Food Librarian

Fuyu Persimmon Bundt - Day #30 of Food Librarian's I Like Big Bundts 3

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Fuyu Persimmon Bundt

I Like Big Bundts - Day #30

HAPPY NATIONAL BUNDT DAY!!

Woo Hoo! It's Day #30 of I Like Big Bundts 3! I can't believe I made 30 bundts for the third year in a row!

This is one of my favorite bundts! It uses Fall's perfect fruit - the Fuyu Persimmon. It's really important to know the difference between the fuyu and hachiya persimmon. The Fuyu you can eat hard (like an apple) or soft, but the Hachiya can only be eaten soft. Please don't mix up the two! Walnuts and raisins, ground cloves and cinnamon makes this Bundt full of fall flavors.

Bake a bundt for National Bundt Day on November 15th! Then submit a photo or blog post by November 24, 2011 and I'll send you a 1 1/4" button for baking along with me! I'm going to put together a round-up of all the bundts submitted! The submission info can be found here!

This is a post where I can say "As Seen In"! :) This recipe appears in Christie Matheson's Cake Simple book (pages 82-83). This post talks about my 15 minutes of Bundt fame!

Here are my mom and dad and their fuyu kaki (Japanese for persimmon) tree!

Happy Happy Happy Bundt Day! ! ! ! ! Thanks for playing along with me this year and I can't wait to see your submissions for the round-up!

Whew. I think I'm going to put away the Bundt pans for a bit and make some brownies now. :)
- mary the food librarian

Fuyu Persimmon Bundt Cake Recipe
Adapted from Sunset Magazine. Also appears in Cake Simple by Christie Matheson

Ingredients:
3 cups firm Fuyu persimmons (about 3 persimmons), chopped (NOT Hachiya persimmons)
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 cup or 1 stick or 4 ounces butter, softened
1 2/3 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1 cup walnuts, chopped
3/4 cup raisins

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Prepare 12-cup Bundt pan by spraying it with baking spray or greasing and flouring the pan. (My favorite Bundt pans are Nordic Ware and my favorite baking spray is Bak-Klene brand)
3. Fruit: In a medium bowl, mix the chopped fuyu persimmons with 2 teaspoons baking soda. Set aside.
4. Dry ingredients: In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, cloves, cinnamon and nutmeg.
5. Using a mixer with paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy (about 2-3 minutes). Add eggs, lemon juice, and vanilla. Beat until fluffy.
6. With the mixer on slow speed, add the fruit mixture into the batter.
7. On slow speed, add the flour mixture and mix just until blended. It's okay if it's not fully blended as you'll fold the last ingredients next.
8. Fold in the walnuts and raisins. The batter will be thick.
9. Pour batter into Bundt pan. Smooth the top.
10. Bake for 55-60 minutes until the toothpick inserted comes out clean.
11. Cool in the Bundt pan for 15 minutes then invert onto cooling rack and let cool.

Recap of I Like Big Bundts 3:
Day #1: Buttercake Bakery's Marble Bundt Cake
Day #2: Lemon Bliss Bundt
Day #3: Double-Chocolate Bundt Cake with Ganache Glaze
Day #4: Spice Bundt Cake with Brown Butter Vanilla Bean Glaze
Day #5: Gingery Pumpkin Breakfast Bundt
Day #6: Maida Heatter's Budapest Coffee Cake Bundt
Day #7: Dark Chocolate Bundt
Day #8: Banana Chocolate Chip Bundt
Day #9: Apple Spice Bundt
Day #10: Pumpkin Spice Bundt
Day #11: Doll Bundt Cake
Day #12: Light Chocolate Bundt with Coffee Glaze
Day #13: Spiced Cranberry Bundt
Day #14: Brown Sugar Bundt
Day #15: Buried Alive Bundt Cake
Day #16: Leftover Halloween Candy Bundt
Day #17: Lemon Bundt Cake
Day #18: Ultimate Streusel Bundt Cake
Day #19: Vanilla Bean Bundt Cake with Strawberries
Day #20: Chocolate & Zucchini Bundt
Day #21: Rice Krispies Bundt
Day #22: Tomato Soup Bundt
Day #23: Cinnamon Chocolate Bundt
Day #24: Broken Glass Jello Bundt
Day #25: ApplePearSauce Bundt
Day #26: Vegan Beet Bundt
Day #27: Chocolate Crown Bundt
Day #28: Blackberry Bundt
Day #29: Eggnog Bundt

Recipe: Click here for printable recipe

Bundt Pan: Traditional 12-cup Bundt Pan

Eggnog Bundt - Day #29 of Food Librarian's I Like Big Bundts 3

Monday, November 14, 2011

Eggnog Bundt

I Like Big Bundts - Day #29

Oh my goodness. It's almost here! National Bundt Day is tomorrow! Woo Hoo! Let's all celebrate the great Bundt with some tasty goodness. The Bundt is just freaking awesome. Seriously. Ready to eat for breakfast, lunch or dinner...and all moments in between.

Today's bundt is an Eggnog Bundt! You know you'll have a boatload of eggnog in the upcoming holiday season...if you have a cup leftover, here's a bundt for you!

I adapted this recipe from Flo Braker (don't you always want to say her last name "Baker"...so close) Baking for All Occasions. However, I omitted the dried currants and the crystal rum glaze.

Bake a bundt for National Bundt Day on November 15th! Then submit a photo or blog post by November 24, 2011 and I'll send you a 1 1/4" button for baking along with me! The submission info can be found here!

I hope you make a bundt to celebrate the bundt, but most importantly, to share it with your friends and family!

I made 1/2 the recipe and baked it in a 6-cup bundt. I made a powedered sugar and eggnog glaze to top the bundt.

See you tomorrow for National Bundt Day!!! Yipppppeeeee!!!

Recap of I Like Big Bundts 3:
Day #1: Buttercake Bakery's Marble Bundt Cake
Day #2: Lemon Bliss Bundt
Day #3: Double-Chocolate Bundt Cake with Ganache Glaze
Day #4: Spice Bundt Cake with Brown Butter Vanilla Bean Glaze
Day #5: Gingery Pumpkin Breakfast Bundt
Day #6: Maida Heatter's Budapest Coffee Cake Bundt
Day #7: Dark Chocolate Bundt
Day #8: Banana Chocolate Chip Bundt
Day #9: Apple Spice Bundt
Day #10: Pumpkin Spice Bundt
Day #11: Doll Bundt Cake
Day #12: Light Chocolate Bundt with Coffee Glaze
Day #13: Spiced Cranberry Bundt
Day #14: Brown Sugar Bundt
Day #15: Buried Alive Bundt Cake
Day #16: Leftover Halloween Candy Bundt
Day #17: Lemon Bundt Cake
Day #18: Ultimate Streusel Bundt Cake
Day #19: Vanilla Bean Bundt Cake with Strawberries
Day #20: Chocolate & Zucchini Bundt
Day #21: Rice Krispies Bundt
Day #22: Tomato Soup Bundt
Day #23: Cinnamon Chocolate Bundt
Day #24: Broken Glass Jello Bundt
Day #25: ApplePearSauce Bundt
Day #26: Vegan Beet Bundt
Day #27: Chocolate Crown Bundt
Day #28: Blackberry Bundt

Recipe: Click here for printable recipe
Adapted from Flo Braker's Baking for All Occasions

Broken Glass Jello Bundt - Day #24 of Food Librarian's I Like Big Bundts 3

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Broken Glass Jello Bundt

I Like Big Bundts - Day #24

It's the last Wednesday of the Bundt adventure! Welcome to Day #24 of I Like Big Bundts...only 6 more days until National Bundt Day on November 15th.

Today, I bring you the Broken Glass Jello Bundt. Um, this is the easiest bundt I've ever made and I had people in the library jumping up and down. This is a winner!

Let me stress this again. Broken Glass Jello is the easiest thing to make…and it gets the biggest “wows”! Everyone thought it took a long time to make…but it really only takes MINUTES. Some recipes require a ton of elements (cake, filling, frosting, etc) but this? Forgetaboutit. It just takes a day to plan it out.

What are you going to make for National Bundt Day?!?

I made the same Broken Glass Jello recipe except I added an extra package of Knox to the “milk” mixture. I knew this bundt would stand taller than my normal 9 x 13 pan of broken glass jello so the extra gelatin gave it a little more firmness.

I made the 4 colors in the morning (about 10 minutes of work to dissolve packaged Jello in water) and popped it into the refrigerator. When I got home from work, I dissolved the unflavored gelatin in cold water, added boiling water to dissolve and then poured in a can of condensed milk. Yes, my kitchen tools were a bowl, spoon and can opener. Easy Peasy. While I was cooking dinner, I let the mixture cool off (don’t pour hot milk mixture on the colored jello or you’ll get a crazy hot melted mixture). Then I cut the colored jello into blocks – uneven blocks are totally fine! Grease the Bundt pan with a little canola oil then wipe out most of it…just want to give it a little lubricant to get out of the pan later. The blocks go into the bowl in a colorful manner…it’s like playing with stained glass jello pieces! The milk mixture follows and you are done. If I were making the 9 x 13 broken glass jello, I would carefully remove the bubbles on top for a nicer finish…however, the beauty of the bundt is that it gets inverted! Whoo hoo. Just cover with some plastic wrap, put it in the refrig and watch your DVR while things firm up in the fridge overnight! J

Remember, you can change up the Jello colors to fit the seasons, party or game. I've made Christmas Jello and Lakers Jello... next up blue and gold UCLA Bruin Jello! :)

See you tomorrow for another Bundt! - mary the food librarian

Recap of I Like Big Bundts 3:
Day #1: Buttercake Bakery's Marble Bundt Cake
Day #2: Lemon Bliss Bundt
Day #3: Double-Chocolate Bundt Cake with Ganache Glaze
Day #4: Spice Bundt Cake with Brown Butter Vanilla Bean Glaze
Day #5: Gingery Pumpkin Breakfast Bundt
Day #6: Maida Heatter's Budapest Coffee Cake Bundt
Day #7: Dark Chocolate Bundt
Day #8: Banana Chocolate Chip Bundt
Day #9: Apple Spice Bundt
Day #10: Pumpkin Spice Bundt
Day #11: Doll Bundt Cake
Day #12: Light Chocolate Bundt with Coffee Glaze
Day #13: Spiced Cranberry Bundt
Day #14: Brown Sugar Bundt
Day #15: Buried Alive Bundt Cake
Day #16: Leftover Halloween Candy Bundt
Day #17: Lemon Bundt Cake
Day #18: Ultimate Streusel Bundt Cake
Day #19: Vanilla Bean Bundt Cake with Strawberries
Day #20: Chocolate & Zucchini Bundt
Day #21: Rice Krispies Bundt
Day #22: Tomato Soup Bundt
Day #23: Cinnamon Chocolate Bundt

Recipe: Click here for printable recipe (for the basic Broken Glass).
This bundt used 3 envelopes of Knox gelatin instead of 2 envelopes.

Bundt Pan: Traditional 12-cup Bundt Pan

Cinnamon Chocolate Bundt - Day #23 of Food Librarian's I Like Big Bundts 3

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

Cinnamon Chocolate Bundt

I Like Big Bundts - Day #23

It's Day #23 of I Like Big Bundts...bringing you 30 bundts in 30 days! I allow myself a few repeats each year and today it's my favorite and easiest bundt - the Cinnamon Chocolate Bundt!

I got my delivery of JustJENN Designs buttons in the mail! So excited. You can see that they are small enough to fit in a Tablespoon! :)

This cake is mega moist and delicious! You don't need a KitchenAid or anything fancy. I have step-by-step photos here. You can use Hershey's chocolate or Dutch processed. Totally easy peasy. And don't you need easy peasy these days?! I think so!

Thanks for visiting! See you tomorrow for another Bundt! - mary the food librarian

Recap of I Like Big Bundts 3:
Day #1: Buttercake Bakery's Marble Bundt Cake
Day #2: Lemon Bliss Bundt
Day #3: Double-Chocolate Bundt Cake with Ganache Glaze
Day #4: Spice Bundt Cake with Brown Butter Vanilla Bean Glaze
Day #5: Gingery Pumpkin Breakfast Bundt
Day #6: Maida Heatter's Budapest Coffee Cake Bundt
Day #7: Dark Chocolate Bundt
Day #8: Banana Chocolate Chip Bundt
Day #9: Apple Spice Bundt
Day #10: Pumpkin Spice Bundt
Day #11: Doll Bundt Cake
Day #12: Light Chocolate Bundt with Coffee Glaze
Day #13: Spiced Cranberry Bundt
Day #14: Brown Sugar Bundt
Day #15: Buried Alive Bundt Cake
Day #16: Leftover Halloween Candy Bundt
Day #17: Lemon Bundt Cake
Day #18: Ultimate Streusel Bundt Cake
Day #19: Vanilla Bean Bundt Cake with Strawberries
Day #20: Chocolate & Zucchini Bundt
Day #21: Rice Krispies Bundt
Day #22: Tomato Soup Bundt

Recipe: Click here for printable recipe (for a full size recipe)
I baked half a recipe in a 6-cup bundt, and the full recipe is for a 10-cup or 12-cup bundt pan.

Bundt Pan option: Traditional 12-cup Bundt Pan
Bundt Pan option: Smaller 6-cup Bundt Pan (the traditional bundt pan is 12-cups)

Vanilla Bean Bundt Cake - Day #19 of Food Librarian's I Like Big Bundts 3

Friday, November 4, 2011

Vanilla Bean Bundt Cake with Vanilla Glaze and Strawberries

I Like Big Bundts - Day #19

TGIF!! Really, this week was epic long! Glad it's Friday!! And it's also Day #19 of I Like Big Bundts! I'm posting 30 bundts cakes in 30 days...all leading up to National Bundt Day on November 15th. I seriously love the Bundt cake! I love cake and don't care for frosting so the bundt is the perfect ratio of cake to frosting. I hope to inspire you to make a bundt for your friends, family, and random folks on the street.

I made this vanilla bean bundt in the Heritage Bundt...definitely one of my favorite bundt pans. A vanilla glaze covers the cake and it's served with a side of strawberries. I'm lucky to live in Los Angeles and can still find fresh strawberries in local farmer's market.

Bake a bundt for National Bundt Day on November 15th! Then submit a photo or blog post by November 24, 2011 and I'll send you a cute 1 1/4" button for baking along with me! The submission info can be found here!

Thanks to American Library Association's AL Direct eNewsletter for a shout out this week! Here is the newsletter (Nov 2nd - scroll to the bottom). I hope we have a good contingent of librarians and library staff participating in National Bundt Day! :)

I used vanilla paste instead of vanilla beans. Have you used vanilla paste? One of my favorite things in the kitchen because it is less expensive than vanilla beans and gives you all the seeds of the beans. This paste is incredible on a bit of ice cream...just sayin'.

Hope you have a great weekend planned! See you tomorrow for another Bundt! - mary the food librarian

Recap of I Like Big Bundts 3:
Day #1: Buttercake Bakery's Marble Bundt Cake
Day #2: Lemon Bliss Bundt
Day #3: Double-Chocolate Bundt Cake with Ganache Glaze
Day #4: Spice Bundt Cake with Brown Butter Vanilla Bean Glaze
Day #5: Gingery Pumpkin Breakfast Bundt
Day #6: Maida Heatter's Budapest Coffee Cake Bundt
Day #7: Dark Chocolate Bundt
Day #8: Banana Chocolate Chip Bundt
Day #9: Apple Spice Bundt
Day #10: Pumpkin Spice Bundt
Day #11: Doll Bundt Cake
Day #12: Light Chocolate Bundt with Coffee Glaze
Day #13: Spiced Cranberry Bundt
Day #14: Brown Sugar Bundt
Day #15: Buried Alive Bundt Cake
Day #16: Leftover Halloween Candy Bundt
Day #17: Lemon Bundt Cake
Day #18: Ultimate Streusel Bundt Cake

Recipe: Click here for printable recipe on Bon Appetit
by Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito, April 2010

Bundt Pan: Traditional 12-cup Bundt Pan

Ultimate Streusel Bundt Cake - Day #18 of Food Librarian's I Like Big Bundts 3

Thursday, November 3, 2011

Ultimate Streusel Bundt Cake

I Like Big Bundts - Day #18

Hellllloooo! Today's Day #18 of my third I Like Big Bundts - 30 days of Bundt cakes!

Martha Stewart has a baking show on Hallmark Channel and she made this monster bundt cake - The Ultimate Streusel Bundt Cake! It has two big layers of streusel and a moist cake.

All these bundts are leading up to National Bundt Day! Submission info can be found here. Bake a bundt for National Bundt Day on November 15th! Then submit a photo or blog post by November 24, 2011 and I'll send you a 1 1/4" button for baking along with me!

This makes hella streusel with pecans. In fact, when I make this again, I might make 1/2 the streusel and put only one layer of streusel in the middle. Because this has a layer on the "top" (in the pan) that becomes the "bottom" when inverted, it was a little different than other layered bundts (such as Day #6: Maida Heatter's Budapest Coffee Cake Bundt).

Topped with powdered sugar and milk glaze, this cake is perfect for Sunday brunch, Monday breakfast, Tuesday lunch, and Wednesday tea time. :) - mary the food librarian

Recap of I Like Big Bundts 3:
Day #1: Buttercake Bakery's Marble Bundt Cake
Day #2: Lemon Bliss Bundt
Day #3: Double-Chocolate Bundt Cake with Ganache Glaze
Day #4: Spice Bundt Cake with Brown Butter Vanilla Bean Glaze
Day #5: Gingery Pumpkin Breakfast Bundt
Day #6: Maida Heatter's Budapest Coffee Cake Bundt
Day #7: Dark Chocolate Bundt
Day #8: Banana Chocolate Chip Bundt
Day #9: Apple Spice Bundt
Day #10: Pumpkin Spice Bundt
Day #11: Doll Bundt Cake
Day #12: Light Chocolate Bundt with Coffee Glaze
Day #13: Spiced Cranberry Bundt
Day #14: Brown Sugar Bundt
Day #15: Buried Alive Bundt Cake
Day #16: Leftover Halloween Candy Bundt
Day #17: Lemon Bundt Cake

Recipe: Click here for printable recipe
Adapted from Martha Stewart's Ultimate Streusel Cake

Bundt Pan: Traditional 12-cup Bundt Pan

Lemon Bundt Cake - Day #17 of Food Librarian's I Like Big Bundts 3

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Lemon Bundt Cake

I Like Big Bundts - Day #17

It's Day #17 of I Like Big Bundts! We're getting closer to November 15th - National Bundt Day! I hope you have your pan and recipe picked out!

I have about 10 minutes to write up this post. One of my favorite shows, Covert Affairs is back on TV tonight...and I have a book due in a day that I have to finish! :)

This recipe is from the folks at Cook's Illustrated (America's Test Kitchen) and features a double glaze...you pour half the glaze when the cake comes out of the oven, and more an hour later. Um, I was a little distracted and use the whole glaze on the first round, and just whipped up some more for the second one.

The submission info can be found here! Bake a bundt for National Bundt Day on November 15th! Then submit a photo or blog post by November 24, 2011 and I'll send you a 1 1/4" button for baking along with me!

Earlier, on Day #2, I made King Arthur Flour's Lemon Bliss Bundt. That Bundt was soft and light. According to Cook's Illustrated, this cake will be softer the first day and then become more like a pound cake the next day. I tried it the second day and it was poundcake like. The King Arthur Cake never got to the second day...the library ate it up in a few hours! Both Bundts are good...try them both and let me know what you liked best! ;) - mary the food librarian

Recap of I Like Big Bundts 3:
Day #1: Buttercake Bakery's Marble Bundt Cake
Day #2: Lemon Bliss Bundt
Day #3: Double-Chocolate Bundt Cake with Ganache Glaze
Day #4: Spice Bundt Cake with Brown Butter Vanilla Bean Glaze
Day #5: Gingery Pumpkin Breakfast Bundt
Day #6: Maida Heatter's Budapest Coffee Cake Bundt
Day #7: Dark Chocolate Bundt
Day #8: Banana Chocolate Chip Bundt
Day #9: Apple Spice Bundt
Day #10: Pumpkin Spice Bundt
Day #11: Doll Bundt Cake
Day #12: Light Chocolate Bundt with Coffee Glaze
Day #13: Spiced Cranberry Bundt
Day #14: Brown Sugar Bundt
Day #15: Buried Alive Bundt Cake
Day #16: Leftover Halloween Candy Bundt

Recipe: Click here for printable recipe

Adapted from: The Complete America's Test Kitchen TV Show
Bundt Pan: Traditional 12-cup Bundt Pan

Leftover Halloween Candy Bundt - Day #16 of Food Librarian's I Like Big Bundts 3

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Leftover Halloween Candy Bundt

I Like Big Bundts - Day #16

I'm exhausted. I ate so much candy at work today...then got hit with a sugar coma. We had to counteract that with microwave popcorn. Sweet and Salty. It's all about living a balanced life. :)

We're on Day #16 of I Like Big Bundts...the Food Librarian's crazy quest to post 30 bundts in 30 days. All to encourage you to make a bundt for National Bundt Day on November 15th!

So, did you have a bunch of kids come by your house? Or, were you in a snow storm and had to cancel Halloween (that is soooo sad for the kids)? Or, were you just so shocked and torn up by the divorce of Kim Kardashian and Kris Humphries after 72 days of marriage that you just couldn't face the trick or treaters...and ate all the candy? Well, whatever happened yesterday, if you have some leftover candy, here is a Bundt that'll help you out!

Basically, a vanilla bundt cake with chopped up candy. I used a bunch of Snickers, Twix, Milky Ways...but you can add so many others: Whoopers, Butterfingers, Junior Mints, M&Ms... I would be hesitant to put in "sugary, non-chocolate" based candies such as Starburst or Skittles...don't know how they would turn out with melty colors.