๐๐ฆ๐ซ๐ฆ ๐๐ฆ๐ซ๐ค๐ข๐ฏ๐๐ฏ๐ข๐๐ก ๐ ๐ฒ๐ซ๐ก๐ฑ โญ๐๐จ๐ข๐ฐ ๐ด๐ฆ๐ฑ๐ฅ ๐๐๐ญ๐ฉ๐ข ๐๐ฏ๐ฌ๐ฐ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ซ๐ค ๐๐ซ๐ก ๐๐ญ๐๐ฏ๐จ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ซ๐ค โญ๐ฏ๐๐ซ๐๐ข๐ฏ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฐ
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Every Christmas I try to make a dessert that is both delicious and beautiful.
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Without fail, every Christmas there is so much food that an additional slice of cake is
just too much on a full tummy.
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This year I decided to make mini bundt cakes so that they could be an addition to the cookie platters.
Even then, half of one is enough so they are perfect shared with someone you love.
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This is a thick, denser crumb with a true ginger cake flavour.
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Rich, dark, velvety it is perfectly matched with a sweet maple glaze.
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These loveliest sparkling cranberries and snippets of rosemary that look like wee branches were the perfect finishing touch.
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I made these in advance and froze them until Christmas morning.
Two days later, I decided to share one with someone I love.
Randy and I found this wee cake was still so fresh and moist as the day it was baked.
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- 1/2 cup salted or unsalted butter, cut into tablespoons
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon ground ginger
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup canola or vegetable oil
- 1 1/2 cups dark brown sugar, packed (not golden)
- 1 cup molasses (unsulphered, not blackstrap)
- 4 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup buttermilk, at room temperature
- mini bundt pan, 6 or 12 cakes
- bakers spray (flour and oil)
- Preheat oven to 350F and generously spray your mini bundt pan with bakers spray (flour and oil). You can try greasing with flour and butter but you may not get the cakes to release perfectly.
- In a small saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Once melted turn up the heat to medium high and heat, stirring constantly for about 4-5 minutes until butter turns golden brown and smells nutty. There will be small brown bits in the butter. Remove from the pot and let cool.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, ginger, cinnamon, allspice, cloves, nutmeg, baking soda, and salt then set aside.
- In the bowl of your stand mixer, add browned butter, oil, brown sugar and molasses. Beat on high for about 3 minutes until light and fluffy.
- Next beat the eggs in one at a time and mix until well incorporated. Mix in the vanilla extract.
- Add the flour mixture in three additions, alternating with the buttermilk. Starting and ending with the flour mixture. Mix until just combined, do not over blend!
- Pour into mini bundt pans quite full, just below the top of each well, it should cover the center piece. *These don't rise much so if you don't fill almost to the top you will have a funny looking half of a bundt cake!
- Bake for 25 minutes, until a toothpick in the middle comes out clean.
- Cool for 10 minutes then invert to a cooling rack. If you've sprayed the pan generously these should just fall out.
- If your pan has 6 cakes, respray and repeat to bake the rest of the batter.
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- 1 1/2 cups confectioners sugar
- 3 teaspoons
- real maple syrup or more
- 6-12 teaspoons milk
- Handheld mixer, if you have one
- In a small mixing bowl whisk the confectioners sugar, syrup and milk. Begin with 6 teaspoons of milk and adjust until you have a thick glaze that will also pour down the cake. If you have a handmixer blend until smooth and slightly runny.
- Spoon the icing around the top of the cake and let it run down the sides.
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- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 36 cranberries
- rosemary sprigs
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- To make a simple syrup, in a small pan, heat 1/4 cup sugar and 1/4 cup water until the sugar melts.
- Remove from heat and set aside to cool.
- Place 1/2 cup sugar in a bowl or flat tray.
- Dip the rosemary in the syrup, shake to remove excess syrup or you will get clumps of sugar. Dip the rosemary in the sugar, press to coat. Set the rosemary on the parchment lined tray. Repeat with cranberries, shaking them to remove excess syrup then rolling and pressing them int he sugar.
- Let them dry completely and use to decorate your cakes. Snip smaller pieces of rosemary to decorate the tops of the cakes. Fill the well of the cakes with the cranberries.
- Extra cranberries are a lovely addition to decorate your platter or pop them into a flute of champagne!
Sending you all so much love and blessings for a beautiful Christmas Season!
Wow, that looks amazing โ Happy new Year Barbara!