Saturday, July 4, 2009

Red White and Blue Bundt cake ( Cherry and Blueberry Bundt Cake)

Red White and Blue Bundt Cake

All my synapses and intelligence has been drained in the process of making this bundt cake. I don't have the energy to write anything thoughtful or charming as an introduction. Here are the facts of the day as told now by a very exhausted narrator and one important caveat.

fact 1. Sometime early in the morning, I had a giant box of cherries that my dad had brought home from a big box store. I didn't want them (they were not local or organic). I didn't feel right wasting them.

fact 2. Sometimes my dreams of aesthetic overrides any little common sense I might possess.

fact 3. My husband was busy trying to clean and organize the bills so I was stupidly left to my own devices.

fact 4. We were going to the home of some family friends later in the day, so I thought Belle would love to help me make a cake.

fact 5. Belle's grandfather decided to take her out to the store. When she was out with her grandfather tooling about town, I decided to set up and measure everything so that when she returned all she would have to do is dump the dry ingredients into their bowl and mix dry into wet. (It all seemed very doable at that point.)

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fact 6. I am pregnant and stupid so somehow I didn't forsee the large number of bowl, whisks, spoons, mixers, food processors, counters, andfingers that would need cleaning.

fact 7. By the time the bundt was finished and the dishes were cleaned, I was fairly sure I didn't want to ever think about red, white and blue bundt cake ever again.
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fact 8. It probably would have been so daunting if I hadn't been 9 months pregnant.

fact 9. Belle and J-- thought it was delicious.

And then the caveat: In my recent baking experience, red seems to be somewhat fugitive. The strawberry cupcakes were much less red when baked. This too did not turn out as red as I had envisioned. It is not surprising to me as red natural dyes are the most fugitive of all the natural dyes. So you could use red food coloring, but I decided to just accept that the cake would only have a pale pink set of stripes.

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Recipe
Red White and Blue Bundt cake ( Cherry and Blueberry Bundt Cake)

Start the Red Batter:
In a bowl, combine:
1.5 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp mint
1 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

In the stand mixer:
beat 2 egg whites, remove to another bowl

Beat 2 more egg whites, remove to yet another bowl

In the stand mixered, combine:
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup (2 sticks) butter or margarine, softened

Once the sugar and butter are fluffy add:
2 large eggs yolks
1/2 cup cherry puree
4 oz sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Remove this to another bowl

Then, start the white batter:
n a bowl, combine:
1.5 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp ginger
1 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

In the stand mixered, combine:
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup (2 sticks) butter or margarine, softened

Once the sugar and butter are fluffy add:
2 large eggs yolks
1/2 cup apple sauce
4 oz sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Now, add the red wet mixture to the minty flour and the white wet mixture to the ginger flour, and the fold the egg whites into each batter.

Toss 1/2 cup blueberries with 2 T of flour and 1 T sugar.

Take a deep breath and then assemble.

Put in 1/3 of the white batter, 1/2 the blueberries, 1/2 red batter, 1/3 white batter, 1/2 the blueberries, 1/2 red batter, 1/3 white batter.

Bake 1 hr at 375 cool and glaze.

To make the glaze, combine:
2 heaping T powdered sugar
1 T buttermilk (in 1 t increments) until a think shiny glaze forms.

Drizzle over cooled cake.
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27 comments:

taste traveller said...

I just found your blog & your writing is wonderful!

I'm thinking of adding beet juice to keep my food red, but I like your idea of going pink much better :-)

Fran Z said...

Sounds and looks really good! I swear- you appear to be superwoman! ;-)

eatingclubvancouver_js said...

LOL about the sink shot. Perhaps it's best that we aren't given a too keen sense of forethought, else nothing would get done!

We have cherries, cherries overflowing here and I have no idea what to do with them. Most of them were given by cousins who had trees growing in their backyard. I was thinking of baking them into something but. . .thanks to that telling sink shot, I know how these cherries end. . .;)

Peter M said...

Knockout photos of the Bundt cake...perfect for coffee or with brekkie.

OhioMom said...

Happy 4th of July! The cake looks and sounds delicious, nice to see that someone elses kitchen looks like mine after baking :)

Melissa said...

Thanks for sharing it. I wouldn't want to take on the effort (holy moly look at that sink) and I'm not 9 months pregnant. At least it tasted wonderful!

Anonymous said...

What a Hectic day! Love your bundt cake, make me want to bake one asap. I haven't bake bundt cake for a long time. I don't even know what is my bunt cake pan :p

angela@spinachtiger said...

I think the cake looks pretty good to me. I can't believe I didn't think to make anything red white and blue. My mom made the BEST blueberry pie, but she does it in her head, so I'll never get that recipe!

Anonymous said...

This cake sounds really wonderful with blueberries and cherries inside! A perfect summer treat!

I am super late answering my comments from last week and wanted to make sure that you get my answer on your question about Brazilian coffee - I would use instant espresso instead of Brazilian coffee to get the coffee flavor. Thanks!

Sophie said...

Hey, that looks like my sink :)!

I'm sorry this was so exhausting to make but very happy to hear that it came out quite tasty. I never have luck with fruits coloring baked goods with their natural beautiful colors. I wonder what happens during the baking process that causes them to fade?

Still, very pretty cake. The flavors even sound festive :).

Zoe said...

hah, funny post. It really turned out great despite all the dirty dishes!

Celine said...

I'd much prefer a pink striped cake than a red-food-colouring-coloured one too, and I always feel guilty about wasting food, even when they're not local nor organic. i'm not a stickler for those but the thought of knowingly downing some pesticides is the same as puffing on a stick for me. hope you and your little one got some proper rest. happy belated july 4th! xx

Cynthia said...

Thanks for the tips on the colouring.

Hope you had a good July 4th!

LoveFeast Table said...

I have been often caught between good ideas, dreams, & reality or my belly!! Motherhood, is full out exhausting, but, I think only we mothers realize what is happening to our brains (mush sometimes), the toll of multitasking and thinking, and our dreams of molding a little cake of love in our homes with our little people! Good job, you got it done, it looks fab!! & you posted it! Farther than I get on some days! Cheers to you!! And, good luck with it all! -Chris Ann

Reeni said...

You put the berries to good use! It looks delicious and so festive.

MyKitchenInHalfCups said...

Gadfry woman you have a lot of bowls! But I don't think you're stupid, you'd have to be really smart to do the mis in place for this one and then a genius to assemble it ;)
Hope you're rested now.

we are never full said...

omg, seeing those bowls adding up in your sink is making my stomach sink. as a girl who has lived w/o a dishwasher for almost 10 years, i've finally decided that the new place i move into HAS to have one. the picture of all the bowls in the sink is reminding me that, damn, i've gotta go do some dishes!

Soma said...

The bundt cake shape always makes it more tempting for me.. you have done a lovely thing here, tho i see & hear how:-) the sink looks like mine, after i am done & want to scoot out of the kitchen or even home to a parlor may be;-)or spa.

i just love fruits & berries in my cake .. way better than a creamy goeey one.

Liz said...

I totally understand -- I once tried to make a strawberry cheesecake, and it went into the oven a lovely pink and came out brown! Your bundt cake looks beautiful, and I'm sure it tasted great.

Madam Chow said...

I almost screamed when I saw your sink full of dishes. I had a brunch recently and my whole kitchen looked like that. Shudder.

Dana aka Gluten Free In Cleveland said...

My goodness lady, that is one quality, delicious looking bunt cake. But from all of the work...man, I'd be flat out exhausted, and I'm not even pregnant nor do I have a youngster running around. (Wait, I'm 23...did I just say..youngster?)

I hope you enjoyed it as much as Bella and J did, it truly does look great!

La Cuisine d'Helene said...

I would love to be your neighbor and go grab a piece. Looks so yummy.

lubnakarim06 said...

Oh wow.....the cake looks soft and yum......

Yasmeen said...

looks delicious,never mind the colors,its all-natural that's more important:)

lisaiscooking said...

Dark red or not, it looks delicious! And, I can tell you that I'm not pregnant, but I am forever underestimating how many dirty dishes will result from recipes.

Jacqueline Meldrum said...

Oh poor you! But it did turn out wonderful and raise a smile from me. I am amazed at you stamina!

Chats the Comfy Cook said...

You are ambitious. Great cake.