Food Eyeswoon Kitchen:

The Burnt Bundt (Try, Try Again…)

Photography by Sarah Elliott

I have never been a candy person and don’t particularly like chocolate, either. For me, what really gets me swooning is a super-moist cake. Ever since childhood, when I honestly believed cakes only came out of a Duncan Hines box, I’ve found cakes irresistible. Oftentimes I’d help myself to not just a second but a third or fourth helping. Cakes are my thing.

Since winter flavors lean toward heavy and muddled at times, there is nothing I find more refreshing than citrus this time of year. Recently I discovered the explosive combination of bourbon, blood orange and bitters — so I decided to combine this winning mélange of flavors into a blood orange bundt cake.

Well, not all recipes come out quite as you expect. My first attempt at making this cake proved that the multitasking capabilities I pride myself on just may have multi’ed one too many. Yup, this swooner burned the bundt. Whoops, happens to us all, I suppose. The exterior was deeply charred to an unappetizing brown hue, yet the interior was still quite yummy, while hot, at least. However when the cake cooled I realized the inner flesh was actually gummy, not airy and light. In this moment I was relieved I destroyed the cake, as it allowed me to tweak the recipe. Anything less than extraordinary just won’t make the cut – my moist meter has very high standards! I reduced the almond flour and yogurt a touch, added more fat and gave it another go.

Second time sure is a charm. This spiked sweet makes for an appropriately indulgent cake. It’s a moist, light and quite frankly addicting bundt, if I do say so myself. To really ignite and shock the palate, I topped it off with a tart citrus glaze, infused with a unique cocktail of bourbon and aromatic bitters. All-in-all, this cake earns a 10 on the moist-o-meter!

See the fuller story on Food52 | Cake developed with Jenny Huang

Blood Orange Yogurt Bundt Cake with a Bitters & Bourbon Glaze

EyeSwoon Kitchen

Ingredients

for the cake

  • 3-4 blood oranges, zest and juice
  • 1-2 lemons, juice
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup almond meal
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 3/4 teaspoons kosher salt
  • 5 large eggs
  • 2 cups granulated sugar
  • 3/4 cup olive oil
  • 1/2 cups whole milk Greek yogurt
  • 2 tablespoon bourbon

for the glaze

  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • 3 teaspoons blood orange juice
  • 2 teaspoons lemon juice
  • 1 teaspoon orange zest
  • 1 tablespoon of bourbon
  • 6 drops of orange bitters

The Prep

  1. Position the rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees. Meanwhile, prepare a 12 cup bundt pan or cake pan with butter and a thin dusting of flour. Set aside.
  2. Using a microplane, finely zest 3 of the blood oranges and then juice them. You will need 1/2 cup. Juice the 4th orange if needed. Juice the lemons too. You will need 1/4 cup.
  3. Combine the flour, almond meal, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Whisk until just mixed.
  4. Beat the eggs in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on medium high speed. Once the eggs are well combined, slowly add in the sugar. Beat until the mixture is nice and thick. Change to a low speed, alternate adding in the dry ingredients and the olive oil. Finally add in the yogurt, bourbon, orange juice, and zest, whisk for a couple seconds more just until everything is incorporated. Don’t overmix.
  5. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, leaving about 1 inch empty at the top. Bake for 30-40 minutes. The cake is done when a cake tester comes out with a few crumbs still clinging. Transfer to a wire rack and cool in the pan for 15 minutes. Then carefully remove from the pan and complete cooling on the wire rack.
  6. While the cake is cooling, make the glaze. Sift the powdered sugar through a sieve to remove any lumps and place in a medium bowl. Whisk in the orange juice, bourbon, and bitters. Stir in the the zest. Add more sugar if the glaze is too runny, add more juice if it is too thick.
  7. Once the cake has completely cooled, drizzle with the glaze.
Share this Swoon –

Necessary Objects

These items may contain affiliate links, which means I receive a small commission if you make a purchase using this link.