Tutti-frutti Bundt cake
Before the festive season begins in India,
we have this “Pitra paksh” or “Shraadh paksh” according to Hindu Calendar. During this time, we make the favourite food(which usually includes puris–sabzis,dessert like kheer etc.) of our ancestors and invite priests of temple to feast upon it. This way , its said ,that they accept our food and give us blessings for the whole year. In many homes, people don’t eat non-veg, onions, garlic etc during this time. Most of the people also avoid outside food during this time. Though I am not bound by these customs, but I like to follow them, since this is a form of respect and courtesy offered to our ancestors from here.
But this doesn’t mean that my daughter’s sweet tooth will be deprived!! 😀 So I tried this egg-less, butter-less,Tutti-frutti Bundt cake in which I added her favourite chocolate chips. I wanted to use home-made or easily available ingredients ,so I tried using curd in this cake. Also I wanted to use whole-wheat flour,but my flour being multi-grain I have to use half whole wheat and half APF(maida).
[ For whole wheat cake or cupcakes follow this recipe: Orange cupcakes]
The recipe is simple and easy to follow. The only problem is almost double quantity. Yes ,since the bundt pans are large in size ( 9 inch Bundt pan),they need a lot of batter to fill in. So if you want to try for the fist time, you may use bundt cup-cake mold tray or a small round or square cake pan with just half the quantities listed below. Also use fresh curd/yogurt and not sour/stale. Don’t worry about the sourness of the cake, since the curd will only allow it to rise and have creamy soft texture inside.
INGREDIENTS:
1. All purpose Flour (Maida) – 1 and 1⁄2 cups
2. Multi-grain Sujata Flour ( atta) – 1 and 1⁄2 cups
3. White granulated Sugar (chini) – 1 and 1⁄2 cups
4. Yogurt/curd (dahi) homemade – 2 cups
5. Flavorless or odorless oil (preferably safflower oil ) – 3⁄4 cup ( I used vegetable oil)
6. Tutti -Frutti – 1⁄2 cup
7. Vanilla extract – 1 tsp
8. Baking soda – 1 tsp
9. Baking powder – 2 and 1⁄2 tsp
10. Milk chocolate chips – 1⁄4 cup (optional)
METHOD:
| Preparation time: 10 mins | Baking time : 50-60 mins | Cooling time(in pan) : 30 mins| Makes 1 Bundt loaf |
Begin with assembling the ingredients. Its always good to start with the ingredients set and ready on the counter.
Now sieve the all purpose flour with whole wheat flour through a sieve 2 times in a large bowl. This helps in aerating the dry mix and in separating any big particles or impurities. Then mix the tutti frutti and chocolate chips in this dry mixture and coat all of them with flour. This step ensures that the tutti-frutti don’t settle at the bottom while baking.
Usually all cake recipe follow the norm of mixing dry ingredients and wet ingredients separately and lastly fold them together in parts. But since we are using curd here, we will follow a different approach. So add the baking powder and baking soda in curd and beat it well. Keep it aside for 10 mins till it gets frothy.This helps in aerating the wet ingredients and mixing is even too.
( 😳 , I , missed this step however. I instead mixed them with flour. 😉 Don’t worry this step is forgivable. Yes the cake turned out soft and spongy although.)
Now add sugar in parts and beat at medium speed with a handheld electric mixer or a hand whisk to form a bubbly curd mix. We need to add sugar in parts for easy mixing. Curd /yogurt does not change the flavor of the cake.
Now add vanilla extract and beat it again for 2 seconds.
Now add oil in the curd mix or leave it in the same bowl . I didn’t add in the curd mix, and hence I needed just 3⁄4 cup of oil . But it depends on the flour and sugar you are using. So you may need oil from 3⁄4 cup to 1 cup.
Now fold the curd mix in the flour mix 2 tbsps at a time gently to form a viscous batter. Keep adding oil at intervals if not added earlier.
[Instead of oil ,you may use margarine or butter or applesauce too. But butter, ghee(clarified butter) tends to solidify when the cake is cooled , so that makes the cake dense. ]
Line the pan with non-stick cooking spray or butter or oil. Preheat the oven to 200 degree C or 392 degree F (400 degree F approx.).
(To prevent over-browning of the cake, you may cover the cake with foil half way through, i.e. after 30 mins. Also I mistakenly heated my oven to 425 degree F instead of 400 degree F. For more tips please read at the end .)
Invert the batter in the pan and give a gentle tap at the bottom to remove any excess air. Keep the pan in the center rack of the oven for 10 mins at this temperature. Set your timer for 10 mins.
After 10 mins, lower the temperature to 338-350 degree F or 170 – 180 degree C. Let it bake for 50 mins without opening the door in between. Again set the timer for 50 mins.
[Believe me, patience is the key. 😀 Don’t worry it will rise and bake evenly and have the belief that you will get the right spongy cake . 🙂 ].
Jokes apart, you may open the oven and check the cake for the readiness with a toothtpick or knife after 35 mins. And yes, it depends on the oven,how fast it get preheated, so the total time could be 5-10 mins lesser or more.Take out the cake and leave on the counter for at least 30 mins . The cake would have left its sides and would have formed a crusty layer on the top with some possible cracks. I left it near an open window , so the fresh air cooled it down to room temperature in 30 mins. It depends on the air temperature so it may take 45 mins to cool down. Remember, this cake needs more time to bake and then to cool only because of the quantity used.
Invert the bundt pan on a wire rack or a plate to let it cool down further before slicing. Let it cool completely before slicing . Some of the latent heat (heat retained while baking ) will cook the uncooked part if left by any chance. So I allowed it to cool for another 30-40 mins before slicing it. Slice it with the botttom part up and the top down for even slicing and avoiding crumbs .
Your perfect soft, spongy, bundt cake is ready to serve with evening snacks and tea. Enjoy this guilt-free cake and share your experiences with me. It has a peculiar Indian Paan taste because of the tutti-frutti which adds to the flavor. 😛
[ To prevent cracks on the top of the cake , here are some tips :
i. A light-colored cake pan will help in reducing the heat of the oven being transmitted to the cake by 10-25 degree F. This helps in even baking of all layers in the cake.
ii. Tap the cake pan twice or thrice to help escape the extra air trapped.
iii. If you are using a round or square cake pan, you may use spring -foam pan with insulated fabric strip around your cake pan. This helps in baking the cake evenly without cracking.
iv. Sometimes adding a modest level of water ,oil or milk like as little as 1 tbsp helps in moistening the batter and keeping it soft for an few minutes.Or reducing the leavening agents could help too.
v. Using pastry flour or replacing 4 tbsp of flour with 2 tbsp of corn starch, helps in decreasing the gluten formation which in turn decreases the dryness from the cake. ]
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Please feel free to leave a comment or suggestion if you wish to. We would love to hear from you !
Till then Happy Baking !!
🙂