Spiced Mulled Wine Bundt

Carrot and banana Bundt cake

Chocolate, Cranberry and Ginger Bundt Cake

Chocolate Orange Bundt Cake - O is for...Orange

Chocolate Orange Bundt Cake

Oranges became popular in the USA in the 1880s with the expansion of the railway system. This meant that oranges from California and Florida could be transported around the country and the tradition of having fruit in the bottom of your stocking began. This idea was not a new one though and for its origins we have to return back to St. Nicholas. When he was still a lowly Bishop he heard of a poor man with three daughters. They were unable to marry as their father could not afford the marriage dowries. The next night Nicholas decided to find the poor man's house and drop three bags of gold down the chimney. The three daughters had hung their stockings by the fire in order to dry them after being out in the freezing snow all day. The bags of gold happened to land in each of the three daughters' stockings and then turned into balls of gold. In religious icons and paintings St. Nicholas is often pictured with three balls of gold or symbolized by three oranges.

Although the tradition of putting an orange, clementine, tangerine or satsuma in the bottom of a child's stocking may not be so popular today oranges are still used in a symbolic context in Christingle services. Since 1968 The Children's Society has been organizing Christingle church services. The orange given to each child symbolizes the world. The red ribbon round the orange is the blood of Jesus, the four cocktail sticks with sweets and dried fruit the four seasons and the candle or glow stick the light of Christ.

As an alternative Christmas cake for a Clandestine Cake Club meeting I made a Chocolate Orange Bundt cake. The idea was to replicate the flavour of a well-known brand of chocolate oranges that are always on sale at this time of year. If you are a bit unsure of making a Bundt cake do try this one as it is one of the easiest recipes to make.

Equipment: 10-cup/26cm Bundt tin, electric whisk.

Ingredients

6oz (175g) Plain flour

1 tbsp (15ml) Baking powder

6oz (175g) Unsalted butter, softened or baking spread

6oz (175g) Caster sugar

3 Large eggs, beaten

1 tsp (5ml) Orange extract

2 tbsp (30ml) Cocoa

2 tbsp (30ml) Milk

Icing

2½oz (70g) Icing sugar, sifted

1 tbsp (15ml) Cocoa

1 tbsp (15ml) Water

½ tsp (2.5ml) Orange extract

Method

1. Prepare the Bundt tin by greasing it and then shaking flour around it. Tip out the excess.

2. Pre-heat the oven to 160°C/Gas mark 3.

3. In a large bowl sift together the flour and baking powder. Add the butter, sugar, eggs and orange extract and beat well using an electric whisk.

4. Mix the cocoa and milk together and stir it into the mixture.

5. Spoon the mixture into the tin. Bake for 45 minutes until a skewer comes out clean.

6. Leave in the tin for 10 minutes before turning out to cool on a wire rack to cool completely.

7. Once cooled mix the icing sugar, cocoa, water and orange together. Beat well until the icing is smooth. Spread over the cake and leave to set.

Fruit Cocktail Bundt Cake

Fruit Cocktail Bundt Cake

Lemon and Ricotta Bundt Cake

Lemon and Ricotta Bundt Cake

This recipe came about through three things:

1. I had a lovely new Nordic Ware Bavaria Bundt tin (purchased with vouchers I got through doing the weekly shopping = canny Ness).

2. I had some lemons in the fridge which were beginning to look sadder and sadder and as such they refused to have their photograph taken.

3. I bought this tub of ricotta cheese for a silly price and it had to be used straight away!

The outcome of this is a lovely, zesty cake. Just like the snow I prefer a light dusting of icing. However, you may like more of a drift on your cake. The addition of the ricotta does make it a very moist cake so a little more icing sugar than normal can be tolerated.

Equipment: 10 cup Bundt tin/pan, electric whisk.

Ingredients

9oz (250g) Unsalted butter, softened or baking spread

8oz (225g) Caster sugar

2 Lemons, zest and juice separated

4 Large eggs, separated

250g tub Ricotta, drained of any excess liquid

10½ oz (300g) Plain flour, sifted

2oz (50g) Ground almonds

1½ tsp (7.5ml) Baking powder

Icing sugar to dust

Method

1. Prepare the Bundt tin by greasing it and then dusting it with flour. Tap out the excess.

2. Pre-heat the oven to 180°C/Gas mark 5.

3. Cream the butter and sugar together then beat in the lemon zest.

4. Beat in the egg yolks one by one, adding a little flour after each addition.

5. Add the ricotta and stir in.

6. In a separate bowl whisk the egg whites until they form peaks – they don't need to be 'meringue' peaks. Leave to one side.

7. Add the lemon juice to the original mixture and fold in the flour, almonds and baking powder.

8. Finally, carefully fold in the egg whites.

9. Spoon the batter into the tin, making sure it goes into all the grooves of the pattern.

10. Bake for about 50 minutes until a skewer comes out clean.

11. Leave to cool completely in the tin.

12. Once cool dust with icing sugar.

Chocolate Cola Bundt Cake

Chocolate and Cola Bundt Cake

My regular attendance at Clandestine Cake Club meetings provides me with a constant source of inspiration for making different kinds of cake. This Chocolate Cola Bundt Cake was made for the theme of 'Cocktails and Mocktails'. My daughter often attends the meetings with me and she always likes to do some kind of chocolate cake. Since we weren't going down the alcoholic route we required something different to mix our chocolate with. For a treat my daughter likes a drink of cola so this became our cocktail combination.

There are several recipes for Chocolate Cola Cake on the internet and this is probably a combination of all of them. The actual cola used in the cake was the famous brand one but I used their caffeine-free version. I have seen reports of different cola giving different results but as you can see this one worked fine. The icing topping I used is one I have put together myself. It's very light and not big on quantity as I don't like icing to overwhelm a cake.

I've used a Bundt tin to cook it in as I think Bundt tins are the cocktail glass of the baking world – anything looks good in them. If you want to know how good it tastes I was left with just the one slice at the end of the afternoon and a request for the recipe. In the middle there are six giant cola bottle sweets (Wilkinson's pic'n'mix if you're asking) – 2 each of plain cola, fizzy cola and cherry cola. If fancy turning it it into more of a 'Cola Float' try using marshmallows instead.

Equipment: 10 cup or 26cm Bundt tin/pan.

Ingredients

7 fl oz (200ml) Cola

4½ oz (125g) Unsalted butter, diced

¾ tsp (3.75ml) Bicarbonate of soda

9oz (250g) Self raising flour

½ oz (10g) Cocoa

10½ oz (300g) Golden caster sugar

2 Large eggs

4½ fl oz (125ml) Low fat natural yoghurt

1 tsp (5ml) Vanilla extract

Topping

2½ oz (70g) Icing sugar

1 tbsp (15ml) Cocoa

1 tbsp (15ml) Cola

Method

1. Prepare the tin by greasing it and then shaking flour round it. Tap out the excess flour.

2. In a saucepan pour the cola in and then add the butter. Gently heat it until the butter has melted. 
3. Bring the mixture to the boil and then add the bicarbonate of soda. This will fizz up. Stir it together and then leave to cool.

4. Pre-heat the oven to 190°C/Gas mark 5.

5. In a large bowl sift together the flour and cocoa. Add the sugar and then the cola mixture and beat well.

6. In a small bowl beat together the eggs, yoghurt and vanilla extract. Add this to the other mixture beat well until it is all combined.

7. Spoon the cake batter into the tin. To get rid of any air bubbles from the bicarbonate of soda or cola tap the tin a couple of times.

8. Bake for 35 minutes until a skewer comes out clean. Leave for 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

9. For the icing put the icing sugar, cocoa and cola in a bowl and beat well. Add extra icing sugar if it is too runny or a little bit more cola if it is too thick.

10. Drizzle over the cooled cake and leave to set. Add any other decorations.