Stella, May I know what you have planned for Valentine's Day?
Welcome to another installment of Fiddle-Faddle Fridays! For today's post I thought I would share what me and the Mister have planned for this Valentine's Day. As some of you know, last year we were trying to find a hedgehog and failed. That's why we have our fish, Valentine. I would also like to report that Valentine is still as healthy as the day we got him. This year, we don't have such grandeur plans of adding to our little family. It's probably just going to be a quiet night in finishing up Narcos on Netflix or going to see Deadpool.
Even with such uneventful plans, I still wanted to bake Mister something special for the day. We have a little toaster oven so this bake wasn't going to be elaborate, just something simple. I came up with mini strawberry bundt cakes with a chocolate glaze. This recipe is perfect for two mini bundt cake pans or a mini loaf pan. It's also easy to double up if you wanted to make more. I know today isn't a Tutorial Tuesday, but why not have two recipes up this week?
A few weeks ago, we found this little set at Target for $3! It was too good to pass up! Originally $10, this mini baking set comes with two mini bundt pans and three silicone spatulas. (Check the end caps to score clearance deals and always scan it! Sometimes the price is lower than what is on the sticker.)
These are Farberware spatulas.
You will need l-r: flour, sugar, egg, sour cream, baking soda, butter, vanilla extract and salt (not pictured)
First mix together the dry ingredients. Flour, sugar, salt. Since this is for Valentine's Day, I decided to make it extra special by using pink Himalayan salt. This won't make any bit of a difference to the end product, but I know I used it and that's what counts.
In another bowl, combine the wet ingredients. Sour cream, baking soda, vanilla extract and one large egg.
After you've combined the wet ingredients take out about half the mixture. I used the half cup and scooped some out. This step will help keep the mixture light and not over-mixed.
Now add in the butter to the wet ingredients. Whisk it all together!
After the butter is combined, slowly add in half the dry ingredients. When all of the dry ingredients are mixed in, then add back the scooped out wet ingredients. After the remaining wet ingredients are incorporated, then add in the remaining dry ingredients. By alternating the ingredients, the mixture won't get over-mixed as easily. This may seem like unnecessary steps, but I think this results in a better, lighter texture in the end.
Right before I was going to pour the mixture into the pans, I decided to add in some strawberries. In the picture above, I only added about half of the strawberries (about 1 tablespoon chopped). After I folded those berries in, I chopped up some more and added that to the mixture (2 tablespoons total). These are just some frozen strawberries I defrosted and chopped up. In the end the strawberries didn't add much taste or color to the cake. However you can feel the texture of the seeds in the cake.
Meanwhile, prep the pans. A little shortcut I know is to use the butter wrapper to coat the pans with butter. I however took the butter out of the wrapper while the butter was still cold, so much much butter remains on the wrapper.
I just used a silicone brush and brushed on the butter.
After the pans are well buttered, coat them in flour.
Then evenly divide the mixture between the two pans.
Bake at 350°F for 25 minutes or until the toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the cake.
Because the recipe has quite a lot of sugar in it, it will have a crunchier "skin." If you like that then cool the cakes out of the pans. If you want to keep your cakes soft, then cool the cakes in the pan. After the cakes are cooled, put the cake bake into the pan to slice off the tops. I like to use the cake pan as a level and just set my knife along the edge and cut. You want to create an flat top, so when you flip this cake over, you will have flat bottom!
Ingredients for the chocolate glaze: powdered sugar, vanilla, butter, cocoa powder and milk (not pictured). Mix all the ingredients except for the milk. Slowly add in the milk until desired consistency.
I like it to slowly run off the spatula when I pick it up. When the glaze is ready, Slowly pour it over the cakes. This glaze is like a donut glaze. It will stay "soft" and retain a satiny sheen. If you leave it a day, then the glaze will harden. It wouldn't leave a fingerprint if you touched it. However since you are leaving it a day, your cake will also be a little staler. To write words or decorate the plate I would suggest using a little pipping bag, but since we didn't have one, I just used the tip of the spatula (the one pictured above) and wrote it on the plate. It reminded me of using dip pens since I had to go back and get "ink."
I hope you all have a Happy Valentine's Day (or Galentine's Day)!
Mini Bundt Pound Cakes with Chocolate Glaze serves 2
(2 mini bundt pans, 1 mini loaf pan, or 4 cupcake cups)
- ½ cup flour
- ½ cup sugar
- pinch of salt
- 4 tablespoons sour cream
- ⅛ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 large egg
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract (almond is also a good choice)
- 3 tablespoons butter, room temperature
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Set the racks to the middle position. (If you are using a toaster oven, then set the racks to the bottom position).
Grease and flour pans very well.
Whisk together flour, sugar, and salt in small mixing bowl.
In another bowl, whisk together sour cream and baking soda. Add egg and vanilla extract, whisk to combine. Scoop out half of the mixture and set aside. Add the butter, whisk to combine. Add half the flour mixture, whisk to combine. Add back the scooped out sour cream mixture, whisk to combine. Add the flour mixture and whisk to combine.
Pour into prepared pan and bake until browned well and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, about 25-30 minutes for the mini bundt pans. The cake is done when the cake is browned and toothpick comes out clean when inserted in center.
Cool in pan 10 minutes on rack.
Chocolate Glaze
- 3 tablespoons confectioner's sugar
- 1 tablespoon cocoa powder
- splash of vanilla extract
- ½ tablespoon butter
- about 2 tablespoons milk
Mix together all ingredients except for the milk. Slowly mix in milk until desired consistency.
When the cakes are cooled, slice off the top. Flip the cakes over and slowly drizzle on the chocolate glaze. Enjoy!
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