Honey-Nut Bundt

I know that I am supposed to be making a conscious effort to put more focus on the savoury here at DeliciousDeliciousDelicious, but with today being a Day of Supreme International Importance, I see no way out but to break my self-imposed ban on baking. I think we all knew it wouldn't last long. I certainly did. Welcome back flour, butter, sugar and eggs! How I missed you.

Anyway, you might be wondering what I'm talking about. Well, it's National Bundt Day in America. And I'm making it world-wide. Well why not?

I should first say that I wouldn't have actually known about this if it weren't for The Food Librarian. I follow her blog daily, and she loves Bundts. LOVES them. In a big way. She's been baking a different flavoured Bundt every day in the run up to today, and in all will have made thirty of them. Thirty! I actually think that this lady's dedication to baking and love for cake surpasses even my own. A round of applause for The Food Librarian, if you please.

The Food Librarian loves Hello Kitty, so today's
post features my special thirtieth anniversary plate!
I know, I know... You want one too.

Anyway, I have been inspired. I've tried to make Bundts before and had mixed success. I don't even talk about the botched Hansel and Gretel cottage Bundt, because it's too painful and I'm still not over it. All you need to know is that it was the day before Mr. Other P's birthday, it didn't turn out, and I had to stay up all night making emergency carrot cake in secret. Which was less than fun, I can assure you.

(Isn't that a lovely thought though - emergency carrot cake?)

I may one day try the cottage Bundt again, but have otherwise stuck firmly to my Gugelhupf pan ever since. Luckily, cakes baked in this fella do not follow suit. For that reason, I brought him out today for my Bundt Day Celebrations. What can I say? I wasn't in the mood for failure.

I've been planning to make this all week, and have gone though a million or so different flavour variations in my mind (I'm prone to food day-dreaming), but decided when I got home today to make something that didn't require any shopping. We have over-loaded food shelves, and most of the weight they carry is from my baking stuff, a lot of which need using up. A quick inventory revealed three jars of peanut butter. Three! Nobody needs that many. So I decided to make a peanut butter cake. I also found an open packet of peanuts and a jar of honey that has been hanging around for what seems like forever, and well... It doesn't take a genius to see that that's a killer combination right there.

The trouble with my Gugelhopf pan is that it doesn't seem to be a standard size - a one egg recipe doesn't fill it, and a two egg can overflow. So I just made this up as I went along, which I have to say, has made me feel like a very accomplished baker indeed. If the ingredients look a little unbalanced, it's because I deliberately added quite a lot of flour. To get the shaping from the pan, I think a slightly stiffer cake dough is better. Not that I really know anything about it.

I should confess though that the no-shopping for ingredients rule didn't quite work out. When the cake was in the oven and the smell came wafting into the lounge, I realised that a cake like this wouldn't be complete without a nut brittle topping, so ran out to grab a Mr. Tom from the corner shop. And looking at the cake now, I do think it completes it. I'm adding a photo for the people who don't know what a Mr. Tom is. Isn't it the best packaging you've ever seen? It is.

I ♥ Mr. Tom. He'll never let you down.

We're having friends over for Bundt Day festivities (cake and Scrabble) later today, so I haven't been able to taste this yet. I'll update when I have, but for now I'm left in the torturous position of not being able to eat the delicious smelling cake in my kitchen until everybody comes around. Awful!

Happy (Inter)National Bundt Day!

Update: It was REALLY good. And the people who ate it noted all the flavours without being told, which is always nice. One to make again.

Honey-Nut Bundt

You will need:

125g butter
150g soft brown sugar
2 eggs
200g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
3 heaped tbsp peanut butter
50g salted peanuts, chopped finely
a splash of milk

3 tbsp honey
1 tbsp warm water
75g icing sugar, sifted
1 Mr. Tom bar, or any other peanut brittle

1. Pre-heat the oven to 175°C, and grease your Bundt pan (or a regular 20cm sandwich tin).
2. Cream the butter and sugar, then add the peanut butter and blend thoroughly. Beat in eggs until combined.
3. Sift over dry ingredients, and fold in gently. Add a splash of milk if you think the mixture seems dry, then stir through the nuts.
4. Transfer the batter to the prepared pan, and bake for 30-35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean.
5. Cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool thoroughly.
6. Stir together the honey, icing sugar and water to make a thick glaze. Drizzle over cake.
7. Crush the nut brittle roughly and use to top cake, pressing the pieces of brittle into the glaze to help them stick.