Chocolate & Yoghurt Mini Bundt Cakes

The Recipe

Makes: 12 small Bundt cakes
Preparation: 20 minutes
Baking Time: 10-12 minutes

Bundt tins were inspired by the shape of a raisin and almond-yeasted bread known as ‘Kugekhopf’ that is found in Germany, Austria, Alsace & Switzerland. They are a recent invention around the 1950s by David Dalquist, a metallurgist based in Minnesota.

So I dropped into a bargain discount store, as I do, to see if anything for the kitchen would catch my eye, and stumbled upon a mini Bundt baking tin. As soon as I see bundt cakes I think of the most delicious bundt/tea cakes at Ottolenghi when I lived in London (I absolutely love all their bakery treats). Unfortunately, they are a rare sight in Singapore and bakeries usually have mini cakes in the form of muffins or mini loaves.

Bundt tins were inspired by the shape of a raisin and almond yeasted bread known as ‘Kugekhopf’ that is found in Germany, Austria, Alsace & Switzerland. They are a recent invention around the 1950s by David Dalquist, a metallurgist based in Minnesota.

A Bundt cake today doesn’t really follow a specific recipe. It is simply baked in a bundt tin and because of the hole in the middle, cooks faster than regular cakes and results in a more dense texture.

As with all baking recipes, the timing and texture of the cake will depend on the oven and how much moisture the flour and cocoa will absorb. I recommend using your gut instinct and add a little more liquid if the cake batter is a little too thick.

INGREDIENTS

80g unsalted butter
150g brown sugar
1 medium egg
100g melted dark chocolate.
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon powder
1/4 tsp bicarbonate soda
1/4 tsp fine sea salt
40g cocoa
170g plain flour
150g Greek yoghurt

METHOD

1. Preheat the oven to 170’C

2. In an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar together until nice and fluffy

3. Sieve the flour, cocoa, cinnamon, salt, baking powder and baking soda into a bowl

4. Add in the egg and a little bit of flour to bind the eggs and sugar

5. Incorporate the melted chocolate

6. Turn the electric mixer to low and add a half the flour/cocoa mixture and half the yoghurt. Allow the batter to be combined then add the rest of the yoghurt and finish up with the flour/cocoa mixture.

7. The mixture will be slightly firmer than a regular cake batter, if needed you can add a little more yoghurt.

8. Place into a plastic bag and cut off the tip. Pipe into a well-greased bundt tin or muffin tin about 3/4 full.

9. Bake for 10-12 minutes and allow to cool slightly before turning out onto a cake rack

10. Allow the cakes to cool completely sifting over some snowy white icing sugar.

CHOCOLATE PECAN BABKA WITH MAPLE GLAZE

The Recipe

Makes: 1 medium loaf
Preparation: overnight proofing
Baking Time: 30-40 minutes

The traditional babka, meaning “Little Grandmother” is an Eastern European bread that is dense, rich and light all at the same time. Swirled with chocolate, nuts and cinnamon – this was only a version that seemed to develop mid-century by the American Jews.

Babka is not the easiest bread to make but it is also not the most difficult. It takes a bit of time and patience, a lot of love but the benefits and joys of munching down on this nutty, dense, chocolatey bread is worth it.

A sweet, yeasted bread that finds its origins in Eastern Europe, developed by the Ashkenazi Jews in Poland, Ukraine, Russia, and Lithuania. This Jewish community has a very coloured history with ancestral routes tied to Germany and Austria. It is a bread that is traditionally served on special occasions such as the Jewish Sabbath (Shabbat) or holidays and represents good fortune and prosperity.

It can be found throughout the year in Jewish bakeries around the world and there are many variations of babka that exist today, yet the original recipe was either a plain or nut-filled dough that was braided and then baked into a tall cylindrical shape.

This chocolate version is messy and extremely delicious and I hope you have fun making it!

THE INGREDIENTS

BABKA DOUGH

280g plain flour
60g white sugar
7g instant yeast
150mls milk, room temperature
Zest of 1 orange
½ tsp vanilla essence
2 x medium eggs
¼ tsp salt
140g butter, cubed
Oil (for greasing)

CHOCOLATE FILLLING

120g unsalted butter, room temperature
1 tsp cinnamon
2tblsp/20g cocoa
80g brown sugar
Pinch of salt
80g semi sweet chocolate, roughly chopped or chocolate chips
80g toasted pecans, roughly chopped.

GLAZE

50g maple syrup
10g butter

THE METHOD

The Day Before

1. Mix milk with vanilla, salt, and eggs

2. Place the sugar, yeast, zest, and flour in a mixing bowl with a paddle attachment

3. Add milk mixture to the flour until combined

4. Switch to a dough hook and then start adding the butter, bit by bit until all is incorporated.

5. Mix for about 5-8 minutes until the dough is nice and smooth

6. Place in a well-oiled bowl and cover with cling film and allow the dough to rise and double in size then place in the refrigerator overnight so it can work its magic

The Next Day

1. Turn the dough out onto a well-floured surface and roll it out into a rectangle 25cm width x 40cm length

2. For the chocolate filling, mix cinnamon, sugar, cocoa, and butter together until combined.
   Have it on stand-by for when the dough is ready to be rolled.
   Spread the chocolate mixture over the surface of the dough, leaving about a 1.5cm edge all around

3. Roll the dough lengthwise to form a 25cm cylinder. Place in the fridge for about 10-15minutes to firm up (you will thank me for this later)
   Take out the dough and with a sharp knife, cut it in half so you have long strips
   Braid the two pieces of dough over each other so they are nicely twisted firmly together
   Place into a greased and lined loaf tin (about 20cm in length), cover with a damp cloth, and allow to rise for 30-40 minutes. For the maple glaze, heat the ingredients at a low temperature until the butter is just melted.

4. Preheat the oven to 190’C and bake the babka for 30-40 minutes until well risen and golden.
   Allow the bread to cool slightly before turning it out and brush the babka while still warm with the maple glaze

MORE BAKING RECIPES

Dark Chocolate Cake with Honey Mascarpone

The Recipe

Yields: 20cm cake
Preparation Time: 25 minutes
Baking Time: 35-40 minutes

With a whipped mascarpone and a drizzle of good honey, there is nothing more comforting than this rich chocolate cake.

After writing my article on chocolate, I had a craving for cake - that would be of the chocolate kind. Cake, for me, is as indulgent as it gets and I like to go the whole hog with either a decadent frosting or a drizzle of some kind of delicious sauce with a good scoop of ice cream on the side.

Gluten free, sugar free and less fat - please don't do that to yourselves if you are eating cake. Just don't eat so much of it and it will all balance out. Promise.

Hope you enjoy making and eating this cake as much as my flat mates and I did!

INGREDIENTS

Cake
200g unsalted butter
200g caster sugar
180g dark chocolate (60% or above), melted in the microwave or bain marie
3 medium eggs
½ tsp good vanilla extract
3g/ 1½ tsp baking powder
20g/2tblsp cream
50g cocoa powder
¼ tsp fine sea salt
250g plain flour

Honey Mascarpone Frosting
250g mascarpone
½ tsp good vanilla extract
20g good strong flavoured honey
50g whipping cream

METHOD

1. Have all ingredients at room temperature

2. Grease, line and flour a 20cm spring form cake tin

3. Preheat the oven to 180’C

4. Cream butter and sugar in an electric mixer until it is pale and light in colour

5. Mix in slightly whisked eggs and vanilla extract until combined

6. In a separate bowl, sift cocoa powder, flour, salt and baking powder

7. Slowly add half the dry mixture and the cream

8. Finally add the last half of dry mixture, making sure the batter thoroughly mixed, that means not forgetting to scrape the bits of butter and other good stuff that may have stuck to the bottom of the mixing bowl

9. Pour into the prepared baking tin (the mixture will be thick), level out and place in the oven for 35-45 minutes

10. The cake is done when inserting a knife it comes out pretty clean. With cooling, the cake will become nice and fudgy so it is important to not over bake!

11. Let the cake rest for 5 minutes before removing from the cake tin and allowing it to cool completely on a cake rack

1. Whisk all ingredients until combined and fluffy

2. Top the completely cooled cake with the mascarpone frosting (as rustic or as neatly as you like) and drizzle with a little more honey

3. Cut a big slab, curl up on the sofa and indulge in the simple pleasure of this glorious cake!