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup powdered sugar


Prepare filling:  Beat first 3 ingredients at medium speed with an electric mixer until blended and smooth.  Add egg, flour and vanilla; beat just until blended.

Prepare batter:  Preheat oven to 350.  Bake pecans in a shallow pan 8 to 10 minutes or until toasted and fragrant, stirring halfway through.  Stir together 3 cups flour and next 7 ingredients in a large bowl; stir in eggs and next 3 ingredients, stirring just until dry ingredients are moistened.  Stir in apples and pecans.

Spoon two-thirds of apple mixture into a greased and floured 14-cup Bundt pan.  Spoon Cream Cheese Filling over apple mixture, leaving a 1-inch border around edges of pan.  Swirl filling through apple mixture using a paring knife.  Spoon remaining apple mixture over Cream Cheese Filling.

Bake at 350F for 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes or until a long wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.  Cool cake in pan on a wire rack 15 minutes; remove from pan to wire rack, and cool completely (about 2 hours).

Prepare frosting:  Bring 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1/4 cup butter, and 3 Tbps. milk to a boil in a 2-quart saucepan over medium heat, whisking constantly; boil 1 minute, whisking constantly.  Remove from heat; stir in vanilla.  Gradually whisk in powdered sugar until smooth; stir gently 3 to 5 minutes or until mixture begins to cool and thickens slightly.  Pour immediately over cooled cake.


Source:  adapted heavily from Southern Living, November 2015

Orange Chocolate Bundt Cake

The day started somewhat cloudy.  As I opened my bedroom windows, I doubted the sun would come out; but it did a little later.  While I was busy working, the kitchen windows were opened slightly, letting the fresh air in.  I suddenly thought of how close spring will be, it seemed like it's already in the air.  The day turned out to be a gorgeous day, it slightly annoyed me that I had to stuck in the kitchen, baking and doing my assignment.  My consolation was that the things I made was quite summery and undoubtedly peachy.

But this post is about a bundt cake I made a few months ago.  This cake is phenomenal in its simplicity.  With just yogurt and olive oil, you can make a moist and light bundt cake, it's the best ever recipe I've done so far.  I owe thanks to the book, Baked Explorations by Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito; these guys know how to bake real well.

The only modification I made was to add chopped bittersweet chocolate in the batter.  With or without the chocolate, the cake is still wonderful.

Orange Chocolate Bundt Cake

Makes one 10-inch bundt cake



3 cups all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

4 large eggs, separated

2 cups granulated sugar

1 cup plain yogurt--I use low-fat, organic local yogurt

3/4 cup good-quality extra-virgin olive oil

Freshly grated zest of 2 oranges

1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1/2 cup chopped bittersweet chocolate

1/2 cup confectioners' sugar, sifted, for dusting



Preheat oven to 325°F.  Spray the inside of a 10-inch Bundt pan with nonstick cooking spray.  You can also butter the pan well, dust with flour, and knock the excess flour out.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.  Set aside

In a large bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the egg yolks until they are pale and light; slowly pour in the sugar until it is completely incorporated.  Add the yogurt and olive oil and mix it until thoroughly combined.  Add the orange zest and vanilla, and mix until just incorporated.

Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients in two parts, beating after each addition until just combined (this will take about 10 seconds).  Scrape down the bowl and beat again for 5 seconds.  Add the chopped chocolate, fold with a rubber spatula.

In another large bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff peak forms.  Scoop 1 cup of the egg whites into the batter.  Use a rubber spatula to gently fold them in.  After about 30 seconds of folding, add the remaining egg whites and gently fold until they are almost completely combined.  Do not rush the folding process.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 40 to 50 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through the baking time, or until a small sharp knife inserted into the cake comes out clean.  Transfer the pan to a wire rack to cool completely.  Gently loosen the sides of the cake from the pan and turn it out onto the rack.

Just before serving, dust the cake with the confectioners' sugar.

The cake can be stored at room temperature, covered tightly, for up to 3 days.



Source:  adapted from Baked Explorations by Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito

Bittersweet Chocolate-Walnut Bundt Cake

I bought this book, Intensely Chocolate by Carole Bloom, thinking that there have got to be some good recipes in it.  But I was slightly disappointed by this recipe; though the appearance is quite beautiful, the taste is not what I expected.  Perhaps, because there is not egg nor butter in the cake, instead, sour cream and buttermilk are used to replace the fat.  As with a cake without egg or butter, the texture is slightly dense, with open crumbs; the chocolate flavor though is quite wholesome.  The result is exactly like the photo in the book, it came out beautifully from the pan just like that.

Still, it is not one of my favorite cakes to make, I have yet to learn to appreciate eating this type of cake.  But for people who are allergic to egg, I highly recommend this cake, it is chocolate and quite easy to make.

Bittersweet Chocolate-Walnut Bundt Cake

Yield 12-14 servings

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

1/3 cup turbinado sugar

1 1/4 cups walnuts, finely chopped

3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup unsweetened Dutch-processed cocoa powder

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 1/2 cups firmly packed light brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, cut into small chunks

2 1/4 cups buttermilk

1 1/2 cups sour cream

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon chocolate extract, optional

Preheat oven to 350 degree F and place a rack in the center of oven.  Coat inside of the pan with melted butter using a pastry brush or paper towel.  Sprinkle the sides and center of pan with turbinado sugar.

Toast walnuts in the oven for 7 to 8 minutes, stirring often until the nuts are light golden.  Remove from oven and cool on rack.

Sift the flour, cocoa powder, and baking soda over a bowl.  Add brown sugar, salt, and nutmeg, and toss to blend completely.  Add the walnuts and bittersweet chocolate chunks and stir to blend thoroughly.

In a bowl of electric stand mixer, blend thoroughly buttermilk, sour cream, vanilla, and chocolate extract (if using) with a paddle attachment.  Add the flour mixture in 4 stages, blending well after each addition.  Stop often to scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula.

Transfer the batter to the prepared pan, then use a rubber spatula to smooth and even the top. Bake for 35 to 38 minutes, until a cake tester inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.

Remove the pan from the oven and cool on a rack for 20 minutes.  Invert the pan onto the rack and lift the pan off the cake.  Let the cake cool completely on the rack.

Serve the cake at room temperature.

Source:  adapted from Intensely Chocolate: 100 Scrumptious Recipes for True Chocolate Lovers by Carole Bloom

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