bundt Archives - ZoëBakes

Chocolate Pumpkin Swirl Bundt Cake

November 2, 2018September 28, 2022 Zoë François 32 Comments

I made this Chocolate Pumpkin Bundt Cake with my friend Andrew Zimmern. You can watch us working pumpkin magic in the kitchen together in the video below.

I recently made a pumpkin pie and roasted several pumpkins and squash, so I have lots of great gourd puree on hand and this is one of my all-time favorite cakes, so I wanted to share it with you.

The chocolate pumpkin bundt cake I made with Andrew has a rather thin line of chocolate streusel and I went for a bolder chocolate layer when I put the recipe in my book, Zoë Bakes Cakes. That is reflected in the recipe and directions below. You can roast your own pumpkin or use canned, either is terrific for this easy and tasty cake.

Cherry Olive Oil Cake

June 24, 2018June 30, 2022 Zoë François 1 Comment

A family friend is Greek and sent me honey from Ikaria. It is a little smoky and tastes of caramel. Bees never cease to amaze me in what they create. I wanted to bake it into a cake and decided to go with other flavors you might find on that Greek island. Olive oil, of course. It is best known for savory dishes, but I think it is beautiful in desserts. I like a fruity oil, but you can use an extra virgin if you don’t want anything too overpowering. Lastly, but not least, cherries. Apparently they abound in Ikaria and they pair beautifully with honey and olive oil, so they were the natural pick. I used sweet cherries in this olive oil cake, but I think sour cherries would be even better and they are in season at the moment. You could use any other fruit you like and add them in the same way.

Chocolate Bundt with White Chocolate-Raspberry Cream

April 22, 2018March 12, 2022 Zoë François 3 Comments

Chocolate Bundt Cake with White Chocolate-Raspberry Cream | Photo by Zoë François

This Nordic Ware Brilliance Bundt Pan is my recent favorite piece of kitchen equipment. It is so elegant and fun. A simple cake baked in it really is worthy of standing alone on a pedestal. However, I decided to gild the lily and add white chocolate raspberry cream to the inside.

It is a perfect party cake (Mother’s Day is coming up or just a Tuesday will do). To create this, you’ll want a cake that has a bit of body to it, so I picked a chocolate cake that was developed especially for the bundt pan from the trusted folks at Bake from Scratch. Then I wanted something creamy and bright in the middle. Adding white chocolate to whipped cream will stabilize it and allow it to keep its shape when cut into slices. To get the flavor of raspberries, without adding a ton of extra liquid to the cream was a challenge, but I think I found a pretty clever solution.

Perfect Lemon Bundt Cake from Sarabeth’s

October 5, 2015March 15, 2022 Zoë François 22 Comments

Perfect Lemon Bundt Cake recipe from Sarabeth's Good Morning cookbook | Photo by Zoë François

There are a few basic recipes you can try in a cookbook to get a sense of the quality of the book. I always go for the banana bread, pound cakes or a classic Bundt. I know they sound too simple to give any indication of a chef’s worth, but the simple recipes are the hardest. They can’t hide behind icing or sauces. If they don’t stand perfect as they are, then chances are the rest of the recipes won’t either.

I recently got a copy of Sarabeth Levine’s newest book, Sarabeth’s Good Morning Cookbook. For those of you who don’t know Sarabeth, she is a pastry chef who has had an acclaimed restaurant in NYC for decades. I first visited Sarabeth’s when I was in high school in the 1980s. My aunt, Melissa, lived in Manhattan and I’d go into the city from Connecticut to visit her. Brunch at Sarabeth’s became our tradition. I remember having a popover and marmalade for the first time and I was in love. Both the popovers and a Mandarin Orange spread are in her cookbook, but I haven’t gotten to them yet.

The lemon Bundt cake is perfect. It is the most delicate texture and rich flavor. I had rather small lemons and wanted it to be an intense flavor, so I added more zest. I also had a chunk of ginger on hand, so I added it to the lemon soaking syrup, but otherwise the recipe is all Sarabeth.