Friday 9 November 2012

Vanilla and Cardamom Yogurt Bundt Cake


The bundt tin is my new secret weapon. It jazzes up a simple cake when your not in the mood for all that piping and decorating hoop-lah. I bought this small tin (1L) in aldi for less than €3- I've picked up a few neat baking supplies in there, it's always worth a nosy around the 'random stuff we have on sale this week' isle.

But bundt tins are not without their pitfalls, the greatest being that stomach muscles clenched moment when you have to invert. I was sure that I'd be scraping cake mix from the nooks and crannies of the pan. But fortunately not! I brushed butter generously on the pan, dusted with flour and placed in the fridge for 10 minutes. Happily the cake popped out once I ran a knife around the edge. So all's well that ends well. No major kitchen tantrums.... for now....



Ugh hate the automatic flash...
 I went for what I would consider to be an unconventional flavour, cardamom, but in my foodie research I found out that cardamom is actually commonly used in Swedish baking. Those Swedes have lots of genius baking ideas (Cinnamon Buns anyone?). My friend Zita of http://afoxinthekitchen.com/ told me that they take coffee break very seriously over there and always have something sweet to accompany their cuppa.  I really think I should move.... Addition of yoghurt makes this cake lovely and moist, the cardamom being spicy and fragrant without overpowering the vanilla.

Like my teacosy?!


For a 1L bundt cake tin
Adapted from Rachel Allen's Cake Diaries

125g unsalted butter softened
112g caster sugar
2 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/2 tsp cardamom, freshly ground from about 8-10 pods.
110ml natural yogurt
1 tablespoon milk
170g plain flour sieved
3/4 tsp baking powder
pinch of salt

1. Grease the bundt tin. Brush heavily with butter, dust with flour and put in the fridge. Cream the butter and sugar for 5-6 minutes until pale and fluffy with an electric mixer.
2. Add the eggs one at a time and beat well after each addition.
3. Add the cardamom, yogurt and vanilla and mix well. The mixture may curdle, that is ok, it will come back together.
4. Add the flour, salt and baking powder and milk and fold until just combined.
5. Bake for 18-20 minutes at 180oC, longer in a bigger cake tin.

For the icing
50g icing sugar sifted
1/2 tablespoon of water
zest of half orange grated

1. Beat all the ingredients together. Start small with the water and add more if you need to. Spoon over the icing and let it drizzle down.




5 comments:

  1. Ha i didnt realise until a second read that my name was in this :)

    I bought the exact same tin this week, you got a better bargain though. I've been looking for a good recipe to use with it, so i might give this one a try, sounds and looks great!

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  2. I need to stop buying stuff in aldi but sure I couldn't resist the tin, it was so cute!! Did you ever have cardamom in Sweden? The flavour develops, best eaten the next day I think!

    If you're looking for Bundt inspiration check this out http://www.foodlibrarian.com/p/i-like-big-bundts.html- she sure does like her bundts!!!!
    Deirdre

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  3. Ooh im gonna check out that site for sure.

    Well there is a special type of swedish bun called "semla" and I was always convinced it was a bun made of cream and loads of pepper, then i found out only recently that it was cardamom?!
    Really peppery taste of them and even specks of black... if you like cardamom you should try them.

    http://naturetravels.wordpress.com/2008/02/04/a-traditional-swedish-recipe-how-to-make-%E2%80%9Csemlor%E2%80%9D/


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  4. Looks delicious... Definetly going to try the recipe... if I can get the tin :D
    up-down-mix.blogspot.co.uk

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  5. Thanks Mel, let me know how it goes!

    Will check that out Zita! It is quite peppery, I like it! And there is marzipan in those- definitely trying them out!! I love that they call Pancake Tuesday Fat Tuesday, that is just hilarious!!

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