Have you ever dreamed of taking an adventure in an exotic land? Would you embrace it, or would you take the first plane back home and vow never to do it again? This month, Lara of Tartacadabra chose One Thousand and One Nights for our #BundtBakers theme. I’m not even going to lie to you; this cake theme stumped me up until the very last minute. My exotic land adventures tend to revolve more around tropical islands than Middle-Eastern climates, so choosing a flavor combination for this month’s Bundt cake was truly a challenge for me.
I often discuss with B.O.B. Bob my desire to visit foreign locations. Heck, if I’m being honest it’s not so much of a discussion as it is me voicing my desires to just go somewhere beautiful to get a decent few nights sleep away from Brenna. Oddly enough, the Middle-Eastern countries have never made my bucket list. They don’t speak to my soul. I’m not trying to show them any hate or disrespect with that statement, I’m just voicing my heart’s desire. When thinking of the places you desire most to visit in your too short lifetime, you should feel your heart being pulled to those locations. Not only should you want to travel to a place, but also you should have a strong need to travel there. If not, why not just stay at home and watch a show about it on the travel channel?
The places that most call to my soul vary; Scotland is pretty high up on the list. Every time I wake up to an overly foggy, wet, dank, and dreary day, I feel that I was definitely born in the wrong country. I am the girl that can’t help but tap her foot to a fiddle or feel like her breath is being taken away by the weeping call of the bagpipes. There is no need for me to travel there to know for certain that I will fall in love and want to immediately make it my home. Of course, I’ll still need to visit places like Hawaii or Grenada to get my fill of sunshine, and destinations such as Italy and France to enjoy every food delight I could possibly imagine, but as far as traveling to the Middle-East, a slice of this cake for breakfast will just have to suffice. I’ve got other places I need to go first. Where does your heart yearn to take an adventure?
Ingredients:
Cake Batter:
- 2 1/4 Cups All-Purpose Flour
- 1 1/4 Teaspoons Baking Soda
- 1 1/4 Teaspoons Baking Powder
- 1 Teaspoon Kosher Salt
- 1 Teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
- 8 Tablespoon Unsalted Butter, Room Temperature
- 2 Tablespoons Coconut Oil, Room Temperature
- 1 Cup Granulated Sugar
- 2 Tablespoons Light Brown Sugar, Packed
- Zest of 1 Lemon
- 4 Eggs
- 1 Tablespoon + 1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 1 1/4 Cups Sour Cream
Filling:
- 1 (8-oz.) Package Cream Cheese
- 2 Tablespoons Granulated Sugar
- 2 Tablespoons Light Brown Sugar, Packed
- 4 Teaspoons Lemon Juice
- 1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 1/4 Cup Cake Batter
- 1 (6-oz.) Bag Dried Apricots, Finely Chopped
Honey Almond Topping:
- 2 Tablespoons Honey
- 1 Tablespoon Unsalted Butter
- 1/4 Teaspoon Kosher Salt
- 1/4 Teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
- 1 Cup Sliced Almonds
Cake Assembly:
- 1/2 Cup Apricot Preserves
Directions:
Cake Batter:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon; set aside.
- Cream the butter, coconut oil, sugars, and lemon zest for 3 minutes on medium speed in a large mixing bowl.
- Add each egg one at a time, mixing 30 seconds after each one.
- Add the vanilla extract; mix for 1 minute.
- On low speed add 1/3 of the flour to the wet ingredients, mixing until just incorporated.
- Add half of the sour cream and mix until just incorporated.
- Repeat with the remaining flour and sour cream.
- Reserve 1 1/2-cups of the cake batter for later use.
Filling:
- On medium speed, cream the butter and sugars for 2 minutes.
- Add the lemon juice; mix for 1 minute.
- Add the vanilla; mix for 1 minute.
- Fold 1/4-cup of the reserved cake batter and the finely chopped apricots into the filling mixture with a silicone spatula.
Honey Almond Topping:
- Place the butter, honey, salt, and cinnamon in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
- When the butter is melted, add the sliced almonds.
- Cook for 5 to 10 minutes stirring often, or just until the almonds begin to turn light brown in color.
- Turn the almonds out onto a foil lined baking sheet in an even layer. Allow to cool completely.
Cake Assembly:
- Coat a Bundt pan with room temperature butter using a pastry brush.
- Pour the cake batter into a Bundt pan, using a spatula to spread the batter up the edges of the Bundt pan an inch above the batter. (Make sure to reserve 1 1/2-Cups of the cake batter for use in the cake filling and for covering the cake filling.)
- Spoon the filling in a circle around the middle of the Bundt pan. Make sure not to let the filling touch either edge of the pan. Use the back of a spoon to push the filling down into the batter slightly, and smooth the top of the filling out.
- Spoon the remaining 1 1/4-cups of cake batter on top of the filling, and use the spoon to spread it out evenly. Make sure the cake batter reaches the edges of the Bundt pan and completely covers the filling.
- Bake for 50 minutes.
- Remove cake from oven, and then cool the Bundt pan on a wire rack for two hours before turning out onto a serving plate.
- Heat the apricot preserves in a microwave for 1 minute in a small bowl.
- Brush the cake with a small amount of the preserves, top with crumbled honey almond topping, and then spoon the remaining preserves over the entire Bundt cake.
Suggestions:
- Make sure to reserve 1 1/2-cups of the cake batter. You will need 1/4-cup for the filling, and 1 1/4-cups to cover the filling.
- Be careful to not burn the almonds when toasting them.
- Refrigerate this cake until 30 minutes before serving.
Improvements:
- Replace the almonds with pistachios.
- Use finely chopped figs and fig preserves in place of finely chopped apricots and apricot preserves.
Ingredients:
- 2 1/4 Cups All-Purpose Flour
- 1 1/4 Teaspoons Baking Soda
- 1 1/4 Teaspoons Baking Powder
- 1 Teaspoon Kosher Salt
- 1 Teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
- 8 Tablespoon Unsalted Butter, Room Temperature
- 2 Tablespoons Coconut Oil, Room Temperature
- 1 Cup Granulated Sugar
- 2 Tablespoons Light Brown Sugar, Packed
- Zest of 1 Lemon
- 4 Eggs
- 1 Tablespoon + 1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 1 1/4 Cups Sour Cream
- 1 (8-oz.) Package Cream Cheese
- 2 Tablespoons Granulated Sugar
- 2 Tablespoons Light Brown Sugar, Packed
- 4 Teaspoons Lemon Juice
- 1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 1/4 Cup Cake Batter
- 1 (6-oz.) Bag Dried Apricots, Finely Chopped
- 2 Tablespoons Honey
- 1 Tablespoon Unsalted Butter
- 1/4 Teaspoon Kosher Salt
- 1/4 Teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
- 1 Cup Sliced Almonds
- 1/2 Cup Apricot Preserves
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon; set aside.
- Cream the butter, coconut oil, sugars, and lemon zest for 3 minutes on medium speed in a large mixing bowl.
- Add each egg one at a time, mixing 30 seconds after each one.
- Add the vanilla extract; mix for 1 minute.
- On low speed add 1/3 of the flour to the wet ingredients, mixing until just incorporated.
- Add half of the sour cream and mix until just incorporated.
- Repeat with the remaining flour and sour cream.
- Reserve 1 1/2-cups of the cake batter for later use.
- On medium speed, cream the butter and sugars for 2 minutes.
- Add the lemon juice; mix for 1 minute.
- Add the vanilla; mix for 1 minute.
- Fold 1/4-cup of the reserved cake batter and the finely chopped apricots into the filling mixture with a silicone spatula.
- Place the butter, honey, salt, and cinnamon in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
- When the butter is melted, add the sliced almonds.
- Cook for 5 to 10 minutes stirring often, or just until the almonds begin to turn light brown in color.
- Turn the almonds out onto a foil lined baking sheet in an even layer. Allow to cool completely.
- Coat a Bundt pan with room temperature butter using a pastry brush.
- Pour the cake batter into a Bundt pan, using a spatula to spread the batter up the edges of the Bundt pan an inch above the batter. (Make sure to reserve 1 1/2-Cups of the cake batter for use in the cake filling and for covering the cake filling.)
- Spoon the filling in a circle around the middle of the Bundt pan. Make sure not to let the filling touch either edge of the pan. Use the back of a spoon to push the filling down into the batter slightly, and smooth the top of the filling out.
- Spoon the remaining 1 1/4-cups of cake batter on top of the filling, and use the spoon to spread it out evenly. Make sure the cake batter reaches the edges of the Bundt pan and completely covers the filling.
- Bake for 50 minutes.
- Remove cake from oven, and then cool the Bundt pan on a wire rack for two hours before turning out onto a serving plate.
- Heat the apricot preserves in a microwave for 1 minute in a small bowl.
- Brush the cake with a small amount of the preserves, top with crumbled honey almond topping, and then spoon the remaining preserves over the entire Bundt cake.
#BundtBakers is a group of Bundt loving bakers who get together once a month to bake Bundts with a common ingredient or theme. Follow our Pinterest board right HERE. Links are also updated each month on the BundtBakers home page.
- Almond Date Bundt Cake by Renee at Magnolia Days
- Almond Orange Basbousa Bundt by Stacy at Food Lust People Love
- Arabian Nights Bundt Cake by Lara at Tartacadabra
- Honey Almond, Apricot, and Cream Cheese Filled Breakfast Cake by Colleen at Faith, Hope, Love, & Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice
- Moroccan Bundt Cake by Bea and Mara at I Love Bundt Cakes
- Orange Cardamom Bundt by Wendy at A Day in the Life on the Farm
- Orange Yogurt Bundt Cake by Kathya at Basic N Delicious
- Orange and Mint Bundt Cake by Terri at Our Good Life
- Persian Love Bundt Cake by Anshie at Spiceroots
- Persian Orange Cake by Rebekah at Making Miracles
- Pistachio Lemon & Rose Drizzle Bundt Cake by Laura at Baking in Pyjamas
- Pistachio Rose Baklava Bundt by Jacqueline at I Sugar Coat It!
- Roohafza Almond Bundt Cake by Shilpi at SimplyVeggies
- Rose Bundt Cake by Kelly at Passion Kneaded
- Saffron and Apricot Cake by Jane at Jane’s Adventures in Dinner
- Saffron and Tumeric Mini Bundt Cakes by Patricia at Patty’s Cake
- The Blue Djinn of Babylon Persian Cardamom Bundt Cake by Bee at The Queen of Scones
- Turkish Delight Bundt Cake by Felice at All That’s Left Are The Crumbs
