Three Citrus Bundt Cake

with Orange, Pomello & Lemon



For Christmas last, my friend Del kindly presented with two different types of Bundt Cake baking tin. These were gifts of substance: Weighty, shiny, symmetrical and intricately patterned. The delight with which I graciously received these generous presents belied my inner panic. I wasn't sure I had ever even eaten a Bundt cake, let alone bake one. In fact, until I started reading food blogs I am not sure I'd ever even seen one. How would I be able to do these pans justice?

I wanted my inaugural Bundt attempt to be for Delphine. It seemed only fitting that the person who gave me the utensil to make a Bundt Cake should be the first to taste the result of using it. You might be thinking to yourself that perhaps I should practise a little before taking an untested cake to such an important event as a friend's Baby Shower, especially when I am set to become the child's god earth mother, but life is too short and I am too confident in the kitchen to worry about little things like failure.

None of my cookbooks know anything about Bundts, so I hopped online to find a recipe, preferably one that would use up some old oranges that were threatening to fester in my cupboard. There were plenty of variations up for grabs, but I really wanted to use one written by a blogger, one with pictures, one that I could see I could trust (after all, I had to muster up that kitchen confidence from somewhere).

The set of instructions that most caught my eye were from tasty blog 'My Husband Cooks'. I kept coming back to look at it over the couple of weeks before the day I was due to make it and on each return, my mouth watered more and more. Making the cake was a breeze and it turned out really well. At the Baby Shower there were lots of beautiful, delicate, pretty-as-a-picture cakes by Miette, and I was a little doubtful setting down my large, almost clumsy Germanic Bundt cake in their midst.

I needn't have worried. This cake met with rave reviews from the mainly-French audience. They wolfed down slice after slice. Several whispered to me in confidence, "shhh, I 'ad two sliceeez". Even Fred enjoyed a piece, I am not sure I've ever seen him eat cake before. It wasn't fancy, but it was homely, it was moist and it had the benefit of the sharp citrus to balance its cakey sweetness. This Bundt is a winner, a crowd pleaser; she's bold and forward, large and lusty, the centre of attraction not because she's beautiful, not because she's wearing the latest fashion, but because she's got substance. Ms Bundt cake, through the forcefulness of her bigger-than-life personality left all those skinny, half-eaten little Miettes* hiding awkwardly on the sidelines, no doubt wondering why all the effort they put into their appearances just wasn't enough.

Recipe Notes/Tweaks
Read about how to make this Bundt Cake over at My Husband Cooks.
The blog offers a great service: you can download the recipe in PDF format, too.
My oranges were nice and juicy, but their skins were clearly past the zest-by-date so I subbed the orange zest with pomello instead. I didn't use any butter in my glaze. Instead I made a very thin glaze using the juice of one orange, the juice of one lemon and about 1 cup of powdered sugar. I gently spooned the result slowly over the surface of the cake, giving it time to soak in, making the cake extra moist.




PS - *At the Baby shower I actually tried Miette's heart-shaped chocolate cake and I personally thought it was totally delicious, moist with incredible ganache. Maybe that Bundt cake is just a big bully?

Local Resources
Pretty Cakes | Miette
Cute Blog | Non Dairy Diary
Pomello | Hamada Farms

Other Resources
Wikipedia | What is a Bundt Cake?
Thanks to | Lynette who sent me the little gold balls I used to decorate my Bundt with.

Archives
2006 | On Expanding My Palate: Chicken Livers et al!
2005 | Fred rules his own kingdom. Pasta King

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Three Citrus Bundt Cake