Mini Bundt Cakes

I made these delicious mini bundt cakes after seeing the recipe on one of my new favorite websites, food52. I had planned on bringing them to work, or to a friend's birthday party, but alas, it didn't work out that way. I would like to say they all looked like the picture above, but instead they mostly looked like the picture below:

There clearly was not enough butter in the pan. I am facing the sad reality that excessive amounts of butter are the true secret to perfect baked goods. This recipe is too good not to post despite my failed attempt. They came out just as described and I was immediately sold when the ingredients included chocolate and coffee. I halved the recipe and used olive oil instead of vegetable oil. The recipe calls for sour milk, and after some research, found that combining milk and lemon juice makes sour milk. Let stand for five minutes. Another cool trick is to whisk the flour in the bag/container and scoop from the whisked flour to get a correct measurement.

Recipe:
2 cups sugar
1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cups dutch process cocoa powder, plus more for dusting
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 cup sour milk
1 cup freshly brewed strong black coffee
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla

- Preheat oven to 350. Butter a bundt pan and dust the inside with cocoa powder, set aside.
- Sift together sugar, flour, cocoa powder, salt, baking powder and baking soda in a bowl. Set aside.
- In a mixer on low add the milk, coffee, vegetable oil, eggs and vanilla one at a time. mix until everything is incorporated. Then, with the mixer still on low speed, slowly add in the dry ingredients. Once all of the flour mixture is added, mix the batter for a full four minutes on medium speed.
- Then, pour the batter into the bundt pan and bake for 45 minutes (or 20 minutes for mini bundt cakes), or until a cake tester comes out clean. Allow to cool to room temperature on a wire rack. Then, dust with powdered sugar and serve.

And Then There Was One

Over the course of one week, it seems most things have changed. First year of law school is over, it finally started to feel like summer, and lastly, Ian has left for the summer. The last change is the toughest, and the thought of baking for one sounds a little sad on top of dangerous to the waistline. Until now; Oatmeal Muffins from 101 Cookbooks. I love Heidi's recipes because they are light and healthy and this recipe is no different. I don't feel so bad having these around when their ingredients include yogurt, wheat flour and oats. They are incredibly delicious.

I love those recipes where every ingredient is readily available in your kitchen. This is an extremely rare scenario for me, but I am planning to keep the kitchen stocked for the summer of baking. Hopefully there won't be such a lag between posts, as seen in the past (whoopsie). The summer fruit that should be hitting the markets soon inspires numerous summer baking endeavors. Next up, popsicles and fudgesicles.

Recipe:
Crumble topping:
scant 3/4 cup / 3 oz / 85 g whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 cup / 1.5 oz / 45 g rolled oats
1/2 cup / 2.5 oz / 70 g natural cane or brown sugar
scant 1/2 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
1/3 cup / 2.5 oz / 70 g unsalted butter, melted

Muffin batter:
1 cup / 3.5 oz / 100 g rolled oats
3/4 cup / 3.5 oz / 100 g unbleached all purpose flour
3/4 cup / 3.5 oz / 100 g whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
scant 1/2 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
7/8 cup / 7 oz / 200 g unsalted butter, plus more for greasing pan
1/2 cup / 2.5 oz / 70 g natural cane or brown sugar
1 1/2 cups / 12 oz / 350 ml plain yogurt
2 large eggs, whisked

Preheat oven to 350F / 180C. Butter one or two muffin pans generously. I didn't use paper liners, and I'm glad I didn't. Place oven racks in top third of oven.

Get your crumble topping for your muffins started first. Use a fork to combine the flour, oats, sugar, and salt in a bowl. Stir in the melted butter. Divide the mixture into three portions, and use your hands to form into three flat-ish patties. Place the patties in a bowl in the freezer for about ten minutes.

Now, onto the muffin batter. In a medium bowl combine the oats, flours, baking soda, and sea salt. Set aside.

Melt the butter in a small saucepan. Remove from heat and stir in the sugar. Whisk in the yogurt, and then the eggs. Pour the wet ingredients over the dry and stir just until combined. Do your best to avoid over mixing.

Pour the batter into the muffin tins, filling each 3/4 full. Pull the crumble from the freezer and break it up into small and medium pieces. Sprinkle the top of each muffin with crumble, place the muffins in the oven and bake 30 - 35 minutes or until tops are golden and a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool just a minute or so, then turn out onto a cooling rack - important!

Makes about 1 1/2 dozen muffins.

Prep time: 10 min - Cook time: 35 min