Brown Butter Banana Chocolate Chip Bundt Cake

Would you believe me if I told you this was a bundt cake and that it was really, really good?

Because it is, and it was.

I haven't done a whole lot of baking lately, and the baking I have done hasn't produced anything blog-worthy. Instead, I have become addicted to watching Dateline, 20/20 and 48 Hours On Demand and getting my baking fix through Kids Baking Championship on Food Network. It's all the fun, minus the clean up and calories. It's also a nice little show to lighten the watchlist, because I'd rather go to sleep dreaming about cake than about murderers.

If you haven't watched KBC, it's basically a baking competition featuring a group of kids vying for $10,000, being judged by cake guru Duff Goldman and actress-turned-cooking personality Valerie Bertinelli. Each week they are given a theme or a challenge for their baking creations and either advance to the next round or get voted off. {I have no idea how Duff & Valerie do it with those puppy dog eyes staring at them!}

I am blown away by those smart, talented little people. They are hilarious and inspiring, and I'm hoping that watching them in action will give me some clue as to how to make my own child turn out to be charming and eloquent. I won't hate it if he can whip up a mean French pastry while he's at it, but beggars can't be choosers.

You'd never know from from all the talk of  "ganache", "coulis" and "creme anglais" that these pint sized bakers only range in age from 10-13, and their ingenuity at problem solving when their plans go awry is pretty spectacular. {Plus, their nasal little voices and chubby cheeks are so stinkin' cute. It's amazing the things you find darling when you're no longer in charge of teaching these rascals.} Most of the time, they try to convince the judges that they meant to produce whatever it is that turned out once their time is up, which isn't necessarily truthful, but is a nice last-ditch effort to win.

So when this very delicious Brown Butter Banana Chocolate Chip Bundt Cake crumbled into a pile of cake rubble as I was turning it out of the {clearly, not properly greased} pan, I channeled the mini baking masterminds and thought to myself, "Hmm. Now how can I make it look like I meant to do that?" And this is as good as it got.

If you're not falling for the presentation, don't let it deter you from trying it out for yourself because you'll be missing out for sure. Not only is this recipe super easy, but it's also extremely flavorful thanks to the extra {but worthwhile} step of browning the butter, which lends a nutty, almost toffee-like note. And banana and chocolate together? Always a winning combo.

Some weeks things don't quite work out the way you want them to. This is one of those weeks. But let's just pretend I meant to lose half of my cake to the bundt pan, and that I had planned to photograph it all cut up. Yeah. We'll go with that...

Brown Butter Banana Chocolate Chip Bundt Cake

Barely adapted from The Best of Fine Cooking, 2010 Party Food Edition

Makes 1 bundt cake that serves 12, or 2 mini bundts made in a 6 cup pan

1 cup {2 sticks} unsalted butter
1 1/3 cups sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 2/3 cups all purpose flour
1 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
3 eggs
1 cup mashed banana {about 2 medium bananas}
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2/3 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare bundt pan* by buttering or spraying with non-stick spray. {Do a good job so that you don't have to fudge your presentation like I did!}

2. In a small saucepan, melt butter over medium-high heat. Bring it to a bubble and allow it to simmer until it starts to turn light brown and smells toffee-like or nutty. This should take about 5-7 minutes.

3. When the butter is browned, remove from heat and pour it through a fine mesh strainer into a bowl to remove the brown sediment that will form at the bottom. Set the bowl of hot melted butter aside to cool slightly.

3. Meanwhile, sift together the salt, flour and baking soda in a small bowl.

4. In another bowl, whisk together sugar and cooled butter until smooth. Add in the eggs, mashed banana and vanilla extract and beat until everything is well-incorporated.

5. Add the flour mixture and chocolate chips into the wet ingredients and fold everything together until well-combined. Don't overdo it or you'll end up with a tough cake.

6. Pour the batter into the buttered baking pan and bake for about 40-45 minutes, or until a knife or skewer inserted in the middle comes out mostly clean {a few crumbs are ok}.

Remove the cake from the oven and set is aside to cool for 20 minutes or so. Carefully flip over the bundt pan and give it light tap to remove the cake -- hope you have better luck than I do!

The good news is, whether in crumbs or as a whole, the cake is equally as divine!

* Making this much batter will give you either 1 large bundt cake in a 10-cup bundt pan, or 2 small bundts made with a 6-cup pan {baked for about 25 minutes}. You can also make this in muffin tins or any other cake tins you desire, but you'll have to adjust the cook time accordingly. Have I given you enough options yet?

Honey Apple Bundt Cake with Honey Caramel Sauce

I love the celebrations that make up Fall. Mostly because they all have to do with food... that's enough to get me on board with just about any holiday.

A few weeks ago, a friend of mine asked me if I was interested in trying out some Jewish recipes for the upcoming high holidays which begin toward the end of this month. I didn't have to give it much thought -- um, yes! When she told me one of the recipes was for a Honey Apple Bundt cake that was "to die for", I knew exactly what I'd be making.

Hallie and I actually have an interesting story of how we came to be friends. It's all thanks to social media and technology, believe it or not. Somehow or another, Hallie started following my Instagram account a while back. While planning a shopping event for Rapunzel's Closet in Palm Beach, she reached out and asked if I'd be interested in providing the nibbles for a chic little soiree {thanks to IG, I have photo memories! This was before I had an iPhone, so pardon the terrible photos.}. I was thrilled and flattered, and happily obliged. Soon after, our friendship as email "pen pals" began -- Hallie was living in NYC and we had never even met. 

As it turns out, our correspondence became semi-regular {and the emails very, very long}, specifically bonding over a love of all things food. She would tell me about the amazing places she was eating in NYC and even sent me an extensive list of recommendations for my next trip to the city. Our talks of foodie things soon developed into talks about life, dreams and the pursuit of the perfect outfit {following Rapunzel's Closet keeps me in-the-know of what's cute & current since most of my reading consists of cookbooks and baking magazines}, and we planned to meet up for a girl date during one of her visits to Florida. After some wine, appetizers and lots of chatter, we parted ways and remained friends. 

And, because friends don't keep amazing cake recipes from each other, Hallie was kind enough to pass along this recipe she makes every year for the Jewish holidays. 

Rosh Hashanah starts next week, signifying the beginning of the Jewish New Year. Though I was raised Catholic, I have always loved learning about celebrations of other religions. Judaism is particularly neat to me because of the fact that it is not only a religion, but also a culture rich with its own traditions, foods and language. As is the case with many holidays, food is a significant part of the Rosh Hashanah celebration -- specifically foods that symbolize sweetness to get the year off to a "sweet start."

Fun fact: My college roomate and dear friend is Jewish, and one year when neither of us could go home for the holiday, we whipped up an Easter/Passover dinner in our apartment that was epic... for the college days, that is. Talk about a mash up! :)

It doesn't get much sweeter than this cake, I can tell you that much. From what I hear, Jewish honey cake has a reputation for being sort of dry and unappealing -- more like a necessary showpiece for a traditional table than a dessert to look forward to. {Sounds like fruitcake to me!} This cake is not only beautiful, but also moist and irresistible.

Studded with apples that lend moisture to the dense cake and drizzled with a ridiculous {in a good way} Honey Caramel Sauce, this is more of a showstopper than a showpiece. The cake is lightly spiced without being overpowering, allowing the honey flavor to shine through. {Which I surprisingly enjoyed even though I'm not a huge fan of honey.}

Whether you celebrate Rosh Hashanah, or are simply looking for a sweet way to usher in the flavors of fall, I highly recommend giving this recipe a try. I can assure you that guests will be clamoring for another slice, and your family will be kvelling {See? Shiksa can get her Yiddish on.} over your contribution to the celebration.

Thanks, Hallie, for sharing a new favorite! xo

Honey Apple Bundt Cake
Slightly adapted from a recipe by Nicole Slaven, private chef and instructor at the JCC in Manhattan

1 cup chopped pecans, divided
2 cups sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup honey
3 large eggs
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 cups Golden Delicious apples, peeled & chopped

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 12- cup bundt pan {or spray liberally with non-stick cooking spray} and sprinkle bottom of pan with 1/4 cup of chopped pecans. 

2. In a medium bowl, beat sugar, oil and honey until combined. {Note: This batter is going to be thick so a hand mixer or stand mixer is the best bet here.}

3. Add eggs one at a time, making sure each is well incorporated after each addition. 

4. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Gradually add to wet mixture until just incorporated. Like I said, it's a super-thick batter, so make sure there are no pockets of flour hiding, but also try not to overmix. 

5. Fold in vanilla, remaining 3/4 cup chopped pecans and chopped apples -- this part can be done by hand, but it'll take some muscle! 

6. Spoon mixture evenly over pecans in pan. Bake at 350° for 55 to 60 minutes. Note: This cake browns very quickly due to the high sugar content. If you notice that it's looking like it might burn, loosely place a piece of foil on top to prevent over-browning.

7. Remove from oven and allow to cool for about 20-30 minutes before inverting onto a wire rack to remove from pan. When the cake is slightly cooled, pour ½ cup honey sauce over top. 

Serve the remaining honey sauce along with the cake... a little vanilla ice cream won't hurt, either. ;)

Honey Caramel Sauce:

1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup heavy cream

Bring sugar, butter and honey to a boil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring constantly for about 3-4 minutes. 

Remove from heat and carefully add cream {it will bubble quite a bit}, and stir until the mixture looks uniform and is slightly thickened. {For a thicker sauce, allow to cool before drizzling.}  

Drizzle some of the sauce over warm bundt cake placed on a cooling rack on top of a pan or placed over the sink to allow the runoff to drip onto something other than your counter tops. Transfer cake to a serving dish.

Serve the remaining sauce alongside cake for extra sauciness.

Very Vanilla "Twinkie" Bundt Cake

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So I woke up this morning all, "Let me make something healthy to share today!" and then ended up with this:

True story.

How that happened I'll never know. Well, that's not true. I do know. I baked something with coconut flour, tasted it and decided it wasn't worth sharing and making you go out and spend money on the ingredients. And then while I sat down to drink my morning cup of decaf {Yippee, right? Good grief, some of this pregnancy stuff is for the birds, y'all.}, I started flipping through one of my {many, many} cookbooks. Today, it happened to be Pure Vanilla, because I like a little food porn with my breakfast.

And then I flipped to the page titled, "Twinkie Bundt Cake." And my heart skipped a beat. See ya, coconut flour.

Whatever, I had all the good intentions of wearing my nutritional halo today. But it's a Friday, so let's loosen up a bit, 'kay?

Bundt cake. What does it remind you of?

If you said My Big Fat Greek Wedding, then we should be best friends. If not, then I hope you at least had a good answer like visiting your granny or your sweet elderly neighbor, Mabel, growing up. 

Bundt cakes are the ultimate sharing food, aren't they? I mean, most bundt recipes are pretty basic, but they always turn out so good and so pretty. {Unless you don't grease your pan well, and end up with bundt crumbs. So don't do that.}

This bundt cake is the queen of all bundt cakes. Because just beyond its plain and innocent exterior, it harbors a naughty little secret: A tunnel of creamy, marshmallowy filling. Go ahead and say it, it's basically a Twinkie.

Ain't nothin' wrong with that.

Imagine the surprise when your guests cut into it! I mean, pure wonderment, right?

Ok, maybe I'm just a little excited about it. But it's really good, I promise. Better than anything I could have made with coconut flour today. Balance out the calories and share it with a bunch of folks you love!

Happy weekend. xo

Very Vanilla "Twinkie" Bundt Cake
Hardly adapted from Pure Vanilla by Shauna Sever

3 cups cake flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons butter, softened
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste {optional}
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3 eggs + 4 egg yolks
1 cup buttermilk

1. Preheat oven to 325. Prepare a bundt pan by spraying with non-stick cooking spray or brushing with melted butter. Set aside.

2. In a medium bowl, stir together flour, baking powder and salt.

3. In the bowl of a stand mixer {or a large bowl}, beat together butter, vanilla extract and vanilla bean paste until smooth. Slowly pour in sugar until well combined and fluffy.

4. Add vegetable oil and beat until incorporated. One by one, add eggs and egg yolks, beating well after each addition.

5. Carefully add 1/3 of the flour mixture to the wet mixture, then 1/3 of the buttermilk, alternating until all of the flour and buttermilk is added. Mix until just smooth and incorporated.

6. Pour or spoon batter into prepared bundt pan evenly. Smooth out the top. Bake for 60 to 70 minutes or until the top is golden brown and a skewer or knife inserted in the center comes out clean.

Remove from oven and allow to cool for about 45 minutes to an hour before attempting to remove from pan. There have been many a bundt cake casualty from impatient bakers trying to flip over a still-warm bundt.

For Marshmallow Filling

1 stick butter, softened
1 7.5 ounce container of marshmallow creme
1 teaspoon vanilla extract OR vanilla bean paste if you like the little specks like I do. :)

Beat all ingredients together until well mixed. Transfer to a piping bag with a round tip, or a zip top plastic bag with one corner snipped.

For Assembly

This cake isn't hard to assemble, but it is messy. Do yourself a favor and do this over a sheet pan so you don't have cake crumbs all over your kitchen. The idea is to create 6 or 7 deep holes in the bottom of the cake. I find that the easiest way is to use an apple corer. Be careful not to poke all the way through the cake.

Once the holes are made, use the best kitchen tools you've got: Your hands! Burrow your fingers into the holes and create a tunnel from hole to hole. Do this carefully so you don't split the cake. {Like I might have.} Carefully flip the cake over to clear the holes. Flip back over again and get ready to fill.

Using the marshmallow filling {you haven't eaten it all yet, have you?}, stick the piping bag into each hole and squirt the filling in until you get some resistance. Don't overdo it because, again, you can bust the cake open. We don't want that. Make sure that the filling is getting into the main tunnel and not just each hole.

When you've used up all the filling, flip the cake over {carefully!!!} onto your serving dish. Sprinkle the whole bundt with powdered sugar before serving. Then sit back and watch your guests ooh and ahh over your surprise Twinkie cake!