During the hot months of summer, I made sure to put our berries to good use, one of which was this berry-packed bundt cake. It’s one of those perfect cakes, where there’s actually more berry than cake, the cake itself is moist and flavourful, thanks to all the lemon zest, and where the glaze adds a punch of tart sweetness. This cake can be used with any fruit, but I used a combo of cherries and blueberries.
Not much else to say about this one…it’s a great bundt, and versatile and easy!

Blueberry-Cherry Buttermilk Bundt
adapted from Smitten Kitchen

CAKE
2 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon fine sea salt or table salt
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
Zest of 1 lemon
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup buttermilk
3-4 cups mixed berries (I used cherries and blueberries this time)

GLAZE
2 cups (240 grams) powdered or confections’ sugar
Juice of 1-2 lemons
1 tablespoon (15 grams) unsalted butter, very, very soft
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Generously grease a 10-cup Bundt pan, either with butter or a nonstick spray. Set aside.

1. In a medium bowl, mix 2 1/2 cups flour (leaving 2 tablespoons back), baking powder and salt together and set aside.

2. In a large bowl, add the sugar and lemon zest. Rub the lemon zest into the sugar with your fingers, until it becomes fragrant. Add the butter to the sugar and cream together until it is light and fluffy (between 3 and 5 minutes)

3. Turn the mixer down to low and add the eggs one at a time. Scrape down the bowl after each egg addition. Beat in the vanilla.

4. Add 1/3 of the flour mixture to the batter, beating only until just combined. Add half of the buttermilk, and then another 1/3 of the flour mixture, and then the remaining buttermilk and the remaining flour mixture.

5. Toss the berries in a bowl with the 2 tablespoons of flour. Gently fold the berries into the cake batter.

6. Spread cake batter into the prepared baking pan.

7. Bake for 55 to 60 minutes, or until a test comes out clean.

8. Set cake pan on a wire rack and cool for 30 minutes. Remove cake from pan and cool completely.

9. Once cool, whisk together the powdered sugar and butter. Add lemon juice slowly, until it reaches the consistency you like (it can go from a glaze to a straight up frosting, whatever you prefer!) Spread or pour over top of cake and serve.

These muffins are seriously yummy. I ate about 8 of them, and could’ve just kept going and going and going; I`m sorry I didn’t double the recipe and put a dozen in the freezer for a rainy day!

And what’s not to love? These muffins are packed with banana flavor, better than any banana bread or muffin that I’ve ever had in that regard. There is no doubt that you’re eating banana with these babies! What else do I love? The big chunks of dark, dark chocolate, balancing out the sweetness of the banana and the bits of toffee I had tossed in the batter. They are moist, not too heavy and great for breakfast, snack or dessert (I ate about 8 of them, at all points during the day, so I’m pretty sure about that!)

Banana Chocolate Chunk Toffee Muffins
adapted from Food Network

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 1/4 cups mashed bananas (about 2-3 bananas) (I never mash mine to a smooth mash – I like a few banana chunks in my muffins)
1 large egg
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1/4 cup whole milk
5 ounces coarsely chopped dark chocolate
5 ounces toffee bits, Skor bits, any bits!

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners.

2. In a large bowl, mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt.

3. In a separate mixing bowl, combine the mashed bananas, egg, melted butter and milk until incorporated.

4. Stir the banana mixture into the dry ingredients just until blended (IMPORTANT! Do not over-mix as it could result in a tough muffin). Stir in the chopped chocolate and toffee bits.

5. Divide the batter among the prepared muffin cups, filling each about 3/4 full.

6. Bake the muffins until the tops are pale golden and a tester inserted into the center comes out with some melted chocolate attached but no crumbs, about 30 minutes.

7. Transfer the muffins to rack to cool for 15 minutes. Then remove from the muffin tins.

I feel so bad that all my recent photos are so unattractively lit. I am doing the best I can with the type of light I get in my house during these winter months, but it really isn’t good enough. I should build myself a lightbox, or just do all my baking or cooking on bright Saturday afternoons. At least I’m somewhat comforted by the fact that we have about 30 more days left of this early darkness.

This tropical cheesecake lets in a little warmth and light into the kitchen though! Even in the dark, cold winter, the cake lets you have a badly-needed taste of the tropics. I made this for my mother’s birthday at the end of January. I wanted to remind everyone that it can’t be winter all the time, and because my parents were heading off in a few days to sunny Mexico, so why not have a preemptive taste of it?

This cheesecake is perfect in every way. Even Soli loved it, claiming it to be one of his favourite cakes, and he is not one of those cheesecake people. The filling uses plenty of cream cheese, and a whole can of coconut cream, not to be confused with coconut milk. Coconut cream is about $4 more expensive, and is a thick, amazingly sweet more condensed version of coconut milk. I could’ve sat down with the can and a spoon and been happy! I didn’t add any coconut to the filling, as I wanted a smoother texture, but I added extra coconut to the crust, and toasted up some more to sprinkle on the top before serving. All in all, the cake wasn’t at all overly coconuty, and it was in fact an understated flavor. I am happy I didn’t use sweetened coconut. The buttery graham cracker crust was heavenly.

The roasted pineapple I made and spooned on top before serving was a perfect touch and shouldn’t be skipped! I got the basic idea from the Bon Appetit: Desserts cookbook, and while some online reviews said this topping was cloyingly sweet, I didn’t find that at all! I did reduce the sugar and not use any rum, so the true sweetness of the pineapple popped out, and it was a juicy, light touch to an otherwise pretty rich dessert. Also, I definitely recommend buying a fresh pineapple and roasting that…don’t try to cheat using the canned ones!

In the end, this was a perfect cheesecake and a great taste of the tropics for a birthday cake in January.

Coconut Cheesecake with Honey-Roasted Pineapple
Adapted from Food Network and Bon Appetit: Desserts

COCONUT CHEESECAKE
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
2 cups usweetened shredded coconut, toasted
1 tablespoon fresh squeezed lemon juice
2 pounds cream cheese, room temperature (4 8-0z packages, I used 2 regular and 2 light)
4 large eggs
3/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup unsalted butter melted
1 15oz can cream of coconut (such as Coco Lopez)
1 cup whipping cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Juice of 1 lemon

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Wrap outside of 9 inch diameter springform pan with with foil.

2. For the crust, mix graham cracker crumbs, 1 1/2 cups coconut, 1 tablespoon lemon juice and butter in small bowl. Press mixture onto bottom and up sides of pan.

3. For the filling, beat cream cheese and sugar in large bowl until well blended.

4. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add cream of coconut, cream, vanilla extract and lemon juice and beat until well blended.

5. Pour filling into crust. Bake until puffed and set in center, about 1 hour 25 minutes. Transfer to rack and cool completely. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

6. Cut around pan sides to loosen cake. Remove pan sides.

7. Sprinkle remaining coconut around edge of cake and top each slice with some honey-roasted pineapple.

HONEY-ROASTED PINEAPPLE
1 extra-sweet pineapple, peeled, cut into 1/2-inch-thick rounds, cored
1 cup water
1/4 cup honey
2 tablespoons dark rum (optional; I did not use this)

1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Place pineapple rings on large rimmed baking sheet.

2. Boil remaining ingredients in small saucepan 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.

3. Pour syrup over pineapple. Roast pineapple 12 minutes. Turn rings over; roast until tender and syrup thickens, turning rings every 5 minutes, about 20 minutes longer.

4. Cool pineapple on sheet. Cut into 1/3-inch cubes; transfer pineapple and syrup to bowl. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Chill.)

Way, way back, when Tuesdays with Dorie first started, I was a member and baked along with everyone else. However, it soon became a little daunting and quite costly, both in the monetary sense and the calorie-count sense, as we were baking something every week. I stopped baking along after some time, though I continued to follow the blog and everyone else’s creations.

For Christmas, I received the Baking with Julia cookbook. Imagine how happy I was when I read that the new Tuesdays with Dorie group was not only beginning to bake from this book, but that the rules had relaxed, and now members only had to bake a selected recipe every two weeks. Not only that, but this cookbook is a bit more lenient on the waistline, as the cookbook is not only a slew of desserts, but also includes many bread recipes, which I wanted to get more experience baking anyway! All in all, this is a perfect situation for me, and I am excited to be involved with the group and to have something to motivate me to bake regularly!

I loved the first recipe we baked: White Loaves. It’s a great way to start, as it’s a simple, easy enough, plain bread. Making these loaves reminded me just how easy it actually is to bake bread. Granted, it is a bit time consuming, so you are sort of stuck in the house while the dough rises and then rises again, but if you’re planning on being home anyway, why not bake a couple of loaves of bread?

These white loaves are definitely easy, and call for few ingredients. It seems a lot of people were fancying them up, adding cheese and cinnamon swirls and other delicious things. I decided to start off simply, and just make the bread the way the book tells me the make the bread, and see how that goes before going all creative. I ended up with two loaves of amazing white bread, perfectly risen, with a slightly crispy, slightly buttery crust. I enjoyed eating slices just as is, nothing gspread on, not toasted, nothing! I can only imagine cheese or cinnamon swirls would’ve made this bread even more closer to perfection.

The only “problems” I had was with my standmixer and the baking time for my first loaf. The recipe makes enough dough for two loaves, but my mixer couldn’t quite handle all that dough! While it was “kneading” the dough, the hook kept getting stuck and stalling, so I ended up taking out half the dough, putting it aside while the machine kneaded the other half. I kneaded the put-aside dough, then switched…it was a long process, but I think it ended up working out, because the loaves had the ideal texture, density, crumb, everything!

The second (slight) problem was that my first loaf wasn’t baked all the way through. I couldn’t help but cut into it about 30 minutes out of the oven, and I saw its middle was definitely underbaked. I popped it back in the oven (as my 2nd loaf was still baking), and baked for another 10 minutes. Then it was fine. I also added 10 minutes to the 2nd loaf, and it came out wonderfully baked.

I’m not only looking forward to continuing to bake with the Tuesdays with Dorie group, but I am also excited to keep making this bread recipe. Nothing beats a simple bread, baked right!

For the recipe, check out the hosts’ page, Laurie’s blog slush or Jules’ blog Someone’s in the Kitchen, or better yet, buy the book, Baking with Julia!

I had been craving a batch of chocolately homemade cookies for quite some time. Unbelievably, I don’t think I’ve made any cookies since the summer, so the craving turned into obsession and I could no longer ignore it. I flipped through the big, fat and beautiful Bon Appetit: Desserts, looking for a cookie recipe I’ve never tried and that didn’t have any ingredients I didn’t already have in the house. The winner was the Chocolate Toffee Cookies, which I adapted into what is now Chocolate-Cinnamon Caramel Cookies.

I made a few changes to the cookies. We fortunately had a little bottle of rum we had been sipping from that evening, so I splashed the 1 tablespoon of rum the recipe called for in the batter. When I turned my back, Soli generously threw in another tablespoon or so more. This made for a definite hit of rum with every cookie…I was actually a bit nervous eating one of these things for breakfast (What? I know everyone eats cookies for breakfast sometimes!).

I didn’t have any Skor or Heath bars, but I did have these super tiny chocolate-covered caramel cup chips…I can’t really think of a better way to describe them. They were a great addition, I think! The cookies didn’t have that crunch that I’m sure the Heath bar would’ve given it, but were instead studded with soft pockets of sweet, luscious caramel and dark chocolate. I didn’t add the nuts either, so the cookies were soft and moist the whole way through, with a slightly crispy edge. The texture was just amazing, and I don’t know if I would’ve even wanted any crunches to disrupt that.

The last thing I did differently, and that I wholeheartedly recommend, is adding a little bit of cinnamon to the cookies. I didn’t add so much that the cinnamon became a dominant flavor; in fact, some people who tried the cookie couldn’t quite place what it was they were tasting. I thought it pushed the cookie over the edge, making it change from super-great cookie to a super-great-amazing-favourite-cookie-ever. How can a soft, tender chocolate, cookie, filled with caramel and hints of rum and cinnamon be anything short of perfection?

Chocolate-Cinnamon Caramel Cookies
adapted from Bon Appetit: Desserts

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
1 large egg
2 tablespoons dark rum
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups mini chocolate covered caramels (the original recipe calls for crushed chocolate-covered English toffee, such as Heath, Skor bar; about 7 ounces)
1/2 cup chopped almonds (optional; I did not add any nuts this time)

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Beat the butter and the sugar until light and fluffy.

3. Add the egg, the rum and the vanilla and beat again, until everything is blended together.

4. In a small bowl, combine the flour, cocoa, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Stir the dry ingredients into the butter mixture.

5. Stir in the chocolates or toffee and nuts, if using.

6. In large spoonfuls, drop batter into an ungreased baking sheet about two inches apart. Bake for about 10-12 minutes, or until the cookies start cracking on top but are still soft.

7. Let them cool on the baking sheet for 1 minute, then place the cookies in a rack to cool completely.

Makes about 3 dozen cookies

I made Ina Garten’s chipotle and rosemary roasted nuts for Christmas after seeing the recipe in December’s Food Network magazine. The instant I saw the recipe, I was drawn to it, and saved it in the back of mind for Christmas. This was a perfect Christmas recipe for this year…we moved on December 17th, which is really a terrible time when it comes to being able to cook or bake for Christmas. Everything was a mess, my cutlery went missing for about 2 weeks, and we have a new gas stove that I had no idea to work, so even if I had had baking pans and flour readily available, I would still be hesitant to make any cookies or cakes. I was willing to give a panful of roasted nuts a try though!

I did use the same amount of nuts and “dressing” as the recipe states, though I upped the cashews, walnuts and almonds and skipped out on using the pecans. The cashews I used where not roasted. Finally, I couldn’t find our maple syrup (you think everything is so organized when you pack it, but when 8 boxes of canned/bottled foods are staring you down to be unpacked, you realize you could’ve done a much, much better job!), so I used honey instead.

In the end, these turned out really well. I am not a massive nut-fan (I think because I grew up never really eating nuts, as I was allergic to peanuts), but these were fun to snack on, especially when accompanied with chunks of old cheddar cheese. I adore the salty/sweet flavor combo, and the orange adds a fun brightness to the whole thing. I didn’t find them spicy at all, and would actually probably add some cayenne to the mix next time. They were definitely a good Christmas dish, and the recipe makes a ton. The nuts do like to really stick together though, so be prepared to have to stab at them a little to knock a few nuts loose.

One big change I made was follow some of the reviewers’ advice and reduced the heat from 350 degrees to 300 degrees and watched them carefully after about 20 minutes. It did take a little bit longer, but they certainly weren’t burnt!

Chipotle and Rosemary Roasted Nuts
Adapted from Ina Garten

Vegetable oil
3 cups whole roasted unsalted cashews (14 ounces)
2 cups whole walnut halves (7 ounces)
2 cups whole pecan halves (7 ounces) (I skipped these and just used more of the other nuts)
1/2 cup whole almonds (3 ounces)
1/3 cup pure maple syrup (I used honey instead)
1/4 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
3 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice
2 teaspoons ground chipotle powder
4 tablespoons minced fresh rosemary leaves
Kosher salt

1. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Brush a sheet pan generously with vegetable oil. Combine the cashews, walnuts, pecans, almonds, 2 tablespoons of the vegetable oil, the maple syrup, brown sugar, orange juice and chipotle powder on the sheet pan; toss to coat.

2. Add 2 tablespoons of the rosemary and 2 teaspoons of salt and toss again.

3. Spread the nuts in one layer. (I needed to use two cookie sheets)

4. Roast for 25 minutes, stirring twice with a large metal spatula, until the nuts are glazed and golden brown. Bake longer if they don’t seem finished, keeping a close eye on them.

5. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with 2 more teaspoons of salt and the remaining 2 tablespoons of rosemary. Toss well and set aside at room temperature, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking as they cool. Taste for seasoning.

Serve warm or cool completely and store in airtight containers at room temperature for up to a week.

A lot of people just adore crème brûlée. They see it on a dessert menu, and they just have got to get it. I am not one of those people. In fact, I think I’ve probably eaten crème brûlée just a few times, and this was my first time making it.

I followed the recipe exactly, and didn’t attempt adding any other flavours. Unfortunately, it didn’t work out for the best. The taste was great – rich, creamy, sweet..almost heavenly. However, they never set and it was almost pure liquid under the hard sugar layer. I read around on the internet and found that many people had a very similar problem with this recipe, so if you do decide to make this, adjust the temperature! I did bake them for longer, but it still didn’t work out. Like I said though, the flavour was all there…just the consistency wasn’t.

Crème Brûlée
from Dorie Greenspan’s Baking: From My Home to Yours

1 ¼ cups heavy cream
½ cup whole milk
3 large egg yolks
1 / 3 cup sugar
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
About 6 tablespoons sugar or sifted light brown sugar, for topping

1. Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 200ºF/ 93ºC.

2. Put the six baking dishes on a baking sheet lined with parchment or a silicone mat.

3. Bring the cream and milk just to a boil.

4. In a 1 or 2-quart glass measuring cup or in a medium bowl, whisk the egg yolks, sugar and vanilla together until well blended but not airy. Still whisking, drizzle in about one quarter of the hot liquid—this will temper, or warm, the yolks so they won’t curdle. Whisking all the while, slowly pour in the remainder of the cream and milk. Give the bowl a good rap against the counter to de-bubble the custard, then strain it into the baking dishes.
Bake the custards for 50 to 60 minutes, or until the centers are set—tap the sides of the dishes, and the custards should hold firm. Lift the dishes onto a cooling rack and let the custards cool until they reach room temperature.

5. Cover each custard with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 3 hours, preferably longer. (The custards can be kept covered in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.) For the sugar to be successfully caramelized, the custards need to be thoroughly chilled.

SERVING
Serve the crème brûlée when the crème is really cold and the brûlée is still warm. You can serve the whole dessert chilled, but the sugar topping won’t have its characteristic crackle. And while I think crème brûlée should be served with nothing more then a spoon, you could offer berries and cookies as accompaniments.

STORING
The custard for crème brûlée must be made ahead so it has plenty of time to chill, but once you’ve caramelized the sugar on top, your storage time is over if your want the sugar to have crunch.

Just a few of my favourite dessert things: Coffee cakes. Chocolate and orange combinations. Cinnamon and pecan streusels. It’s pretty obvious that I would love this coffee cake, which has exactly everything I love!

First, the cake itself. Cakes that contain sour cream are notoriously moister, more tender, more delicious. All very true for this cake! Next, the streusel. It’s got cinnamon, it’s got chocolate, it’s got pecans, and the cake has two streusel layers! One runs through the centre of the cake, and the top of the cake gets all crunchy from the layer on top. I believe there is no such thing as too much streseul. Finally, the chocolate-orange flavor combo. Neither the chocolate or the orange is predominant. The only chocolate is in the streusel, and the only orange is the orange juice and rind in the cake. They’re there, subtly, and I love it. I did add a bit of extra rind in the streusel, just because I do love orange and chocolate together.

It makes for a wonderful morning cake with coffee, so if you’re looking for a cake to serve during the holidays at a breakfast or brunch, this is an ideal choice. I was thinking that it would be the perfect cake to use one of those Terry’s chocolate oranges (the dark chocolate one though, not the milk – to sweet!) in. I think I may just have to make this cake again….

Sour Cream-Orange Coffee Cake with Chocolate-Pecan Streusel
from Bon Appetit

CHOCOLATE-PECAN STREUSEL
1 1/2 cups (packed) golden brown sugar
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) chilled salted butter, diced
1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped pecans
1 cup (6 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips

SOUR CREAM ORANGE COFFEECAKE
3 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/3 cups sugar
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) salted butter, room temperature
3 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons grated orange peel
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups sour cream
1/4 cup orange juice

STREUSEL
1. Whisk brown sugar and cinnamon in medium bowl to blend.
2. Add butter and rub in with fingertips until mixture holds together in small, moist clumps.
3. Mix in pecans and chocolate chips. (Can be made up to 3 days ahead. Cover and refrigerate.)

CAKE
1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter and flour 13x9x2-inch metal baking pan.
2. Sift flour, baking soda, and baking powder into medium bowl. Using electric mixer, beat sugar and butter in large bowl until blended and smooth.
3. Beat in eggs 1 at a time, then orange peel and vanilla extract.
4. Mix in flour mixture in 4 additions alternately with sour cream in 3 additions.
5. Mix in orange juice.
6. Spread half of batter in prepared pan. Sprinkle with half of streusel.
7. Drop remaining batter over by heaping tablespoonfuls; carefully spread batter to make even layer.
8. Sprinkle with remaining streusel.
9. Bake cake 30 minutes.
10. Lay sheet of foil loosely over pan to keep topping from browning too quickly. Continue baking until tester inserted into center of cake comes out clean, about 35 minutes longer.
11. Remove foil. Cool cake in pan on rack 20 minutes. Dust with powdered sugar; serve warm or at room temperature. (Can be made 2 days ahead. Cool completely. Store airtight at room temperature.)

Oh, and I got a visit from The Fairy Hobmother, from Appliances Online today, whose job it is to spread joy among the internet bloggers. A while back, I left a comment on one of Grace’s awesome posts, and today I got my visit, which resulted in a wonderful Amazon voucher (considering how close the holidays actually are, this is a great thing)!

And if you leave a comment on this post, the Fairy Hobmother might just be visiting you next!

Happy National Bundt Day!!!

One of my favourite food blogs, The Food Librarian, takes on the daunting task of preparing a bundt a day for the month (check out the aptly named “I Like Big Bundts” pages!) leading up to National Bundt Day. Needless to say, I wish I worked in her place of employment! Whenever I’m looking for a bundt cake to make, I always check out her blog first, and her countless number of bundt recipes. Last year, I made a lemon bundt cake. This year, to celebrate National Bundt Day, however, I went with a bundt from Baked’s cookbook, the chocolate root beer bundt cake.

I wish the photos captured this cake better; now that it’s daylight savings, I no longer have the joy of natural daylight during the week to take photos in. Add to that the fact that chocolate cakes are already pretty hard to photograph…and you’re left with this dark brown chocolate blob of a cake. It really is a tasty cake though! I can’t say that the root beer adds any flavor to it; it pretty much is just a rich, deep, moist, decadent chocolate cake with an enormous layer of smooth, fantastically chocolatey frosting. This is one powerful chocolate cake, and the perfect cake to celebrate National Bundt Day with.

Chocolate Root Beer Bundt Cake
From Baked: New Frontiers In Baking

CAKE
2 cups root beer (do not use diet root beer)
1 cup dark unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs

FROSTING
2 ounces dark chocolate (60% cacao), melted and cooled slightly
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1 teaspoons salt
1/4 cup root beer
2/3 cup dark unsweetened cocoa powder
2 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar

CAKE
1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Generously spray the inside of a 10-inch bundt pan with nonstick cooking spray; alternatively, butter it, dust with flour, and knock out the excess flour.

2. In a small saucepan, heat the root beer, cocoa powder, and butter over medium heat until the butter is melted. Add the sugars and whisk until dissolved. Remove from the heat and let cool.

3. In a large bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt together.

4. In a small bowl, whisk the eggs until just beaten, then whisk them into the cooled cocoa mixture until combined. Gently fold the flour mixture into the cocoa mixture. The batter will be slightly lumpy–do not overbeat, as it could cause the cake to be tough.

5. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 35 to 40 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through the baking time, until a small sharp knife inserted into the cake comes out clean. Transfer the pan to a wire rack to cool completely. Gently loosen the sides of the cake from the pan and turn it out onto the rack.

FROSTING
1. Put all the ingredients in a food processor. Pulse in short bursts until the frosting is shiny and smooth.

2. Use a spatula to spread the fudge frosting over the crown of the Bundt in a thick layer. Let the frosting set before serving.

I am definitely a quickbread fan! While banana bread will always be at the top of my list, I am open to pretty much any sweet bread. The last bread I made was a rather mild-tasting, not too sweet, walnut-date bread. It has all the qualities of a banana-nut bread, but with a taste similar to date squares. It’s a great breakfast bread, and I loved toasting a slice and smearing it with some creamy brie. Because the bread isn’t (surprisingly, considering all the sugars in it) that sweet, it’s prefect with all sorts of cheeses!

I love the chunks of date in it, as well as the crunch of the candied walnuts. And one of my favourite parts? This bread is made in only one pot! If you’re looking for something a bit different from the usual banana bread, give this one a try!

Walnut-Date Bread
adapted from Honest Cooking

250g pitted dates
1 cup water
60g unsalted butter
180g granulated sugar
2 tablespoons corn syrup
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 eggs, beaten
180g plain flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
cup candied walnuts, chopped

1. Preheat the oven to 170°C. Butter 4 small loaf tins or 1 standard loaf pan.

2. Place dates in a saucepan with water and bring to the boil, then decrease heat to low and simmer for 3-4 minutes until all the liquid has absorbed and the dates are mushy. Mash to break up any big pieces, then add the butter, sugar and golden syrup. Stir until the butter has melted, then remove from the heat and stir the baking soda into the hot mixture.

3. Cool slightly, then stir in the egg.

4. Fold in the flour and baking powder, then the candied walnuts.

5. Spread the batter into the pan. Bake for 30 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Cool slightly in the pan, then turn out onto a rack to cool completely.