Caramel Butter-Crunch Bundt Cake

Caramel Butter-Crunch Bundt Cake

A friend posted this recipe on Facebook a year or so ago and I was immediately drawn to its name: who doesn't love caramel, not to mention butter, and to top it all off with butter? Well, I was sold. Sure enough, this was my birthday cake last year and it was seriously delicious. I rarely have dark rum in the house and it is still stupidly scrummy, especially if one uses real vanilla. The only other change I made was to add a cream cheese and lemon glaze but that is entirely optional. 

Ingredients:
250g sour cream

125ml plain yoghurt

1 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda

75g roasted walnuts or hazelnuts

385g sugar

2 tsp cinnamon powder

450g plain flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

3 eggs

250g unsalted butter, room temperature and cut into chunks

1 tbsp dark rum

2 tsp vanilla extract

icing sugar for dusting

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 180 C. Butter and flour a 10 cup size bundt pan and set aside.

2. Scoop the sour cream and yoghurt into a bowl and thoroughly mix them together. Stir in the bicarbonate of soda, then leave to stand for about 15 minutes; the mixture aerates and puffs up when you do this.

3. Put the nuts, 110g of the sugar and the cinnamon into a food processor and pulse until the nuts are finely chopped. Pour this mixture into a small bowl. Put the flour, baking powder and salt in the processor and whiz them to combine. Tip them into another bowl.

4. Put the eggs and the remaining 275g of sugar into the processor and whiz them for one minute. add the butter and process everything for another minute.

5. Stir the rum and vanilla extract into the sour cream mixture; this will cause it to deflate somewhat. Add this to the mixture in the processor and blend it all together with a few quick bursts. Add and fold the flour mixture in a few spoonful at a time until it is just combined.

6. Spoon a 2 cm layer of cake batter into the bottom of the prepared bundt tin and smooth out the surface. Sprinkle about 1/3 of the nut mixture over the top and shake the tin gently to even it out. Cover this with another thin layer of batter. Sprinkle the rest of the nut mixture over this. even it out again, then spread the remaining cake batter on top.

7. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes or until a fine skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. Cool the cake in the tin on a wire rack for 5 minutes. Gently loosen around the sides and central hole. Invert the cake onto the rack and leave it to cool completely.

8. Just before serving, transfer the cake to a cake stand or plate and dust it with icing sugar. You can freeze the cake for up to 3 weeks. 

Banoffee Pie

The Banoffee Pie was invented by The Hungry Monk restaurant of Sussex, U.K., in 1972. Traditionally the recipe includes a hint of coffee in the cream and a shortcrust pastry base. The hybrid of three or four recipes seen below was due to my not having all the ingredients on hand to make the bona fide version.

200g blanched whole almonds
300g icing sugar
2 x 400g tins condensed milk, boiled for 3hrs in their tins
6 bananas
600 ml double cream
Seeds from 1 vanilla pod
150g butter, melted
250g digestive biscuits, crushed
Cocoa for dusting

Pre-heat the oven to 180C

Equipment:

20cm loose-bottomed cake tin, greased and based lined.

To make the base:

Crush the biscuits in a food processor (or the old-fashioned way by putting in a plastic bag and whacking) until like fine crumbs then put into a bowl. Stir in the melted butter. Press the mixture into the base and up the sides of the tin. Chill the base while you make the filling.


Filling:

Give the almonds a rinse in water, drain them a little and mix them quickly with the icing sugar in a bowl until they are really sticky. Tip them on to a baking tray and toast for 15 minutes in the oven until they are golden and crispy, turning them every couple of minutes. Remove them from the oven and allow to cool.

Spread the toffee as thick as you like across the base of the pastry. Slice the bananas and place on top of the toffee, then whip the cream with the vanilla. Then dollop the cream on top of the bananas, as high and as rough as you like.



Sprinkle the almonds over the top of the banoffee pie, dust with cocoa (I didn't have any) and serve immediately.