I own an absurd amount of bakeware, including a fair number of specialty pans that don't get utilized very often. But even though I own a classic Bundt pan, a fleur de lis Bundt, a heart-shaped Bundt, and multiple mini-bundt pans, I didn't have the 6-cup Bundt called for in this week's Baked Sunday Mornings recipe, Vanilla Bean Malt Cake. Fortunately, the recipe says you can use a 10-cup Bundt pan and just end up with a shorter cake.
The first step in this recipe is to scrape the seeds of a vanilla bean into a teaspoon of bourbon, and stir to combine. I didn't quite get this step, because there's a name for vanilla beans that have been steeped in alcohol. It's called vanilla extract. Plus, the vanilla seeds remained clumped together and didn't combine well with the bourbon at all.
Anyway, to make the batter you cream softened butter with dark brown sugar and granulated sugar; add eggs and an egg yolk; add the vanilla and bourbon; and the alternately add in the dry ingredients (flour, malted milk powder, baking powder, and salt) and buttermilk. You pour the batter into a buttered and floured pan and bake.
The cake is supposed to take 35-45 minutes to bake if made in a 6-cup pan. The recipe notes that if you use 10-cup Bundt, the cake might not necessarily require a baking time adjustment, but that you should check the cake early and often for doneness. My cake required 50 minutes in the oven. The batter expanded quite a bit during baking, but then contracted significantly upon cooling. The finished cake looked fine, but it was conspicuously short. After it was cool, I drizzled on a glaze made from powdered sugar, vanilla, and milk.
This cake has an exceptional texture; it is incredibly tender and moist. The flavor of the cake was good -- it was vanilla with a touch of malt (I got the malt more in the aroma than in the taste), and it might have been my imagination, but I thought I could detect a trace of the bourbon. The glaze didn't do much for me flavorwise, but I thought it was pretty. My tasters loved the cake, and I was quite pleased with the way it came out.
Recipe: "Vanilla Bean Malt Cake" from Baked Elements: Our 10 Favorite Ingredients, by Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito. Recipe available here at Baked Sunday Mornings.
The first step in this recipe is to scrape the seeds of a vanilla bean into a teaspoon of bourbon, and stir to combine. I didn't quite get this step, because there's a name for vanilla beans that have been steeped in alcohol. It's called vanilla extract. Plus, the vanilla seeds remained clumped together and didn't combine well with the bourbon at all.
Anyway, to make the batter you cream softened butter with dark brown sugar and granulated sugar; add eggs and an egg yolk; add the vanilla and bourbon; and the alternately add in the dry ingredients (flour, malted milk powder, baking powder, and salt) and buttermilk. You pour the batter into a buttered and floured pan and bake.
Recipe: "Vanilla Bean Malt Cake" from Baked Elements: Our 10 Favorite Ingredients, by Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito. Recipe available here at Baked Sunday Mornings.
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