Sunday Afternoon with a Bundt Cake

Hello!

While I have always found cooking a rather mundane activity, baking is instead the polar opposite for me. I find it relaxing, enjoyable, and even inspiring, as you can create such beautiful and creative desserts just by mixing some ingredients. I love watching how a few ingredients transform into a tasty work of art! Although I am incapable of making my own recipes, I am an avid finder of them, constantly searching for new ones.

It was a gloomy, rainy Sunday, so I thought it would be a perfect day to bake something sweet to bring some positivity back into the day. Therefore, I will be sharing the recipe for a vanilla bundt cake with lemon flavored sugar glaze that I found from iambaker.net while searching for a simple recipe.  It takes approximately 20 minutes to make the batter and about 30 minutes to bake, resulting in about 8-10 servings (depending on how you cut it).

The Ingredients and Recipe

The original recipe has American measurements, so I used an online converter to change into ml and grams instead of cups. Hence, the measurements are approximated.

• 470 grams of flour
• 235 grams of sugar
• 2 eggs
• 180 ml of milk
• 115 grams of softened butter
• 2 teaspoons of vanilla (the original recipe uses vanilla extract)
• 2 teaspoons of baking powder
• pinch of salt (if you are using unsalted butter)

Step 1

First I beat the eggs with the sugar until it becomes a creamy mixture. That is when I add in the butter, which has to be soft.

Step 2

I then add the milk and mix on low speed. Every once in a while, I use a spatula to clean up the sides of the bowl. This way, you make sure that all of your ingredients are mixed well.

Step 3

Lastly, I add the dry ingredients – flour, baking powder, vanilla, and salt.I typically add in three portions rather than all in one go, because otherwise the flour may fly into your face.

That’s all! Yes, it only takes three steps!

Step 4

Now time to prepare the pan!

This is a 26 cm pan, which I find a little large for the measurements of this cake. I think a 23 cm will be more suitable. To prepare the pan, I simply butter it and then add a thin layer of flour. This will help the bottom of the cake to bake properly and will prevent it from sticking.

My Oven

I live in a dorm on campus, so I don’t get to pick my oven. This is a very straight-forward one, as there are no fancy settings. I made sure to pre-heat it at 180 degrees Celsius while preparing the batter, so that it is nice and warm when I place the cake on the rack.

The Result

This is what it looked like fresh out of the oven! When I took it out, I flipped it.

The Sugar Glaze

• 470 grams of powder sugar
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 2-3 tablespoons milk

First you need to add the sugar and then gradually add the milk. The glaze should be runny enough to drip over your cake, but make sure you don’t add too much milk. Otherwise, the glaze will not harden over your cake and turn into a sugar juice.

Then you add the lemon juice (you can use a fresh lemon) and vanilla – this can be modified to your taste. If you want, you can replace the lemon juice with an orange or use cinnamon instead of vanilla.

I waited about 15 minutes before covering my cake in the sugar glaze, but you can wait a bit longer – if the cake is still warm, it will melt. In my case, even 15 minutes was still not enough time for it to cool down.

The Final Look

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It is as simple as that! Please tweet @acupofteawithzi if you bake this!

Hope you enjoyed my post. Happy baking 🙂

– Zi