BOOK EXTRACT
FANTASTIC BUNDT CAKES
Three ideas for you to make and share this season, each using very different f lavours, toppings and decor.
Hummingbird bundt
Recipes taken from Bundt by Melanie Johnson, photography by Nassima Rothacker, published by Ebury Press, £28.
SERVES 8
Has a cake ever had a more romantic name? Red velvet is certainly in the running but ‘hummingbird’ conjures images of brightly coloured birds with a tropical backdrop of palm trees and turquoise water. The name has done its job; pineapple and coconut will take you to the island of Jamaica, where the hummingbird cake originated in the 1960s.
For the bundt tin
1tbsp butter
1tbsp plain flour
For the cake
225g (8oz) unsalted butter, melted
200g (7oz) golden caster sugar
3 free-range eggs, beaten
1tbsp vanilla bean paste
225g (8oz) bananas, mashed
200g (7oz) tinned crushed pineapple
65g (2oz) desiccated coconut
225g (8oz) self-raising flour
100g (3½oz) pecans and walnuts, chopped
For the cream cheese frosting
1tsp vanilla bean paste
125g (4½oz) cream cheese
50g (1¾oz) unsalted butter, softened
300g (10½oz) icing sugar, sifted
50ml (1¾fl oz) single cream, or more to loosen
To decorate
2 passion fruit
1 Preheat the oven to 180°C/Gas Mark 4. Melt the butter, then use a pastry brush to brush it evenly over the inside of a 10-hole swirl bundt. tin, being careful to get into every nook and cranny. I find it easier to brush from the base up to prevent any butter pooling. Sift over the flour, moving the pan from side to side to coat it evenly. Turn it upside down and give it a final tap to remove any excess, then set aside.