TWD - Brown Sugar Bundt Cake

It is my turn to host!



Almost three years ago I had no idea what a food blog was, much less that there were ladies and gentlemen all across the world baking and writing about such things, and sharing and growing with each other over recipes.  I'm not a chef or a great baker, but I do love to cook for my family so I decided to join in.  Since we are just two days past Mother's Day, I want to thank my sweet mother (who passed away three years ago) for sharing her love of cooking with me.

My first Dorie recipe was a fruit galette.  I remember still how delicious it was.  I even remember the first comment I received on my blog.  It was like an award to me!  I still love reading all your comments, so thank you to those of you who regularly stop by to leave encouragement and stop for a second to say hello.

Now about Dorie.  I love the way Dorie explains her recipes step by step.  While some of the recipes in her book "appear" complicated, I think any novice could follow along and easily manage most of them.  I have to say thank you to Dorie Greenspan for enriching my life with these wonderful recipes!  My husband thanks her too.  I have learned so much being in this group not only about baking, but also about online friendships. 

Also, it is a great book to gift to a friend or family member.  Baking From My Home to Yours - Dorie Greenspan.

Love bundt cake and love brown sugar so my pick was a no-brainer.  Thank all of you in the group for baking along with me this week and I hope you enjoyed the cake.  You can go to TuesdayswithDorie.wordpress.com to see what variations on this cake the other bakers used.  I made this the first time several months ago and used pears, walnuts, and craisens.  This time around I used toasted almonds, almond flavoring, pears and the craisens (instead of prunes). 

Ready for the oven!


I think it is a very versatile cake and would accommodate ingredient change easily.   It would be delicious for breakfast, brunch, lunch or dinner.  Or, even a bedtime snack!

The end result is a beautiful cake with a dense yet moist texture and a wonderful aroma of brown sugar. 

Next week in our group, our host is Lindsay from A Little Something… Sweet and she chose Maple Cornmeal Biscuits.  I cannot wait to try those.


Brown Sugar Bundt Cake
Dorie Greenspan

2 1/4 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 c. ground hazelnuts or walnuts (or 1/4 c. more all-purpose flour)
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
2 sticks (8 oz.) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 c. (packed) light brown sugar
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1 1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1/4 tsp. pure almond extract (only if you're using the ground nuts)
1 c. buttermilk, at room temperature
2 medium pears, peeled, cored and cut into 1/4-inch dice
1/2 c. moist, plump prunes, snipped into 1/4-inch pieces, or 1/2 c. moist, plump raisins (dark or golden)

Confectioners' sugar, for dusting

Getting Ready:

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350º 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 the 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 center 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 you are ready to serve, dust the top of the cake with confectioners' sugar.

*Dorie's Note 1: Dorie suggests, if you have the time, to wrap the cake well and leave it on the counter to ripen the flavors for a day before serving.

Comments

natalia said…
Ciao Peggy ! I love it so much (and was not alone). Thank you so much for hosting.
Baci e abbracci !
Beth said…
What a beautiful cake! The pear and raisin version sounds wonderful!
Hindy said…
Awesome recipe, Peggy! Love your variations. There's something about this blog post that makes me want to make a galette. ::g::
Valerie Gamine said…
Your cake turned out beautifully! Thanks for hosting this week. :D
Unknown said…
Wow, Peggy, that's one deliciious cake - wish I had a slice with my coffee!
Mary said…
Beautiful photos. I have fork-envy over the last photo. I really enjoy reading your blog often and I loved this particiular pick. Enjoy your week as queen of TWD!
Cathy said…
Peggy, this looks wonderful! I'm sorry I missed out on baking it for Mother's Day, but I think that it will definitely make an appearance on Father's Day - this would be right up David's alley. Great choice and beautiful photos!
Anonymous said…
Peggy, this bundt cake looks golden and perfect. Great post!
Bella Baker said…
your cake looks absolutely beautiful!! Thanks for a great pick this week!
Anne said…
Your cake is beautiful and came out so well. We loved this recipe, thank you for the awesome choice!
Jules Someone said…
Great photos! What a excellent choice!
Flourchild said…
Your cake looks incredible! Im sorry I did not get to bake this week. I have it on my list to bake when school is out and life slows down a bit!
Nicole said…
Your cake looks so perfect! Thanks for the pick this week, I love Bundt cakes and this one was excellent.
TeaLady said…
PERFECT pick for this time of the year. It smelled SO good in the oven. Thanks for this one. KEEPER!!
Leslie said…
This was the perfect pick, Peggy! We LOVED it and I will definitely make it again. I'm so glad we all have the privilege of getting to know each other through TWD!
Nancy/n.o.e said…
Good job on the pick, Peggy. Lots of room for everybody to avoid dreaded ingredients, and who doesn't love brown sugar?!! This one was a hit around here in the super-nutty version. I'm hoping to get my post written by the end of this calendar day...
Rita said…
This looks amazing and a keeper for my for the kid's next visit.A wonderful combination!
Rita
alvarosa said…
Thanks for this recipe that leaves room for so many variations! And I can assure you - even as a completely novice baker as I was before joining TWD, it was never hard to follow Dorie's recipes!
April said…
Great pick!! Thanks for hosting. Your cake looks delicious!
spike. said…
erfect bedtime snack! I think I'll have some now...
thanks for hosting!
Rivki Locker said…
What a pretty cake! I love bundt pans because without any extra effort, cakes look super gourmet!
Pamela said…
I have been wanting to make this one for a while! The name just sounds delicious. For me, it definitely got better as it sat. And those I shared it with LOVED it. Thank you for the choice. And thank you for always leaving such kind words and encouragement!!
Criollobylisa said…
I used craisins and pears! Wish I added almonds too! Looks delish!
Cindy said…
Your cake is beautiful. I'm sorry I didn't get to it. I had fresh rhubarb and my Mother in Law asked for Dories Strawberry Rhubarb Crumble for Mothers Day. But I will make it soon, it looks so good. I love brown sugar anything! Thanks for your blogging friendship. Have a great week.
TeaLady said…
GREAT pick, Peggy. Love bundt cakes and this one was sooo tasty. Yours is BEAUTIFUL!!!
Bridget said…
You are so right about learning about baking, blogging, and online friendships! That last is certainly the best part of TWD. Although brown sugar bundt cake isn't so bad either! I went a different direction and added chocolate to mine, so it was basically a giant chocolate chip cookie. I was quite pleased.
Cakelaw said…
Mmmm, pears and craisins - delicious. Thanks for picking this - I loved it.
AmyRuth said…
YAY!!! Congratulations for hosting TWD. It is amazing and fun to make all the friends across the net and to share this common thread. Your photos look amazing and I can't wait to make your selected recipe. I missed this week. Again, well done.
AmyRuth
I am a HUGE Dorie fan. Infact, I have her double chocolate banana bread on my post right now as well. I just may have to join this wonderful group in cooking along with Dorie. How could I go wrong! This cake looks amazing and perfect with coffee.
Liz said…
Great choice! Your bundt looks amazing. Thanks for a fun pick!
Anonymous said…
Your cake looks lovely! I'm sorry that I missed this one!
thanks for a tasty choice--bundts are a favorite of mine!
Unknown said…
I am super late telling you how much I loved this cake! Seeing everyone's tweaks on the recipe makes me want to make it many times over in the future. Thanks for a great pick - your cake looks delicious!
Di said…
Great pick, Peggy! I finally had a chance to make it this weekend, and it's delicious. I ended up using ground pecans and just some cinnamon chips for the add-in. Very yummy.
Dorie said…
I'm late, I'm late and I'm sorry. Not just because I'm so late commenting, but it means I'm late seeing yours and the other beautiful cakes. This is one of my faves and I'm so glad that you liked it -- and that others did, too. Hooray!
DeeGee said…
Very nice! You've inspired me to start baking again. This seems simple enough to flex my rusty baking skills.

Thank you!

Popular posts from this blog

Ina Garten's Deviled Eggs!

TWD - Steph’s Bakewell Tart