Bundt cakes

The Journey 2020 Workshop Announcement + A Salted Double Chocolate Bundt Cake

February 16, 2020 By linda 4 Comments

THE JOURNEY 2020 – June 3-7 in France

I’m so incredibly excited to announce this year’s The Journey Workshop, with me, Sissel, Christian, Elle-May and Olivia.

We will stay in the country side of the Loire Valley in France, in the most beautiful artist home and painting studio with sooo many fantastic opportunites for photography, painting, creating cinemagraphs or short films, branding, or perhaps you’d like to cook or bake something special? This is what The Journey is about, you work on your dream project and we are there to guide and assist you with whatever you need.

We had an incredible experience last year, and were lucky enough to have Elle-May and Christian come for a day as guest teachers but now they are back as hosts! Tickets are released to our mailing list on February 19 and the website on February 20, so make sure to sign up to our mailing list now! If you’d like more information, you can find it here!

Ahh, where do I even begin? It has taken me ages to get this post up for some reason. I don’t even have words for how amazing this experience was! Just incredible and so inspiring. Sissel was kind enough to invite us all into her home in the Loire Valley in France, and it is just the epitome of France – for me, that is, haha. A beautiful old, stone building with so much charm and many quirks. I love that.

I think you all know by now that I’m a woman of few words, so I will let the photos speak for themselves. Hopefully I’ll see you in France instead, and we can experience it together!

Part of the group! Here is Mandy, Christian, Elle-May, Aurore, Kiri, Olivia and Sophia. Outside the frame is Sissel, Didi, Stella and Egle. <3 And I was also lucky to meet Ruth and Melanie on the last day!

*Beautiful ceramics by Tina Kami. Drinking my coffee from one of those cups as I’m writing this!*

Salted Double Chocolate Bundt Cake

Yields one bundt cake, serves 10-12

Some notes about this recipe: I suggest using coffee in the cake as it heightens the chocolate flavor, but water works too. I suggest making it a day ahead of when you plan on serving it because it honestly gets even better after a day or too!

Ingredients

Chocolate cake

200 g (~1 3/4 sticks) salted butter
125 ml (1/2 cup + 1 tsp) milk
240 g (1 2/3 cups) all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
68 g (2/3 cup) cocoa powder
300 g (barely 1 1/2 cups) granulated sugar
1/2 tsp. flaky salt
2 medium eggs
150 ml (2/3 cup) sour cream or thick yogurt
125 ml (1/2 cup + 1 tsp) hot coffee or hot water

Dark chocolate glaze

100 g (3.5 oz) dark chocolate (70%), finely chopped
50 g salted butter
Extra salt to sprinkle

Instructions

Chocolate cake

Preheat oven to 175°C (350°F). Grease a 10-cup bundt pan (2.4 liters) and dust with flour or cocoa powder.
Melt the butter, add milk and set aside to cool.
In a large bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda, cocoa powder, sugar and salt. Add the butter mixture, eggs and sour cream to the dry ingredients and beat until just smooth.
Add the hot coffee and stir until smooth (batter will be quite runny).
Pour the cake batter into the prepared pan. Bake on the lowest rack for about 45 minutes (but start checking around 35 minutes) or until a cake tester comes out clean. Remove the cake from the oven and let it cool in the pan for 20 minutes before inverting it onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Dark chocolate glaze

Combine the chopped chocolate and butter in a saucepan and place it over low heat. Stir until everything is completely melted. Set aside to cool to room temperature.
Pour the glaze on top of the cake. Sprinkle with extra salt if desired.

*Gorgeous dreamware from Polders Old World Kitchen*

*Sissela and Egle painting on a Son de Flor dress*

*Beautiful pandan chiffon cake by Aurore*

Apple cinnamon bundt cake

August 9, 2018 By linda 18 Comments

Whilst it’s not a good year for blueberries, it’s definitely a good year for apples which makes me super happy since apples are amongst my favorite things to bake with. And most of all, I needed a good reason to use some of my thrift store finds in a shoot, like that bundt pan, the pretty cake stand I bought at a flea market on our way to the Norway workshop, the broderie Anglaise apron (I’m absolutely obsessed with broderie Anglaise!), that vintage bicycle basket and the new hand carved beautiful utensils from Grain and Knot.

If you follow me on Instagram, you probably recognize some of these finds from my stories and know that I’m sort of obsessed with thrift shopping. More on this soon, hehe. Anyway, this apple bundt cake reminds me a of a soft gingerbread cake. Perhaps that’s why I love it so much? I was very tempted to add some cardamom too, but I already add cardamom to basically everything I make so cinnamon had to suffice. I mean, cinnamon and cardamom are basically two of the best flavour out there. Especially together. I’m thinking of cinnamon and cardamom buns which is preeeetty much the best thing ever, right?!

APPLE CINNAMON BUNDT CAKE

Serves 8

This cake is basically a Swedish ‘sockerkaka’ which, roughly translated, means sugar cake. It’s very fluffy and quite light in texture. Feel free to add other spices, like cardamom or cloves. Or replace the lemon with orange, so good! Note that I baked this cake in a vintage cake pan which usually takes a little longer – make sure to start checking doneness around 30-35 minutes.

INGREDIENTS

100 g (1 scant stick) salted butter
100 ml (1/3 cup + 1 1/2 tbsp) milk
finely grated zest from 1 lemon
180 g (1 1/4 cup) all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
2-3 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. salt
2 apples (about 280 g)
1 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1 tbsp. all purpose flour
3 large eggs, at room temp
180 g (3/4 cup + 1 1/2 tbsp) granulated sugar
Powdered sugar, for dusting

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat oven to 175°C (350F). Grease and flour a 4 1/2 – 5 cup (about 1 – 1.2 litre) bundt or loaf pan.
In a saucepan, melt the butter and stir in the milk and lemon zest. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Set aside.
Core, peel and dice the apples (to about 1 x 1 cm dices). Toss them in a bowl with lemon juice and 1 tbsp flour.
In a large bowl, beat eggs and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Sift in the flour mixture and stir gently until combined. Add the butter mixture and stir until completely smooth. Should there be lumps of flour left in the batter, beat until just combined. Stir in the diced apples.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake on the lowest rack in the oven for 40-45 minutes (start checking doneness around 30 minutes) or until a cake tester comes out clean. Let cool for 10 minutes in the pan, then invert onto a wire rack to cool completely. Dust with powdered sugar. Serve with whipped cream if desired.

Lemon poppy seed bundt cake with a lemon syrup & blueberry glaze

February 9, 2018 By linda 35 Comments

I’ve struggled to come up with something to bake for the blog lately, but when I saw this pan in a second hand shop, I knew immediately what I wanted to make. Inspiration is a funny thing. It comes and goes, and usually it comes when you least expect it.

I have to act on it when it comes, which means a lot of other important things get pushed to the side. You know, as in eating well, taking care of myself, seeing friends, responding to calls and texts (who am I kidding, I never respond to calls), wearing something other than yoga pants. I started doing yoga almost every day though so at least I have an excuse for the yoga pants.

I think I’ve been in hermit mode since I quit my nine-to-five job, almost five years ago. I thank my friend Carey for encouraging me to take the mbti-test (16 personalitites) which has been sort of life changing for me. It made me understand myself, as an infp, and other people (yes, I forced everyone I know to take the test!) so much better.

But I digress. Cake! I made another version of this cake almost one year ago but was never happy with the recipe. Up until now, I haven’t had a proper lemon cake on my blog. HOW is this possible?

I adore lemon cake, especially with poppy seeds. And what a lemon cake it is, the best one I’ve made – by far! Soaked in lemon syrup and with a blueberry glaze. And how beautiful is that pan? I might make a pudding in it next time. Wouldn’t it be perfect for that?

LEMON POPPY SEED BUNDT CAKE WITH A LEMON SYRUP & BLUEBERRY GLAZE

Serves 8

You can also bake this cake in a loaf pan! If you’re baking in a vintage cake pan, make sure to check doneness before removing the cake from the oven. I had to bake it for almost 70 minutes when using a vintage pan, , whilst in a new pan it only took 47 minutes.

INGREDIENTS

BUNDT CAKE

210 g (1 1/2 cups) all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
225 g (1 cup) granulated sugar
2 tbsp. finely grated lemon zest (from about 2 lemons)
125 g (slightly more than 1 stick) softened salted butter
3 large eggs
100 ml (1/3 cup + 1 1/2 tbsp) heavy cream
3 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
3 tbsp. poppy seeds

LEMON SYRUP

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
55 g (1/4 cup) granulated sugar

BLUEBERRY GLAZE

3/4 tsp. freeze dried blueberry powder
1 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
75 g (1/2 cup) powdered sugar
1-2 tbsp. milk
Poppy seeds, for topping

INSTRUCTIONS

CAKE

Preheat oven to 175°C (350F). Grease and flour a 6 cup (1 1/2 litre) bundt or loaf pan.
In a medium bowl, mix together flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
Place the sugar in a large bowl. Add the finely grated lemon zest and rub together until sugar is fragrant and zest is incorporated. Add the butter and beat until mixture is light and creamy, about 2-3 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition.
In a small bowl, combine heavy cream and lemon juice. Add the flour mixture and cream mixture in additions to the butter mixture, beginning and ending with the flour, and stir until batter is smooth. Stir in the poppy seeds.
Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan, smoothing the top with a spatula. Bake on the lowest rack in the oven for 45-50 minutes (start checking doneness around 35-40 minutes, and cover the top with foil if the cake is browning too much) or until a cake tester comes out clean. While the cake is baking, you can prepare the syrup (instructions below). Let the cake cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then invert onto a cooling rack.

LEMON SYRUP

Combine lemon juice and sugar in a saucepan. Place over medium high heat and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Set aside to cool.
Brush the cake with the syrup while the cake is still warm, then let the cake cool completely. Place the cake on a cake stand or serving platter.

BLUEBERRY GLAZE

Place blueberry powder in a small bowl. Add a little splash of the lemon juice and stir until a paste forms. Stir in the rest of the lemon juice and the powdered sugar. Add milk to desired consistency.
Drizzle glaze over the cake and sprinkle poppy seeds on top.

A trip to Norway + Brownies with salted caramel and toasted meringue and a gingerbread bundt cake

December 22, 2017 By linda 56 Comments

Last week, I was lucky enough to spend a few days in winter wonderland… errr, I mean at Melgården in Norway with some wonderful friends, Olivia of Adelasterfoodtextures, Samantha of The Botanical Kitchen, Kati of Blackwhitevivid and of course, the lovely lady of the house, Live of Melgården. Only sweet Krissy of Cottage farm missing!

Melgården truly looked like my idea of winter wonderland, SO cold (-19°C one day, brrr) and lots and lots of snow. Rolling hills, fog and frost on the windows. Like a dream come true. It made me feel like a kid again on so many levels. My fingers and toes weren’t as excited as I was though, nor was my camera gear or my phone battery which died within 10 minutes outside.

Melgården is like something out of a fairytale, or possibly a Wes Anderson movie, and I dare to say it’s every food photographer’s dream with all the rustic backdrops and props, and that GORGEOUS scenery. We drove through a snowy Sweden all the way up to snowy Rena, Norway, with the car full of fresh vegetables and props. We almost couldn’t fit in there!

I couldn’t believe how efficient we were. With about 5 hours of daylight each day and in two days, I shot FOUR cakes (I can only share two of them here though.. 🙂 ) and a whole bunch of other beautiful things that you can see in this post. That’s why I love working in a team so much, especially this team <3

And this is why I’m delighted to share that Olivia, Krissy and I will be hosting a workshop again, at Melgården in 2018! I literally can’t wait!! If you’re interested, make sure to subscribe by e-mail for more details and prerelease. You can fill in your e-mail address in the sidebar on the right 🙂

I’d also like to take the time to thank you for your continued support this year! It wouldn’t have been the same (or at all!) without you. Wishing you all Happy Holidays and a very Happy 2018!

BROWNIES WITH SALTED CARAMEL AND TOASTED MERINGUE

9-12 servings

Some notes about this recipe: If you’re not a fan of hazelnuts, you can definitely make these brownies with walnuts, pecans or almonds (I’ve tried all and they’re all delicious!). The brownies are also super delicious without caramel and meringue if you prefer that. When test baking, I baked my brownies for 32 minutes – it was almost set, slightly wobbly in the middle and it came out gooey and delicious. After a day in the fridge it has exactly the consictency I like in brownies! Make sure to have a look HERE in case you’d like to make an edible gift out of this recipe.

INGREDIENTS

Brownies

100 g (3.5 oz) hazelnuts
150 g (about 1 + 1/3 stick) salted butter
4 tbsp. (1/4 cup) coffee
150 g (1 cup) all purpose four
1/2 tsp. baking powder
30 g (1/3 cup) cocoa powder
1/2 tsp. flaky salt
135 g (1/2 cup + 2 tbsp.) granulated sugar
110 g (1/2 cup + 2 tbsp.) light brown muscovado sugar
3 large eggs
150 g (5.2 oz) dark chocolate, chopped

Caramel

110 g (1/2 cup) granulated sugar
50 g (3 tbsp.) salted butter, in small cubes
75 ml (1/3 cup) heavy cream
1/4 tsp. flaky salt

Meringue topping

2 large egg whites
90 g (1/3 cup + 1 1/2 tbsp.) granulated sugar
1/2 tsp. lemon juice
zest from 1 orange

INSTRUCTIONS

Brownies

Preheat the oven to 175°C (350°F). Place the nuts in a baking dish and toast for 10-12 minutes or until fragrant and slightly browned. If the nuts aren’t already skinned, wrap them in a kitchen towel and rub until most of the skins come off. Let cool completely, then chop them coarsely.
Melt the butter in a saucepan and set aside to cool.
Butter a baking pan, approximately 17 x 17 cm (measured at the bottom of the pan, the top is 20 x 20 cm) and cover it with baking paper.
In a large bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, cocoa powder, salt, granulated sugar and brown sugar. Add the melted butter, coffee, eggs, chopped nuts and chocolate and stir until completely smooth.
Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan and bake for 30-35 minutes or until cake is almost set but the center wobbles slightly.
Remove from the oven and let the cake cool in the pan.

Caramel

Place the sugar in a heavy-bottomed saucepan. Place the pan over medium to high heat until the sugar starts melting around the edges. Turn the heat down to low and stir gently with a wooden spoon until sugar is completely melted and golden brown. Be careful not to burn the sugar! Stir in the butter, piece by piece, stirring between each addition.
Little by little and very slowly pour the cream into the saucepan with the melted sugar and butter (it will bubble up so make sure to be careful as this stuff is hot!). Stir until smooth. Pour caramel into a heat proof bowl and let cool completely.

Meringue topping

Place egg whites, lemon juice and sugar in a clean and heatproof bowl (preferably stainless steel or glass).
Put the bowl over a saucepan with simmering water. The bowl should fit snugly, and the simmering water should not be touching the bowl. Whisk the sugar and egg whites constantly with a whisk until the mixture reaches about 65°C (about 140-150°F). If you don’t have a sugar thermometer, just rub some mixture between your fingers. If the sugar has melted and mixture is hot to the touch, it’s ready.
Remove the bowl from the heat, beat until white, fluffy and cool to the touch with a stand- or electric mixer. This step can take about 5-10 minutes. Stir in the orange zest.

Assembly

Place the cake on a plate or serving platter. Drizzle/spoon caramel on top, then spread the meringue over the caramel. Brown the meringue using a kitchen torch.

GINGERBREAD BUNDT CAKE

Makes 1 bundt

Some notes about this recipe:I used a 10 cup bundt pan to bake this cake and it was actually slightly too small for the batter so I would suggest putting a piece of baking paper underneath the pan while baking so the batter doesn’t end up on the floor of your oven, or reserving some of the batter to bake some muffins. A 12 cup pan would probably be more suitable.

INGREDIENTS

Gingerbread bundt cake

540 g (3 3/4 cups) all purpose flour
2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. flaky salt
1 tbsp. ground cinnamon
1 tbsp. ground ginger
2 tsp. freshly ground cardamom
2 tsp. freshly ground cloves
1 tsp. ground bitter orange peel (can be omitted)
4 large eggs
240 g (1 1/4 cup) light brown muscovado sugar (or regular light brown sugar)
200 ml (3/4 cup + 1 1/2 tbsp) cane syrup
250 g (2 + 1/4 stick) salted butter
200 ml (3/4 cup + 1 1/2 tbsp) heavy cream
300 ml (1 1/4 cup) milk

Cream cheese glaze

120 g (3/4 cup + 1 1/2 tbsp) powdered sugar
100 g cream cheese
1-3 tbsp. freshly squeezed orange juice

INSTRUCTIONS

Gingerbread bundt cake

Preheat the oven to 175°C (350°F). Grease and flour a large bundt pan with 10-12 cup (preferably 12 cup) capacity. Set aside.
Mix flour, baking soda, salt, spices and ground bitter orange peel in a bowl. Set aside.
Beat eggs and sugar until fluffy and lighter in color, about 3-4 minutes. Add cane syrup and beat until smooth.
Melt the butter in a saucepan and stir in cream and milk.
Add dry ingredients and butter mixture to the egg mixture in additions, and stir until completely smooth.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake in the lowest oven rack for 55-65 minutes, but start checking doneness after 50 minutes. Keep an eye on the cake during the whole baking time so the top won’t brown too fast (if it does, carefully place a piece of baking paper or aluminum foil on top).
Let cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then unmold onto a cooling rack to cool completely. The cake will most likely come out domed, so feel free to even that out with a sharp serrated knife once the cake is cool.

Glaze

Combine powdered sugar and cream cheese in a bowl. Beat until smooth and creamy, about 1 minute.
Stir in orange juice to desired consistency. Pour the glaze over the cooled cake.

Cheesecake filled chocolate bundt cake with white chocolate matcha glaze

November 14, 2017 By linda 34 Comments

I knew from the moment I opened the box to this bundt pan that I was going to bake a chocolate bundt cake in it, and then top it with a matcha glaze. The cheesecake filling idea popped into my head as I was making the batter for the chocolate cake. It was a good idea, to say the least. This is probably my most favorite chocolate cake ever, it’s like a fudgey, delicious brownie in consistency. Mmmm. And I swear it gets even better after a couple of days in the fridge, which is awesome because to be honest, who can eat such a huge cake in one go?

And guys, I bet you already know them, but if you don’t, you need to know about Nordic Ware bundt pans (they did not pay me to say this, I just adore their pans and want to share). Now, I love my vintage cake pans but I’ve had so many cakes stick to the pans and it’s just such a waste of time and good ingredients. I’ve not had a single cake stick to the pan with my NW pans. So there you go.

Anyway, if you’re making this recipe, make sure to read up on the notes right before the ingredients and instructions in the recipe. 🙂

Cheesecake filled chocolate bundt cake with white chocolate matcha glaze

Yields one bundt cake, serves 10-12

Some notes about this recipe: I suggest using coffee in the cake as it heightens the chocolate flavor, but water works as well. I used a white chocolate with lemon flavor because I couldn’t find regular white chocolate, and I think that made the cake taste even better! So adding some lemon or orange zest to the cake, cheesecake batter or glaze definitely wouldn’t be a bad thing. If you don’t like matcha, you can absolutely omit it from the glaze. If the cake isn’t eaten the same day, wrap it well and store it in the fridge, I actually find that the cake becomes better after a day or two in the fridge!