Turning 30 & Banana Bundt Cake

30 is my year. This is the year that things get good. They get organized, they get balanced, and they get happy. This is the year I complete a olympic length triathlon. This is the year I finally go through the box that I dumped my college apartment desk contents into and didn't touch for seven years. This is the year I switch my career path back onto the trajectory where it belongs. This is the year I stand up for myself and leave a job that was taking over my life, and not giving much back in return. This is the year I get to say yes to taking a weekend off here and there to just be with friends, or visit a new city. This is the year I am no longer embarrassed about the state of my apartment. This is the year I start running long distances because I (almost) enjoy it. This is the year I start baking again for pleasure, and not just for work.

I am a few months into my 30's and instead of freaking out a little bit when the milestone came, as many people do, I decided a few years ago that 30 wasn't going to be scary to me. I always thought that your 30's were the time you finally had your shit together (excuse my french). It is the decade where you finally get into your groove, really start to know who you are and where you want to be. When I turned 30, I realized that I wasn't really at that place in my life yet, and as it turns out, it isn't your age that puts you in that place, it has to come from somewhere else. So I am doing something about it. It isn't all life-changing, world-altering changes, like quitting a job, or traveling across the globe. Even the little things, like buying one of those 7-day pill containers and actually taking my vitamins and aspirin everyday, can make a big difference in the peace and contentment in every day life. Instead of always thinking about all the things I should be doing better, I am making it my goal this year to simply do them.

This bundt cake was the first time in way too long that I baked something that wasn't for work, or for a personal client. It was for a friend, for his birthday, for a weekend at a lake house that I missed out on last summer. It was simple but delicious, and reminded me why I do what I do. Providing someone with something delicious, nourishing, and specially made just for them, is something I had forgotten I missed.

Banana Walnut Bundt Cake

recipe adapted from the food librarian

makes one large bundt cake

3 cups flour

2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

8 oz butter, room temperature

2 cups sugar

2 tsp vanilla

2 eggs

4 ripe bananas

1 cup yogurt

1 cup toasted, chopped walnuts, divided

In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, scraping the bowl well between each addition. Mix in the vanilla and bananas. In a separate bowl combine the flour, baking soda, and salt. Add 1/3 of the flour mixture to the banana mixture, followed by 1/2 of the yogurt. Scrape the bowl very well between each addition. Mix in another 1/3 of the flour, then the second half of the yogurt, followed by the rest of the flour mixture. Fold in 3/4 cups of the walnuts. Butter and flour a bundt pan or spray with baking spray. Pour batter into pan and bake at 350 for 65-75 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean. Be sure not to put a baking sheet under the bundt pan, as the hot air needs to circulate through center of the pan. 

Let cake cool for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a rack and let cool completely. Wrap in plastic and let sit at room temperature overnight, or freeze until ready to use. 

For the glaze: combine 1 cup of powdered sugar with 2 tablespoons milk and 1/2 tsp vanilla and whisk until smooth. Pour glaze over the top of the bundt cake and immediately sprinkle on the remaining walnuts. 

Gingerbread Bundts with Cinnamon Glaze

What a lovely weekend it was. Busy, but wonderful. My good friend came down to visit and we baked pretty much the entire time she was here. Usually it is just me by myself in the kitchen, but it was nice to have some company, not to mention another pair of hands.

The apartment smelled amazing for about three days straight, it was like a freaking Yankee Candle Factory in here. The first of the treats that we made were mini gingerbread bundt cakes. These are incredibly easy to make and work both as dessert or breakfast, or dessert and breakfast.

The aroma from these cakes is absolutely heavenly, if 'coziness' had a smell, this would probably be it. Spicy and rich but not too sweet, I think these cakes would be an absolute crowd-pleaser for Thanksgiving or other fall gatherings.

Gingerbread Bundt Cakes with Cinnamon Glaze
adapted from La Cuisine d'Helene
makes 24 mini cakes

2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon cocoa powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted then brought to room temperature
3/4 cup dark molasses
3/4 cup sugar
1 large egg
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup whole milk

Butter and flour a 12-cup mini bundt pan and preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, allspice, cloves, nutmeg, cocoa powder, cinnamon, and ginger.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the molasses, sugar, and butter until well combined. Add the egg, and beat until combined.

Slowly beat in the milk and buttermilk. It will look like it has curdled, but don't worry, this is supposed to happen. It will fix itself when you add the dry ingredients.

In a few additions, beat in the flour mixture, scraping down the sides of the bowl between each addition. Mix until just combined.

Fill each bundt pan cup about 3/4 the way full and smooth out the tops just a bit. Bake on the middle rack of the oven for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cakes comes out clean.

Let cool in pan for about 20 minutes, then turn out onto a baking rack and cool completely.

Cinnamon Glaze

1 cup powdered sugar
3-4 tablespoons milk (this will depended on how thick or thin you want your glaze)
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Mix powdered sugar and milk together with a fork until smooth and desired thickness. Add cinnamon and mix to combine.

Dip the tops of each bundt cake in the glaze and let dry on a cooling rack.

If you are freezing the cakes, do so before you glaze them. Cakes can be stored at room temperature or in the refrigerator for a few days. They may get a bit soggy though, they will still taste great.

Lime Glazed Mini Bundt Cakes

To kick off the wedding desserts posting extravaganza, I thought I would first share my personal favorite treat from the table, mini lime bundt cakes.

When Rebecca first asked me to do their dessert table, they were in a tight spot with their reception hall caterer. They had had a few cake tastings and were just not happy with the taste and the texture of the cake. The problem was that the cake came free with the hall, and they didn't want to have to spend another 500 dollars on an outside cake. So, when I started brainstorming for dessert ideas, I wanted to find some unique cake-like nibbles that could fill the void of the disappointing wedding cake. (Update: the chef agreed to make the bride's family chocolate cake recipe at the last minute and it turned out much better!)

When I saw a pan that made little baby bundt cakes, I knew they had to be on the table. I am a complete sucker for anything mini and luckily the bride and groom were just as enamored as I was. Sticking with their colors of white and green, we settled on a light lime glaze to go over the top of the vanilla pound cakes. Knowing that cake freezes beautifully, I got started right away making batches after batches of these little guys.

We had to offer the dessert table as a 'favor' to the guests instead of a plated dessert, per hall rules, which meant cellophane treat bags and huge numbers of the treats themselves. We planned for about 4-5 desserts per person on average, a few eaten while drinking and dancing, and a few to take home. The final number of Lime Bundt Cakes: 175, and mind you, this was just one of the 4 desserts on the table.

Mini Bundt Cakes with Lime Glaze

adpated from williamssonoma.com

this makes 24-20 mini bundt cakes or 1 regular size bundt cake

2 3/4 cup flour

1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

1 1/2 cups sugar

4 eggs, lightly beaten, room temperature

1 teaspoom vanilla

1 cup whole milk, room temperature

Preheat oven to 335 F, placing a rack in the bottom third of the oven.

Butter and flour your bundt pan, shaking out all excess flour and set aside.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Whisk or sift together, set aside.

In a stand mixer fit with the paddle attachment beat the butter until smooth, about 30 seconds. Add the sugar and cream together with butter on medium high speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Gradually add the egg, beating thouroughly and scraping down the sides in bewteen each addition. Add the vanilla and beat just until incorporated, about 1 minute.

Add one-third of the flour mixture and beat on low speed until incorporated, then add half of the milk, beating again until incoporated. Scrape down the sides in between each addtion. Repeat with another third of the flour mixture, then the remainder of the milk, then the remainder of the flour.

Spoon batter into prepared bundt pan, filling each vessel about 3/4 the way full. If you fil them too high, they will form little domes on the bottom and will not sit level, don't worry though they will still be damn cute.

Bake for 28-32 minutes (for the mini bundts), until brown around the edges. Place pan on wire rack and allow to cool for 15 minutes. You can then turn the bundts out onto the wire rack and cool completely before glazing.

Lime Glaze

The amounts of liquid to sugar will vary based on how thick you would like your glaze. I made mine very thick, so that it would dry and form a shell almost, so that it would stand up to stacking. If you want yours thinner and lighter, just up the liquid content a little until it reaches your desired consistancy.

1 cup powdered sugar

3 tablespoons lime juice (fresh squeezed if you are making 24 bundts, bottled if you are making 175 bundt. Trust me on this one)

1 teaspoon lime zest

Combine all ingredients in small bowl and wisk or stir together until smooth. Dip the top of each cake into the glaze and set on a wire rack to dry for 1-2 hours.

I will absolutely be making these again. The possibilities are endless when it comes to flavors and glazes, I could barely keep my hands off of them. Its not my fault, when you have almost 200 of these puppies on your counter, its easy to tell yourself no one will know if there is 1 or 5 missing.