Blog

Raspberry Bundt Cake

This cake is a staple at my house. I have made it often and in several different pans. It is delicious at a brunch buffet, served with coffee for a quiet breakfast, or dressed up for a special occasion. Several years ago, I gave my mother-in-law a take-home Raspberry Bundt Cake and a new coffee pot on her birthday. She was hosting her bridge club the next day, and I knew she would enjoy serving the cake and pouring coffee from her shiny new pot. 

This cake stays fresh for a few days on the counter, and the remaining cake can be frozen. Decorate it to suit any season. 

Preheat the oven to 350°F

Ingredients for Raspberry Bundt Cake: 

To make this cake, you will need a full cup of raspberry yogurt. The rest of the ingredients are pantry basics and include butter, brown sugar, vanilla, egg, flour, soda, baking powder, and salt. Have fun choosing your Bundt pan. 

Cream the following ingredients in a large mixing bowl:

½ cup softened butter 

1 cup brown sugar, lightly packed

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

Place butter and sugar in a bowl and beat with an electric mixer.  Add egg and beat well. Add vanilla and mix. 

Sift dry ingredients together in a separate bowl:

1 teaspoon soda

½ teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon salt

2 cups all-purpose flour 

Mixing Method: 

Add dry ingredients to butter/sugar mixture alternating with 

1 cup raspberry yogurt 

Once this thick batter is well mixed, spoon it evenly into a well-greased and floured 9-inch tube pan (8-9 cup) or Bundt pan, and bake at 350°F for 50 minutes. Cool and sprinkle with icing sugar or drizzle with glaze. This cake can successfully be made a day ahead of serving. Enjoy!

NOTE: My mother-in-law was 89 in the introductory photo. She lived past her 98^th birthday. 

My Favourite Vanilla Glaze

Melt ¼ cup of butter. Blend in 2 cups of sifted icing sugar. Add 1 teaspoon of vanilla. Gradually add 2 to 4 tablespoons of hot water, one spoonful at a time, whisking until the glaze is the desired consistency. 

Be-Anything Pumpkin Bread

This is a large recipe and makes over 3 dozen muffins, which become cupcakes if you ice them. Alternately, you could make three pumpkin loaves or a very large Bundt cake. Layer Cakes are also an option.  

This recipe is very forgiving, and I have made it with various flours and oils. Vintage recipes calling for salad oil are usually referring to corn oil. For the cake pictured here, I used all-purpose flour and corn oil. The cake rose higher than expected, and it was delicious. I could have made a few muffins and not filled the Bundt pan quite as full if I had wanted a flatter base.

This cake tastes better after a couple of days on the counter, so it is an excellent make-ahead recipe. I freeze the cake, in quarters or slices, on the third day.  

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. 

Combine the following wet ingredients in a stand mixer:

3 cups of granulated sugar

1 cup of salad oil (corn or canola oil)

4 beaten eggs

1 ¾ cups of pumpkin purée (I use canned pumpkin)

Mix the following dry ingredients:

3 ½ cups of all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

2 teaspoons baking soda

½ teaspoon cloves

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon nutmeg

1 teaspoon allspice 

2 teaspoons salt

2/3 cup of water

Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, alternating with the water, mixing well, and ending with dry ingredients. 

Pour into three buttered loaf pans or one large, buttered and floured Bundt pan and bake at 350 degrees, testing for doneness after one hour using a toothpick or cake tester.

When cooked, remove the cake from the oven and leave it to cool for fifteen minutes. A Bundt cake should be inverted at this time. If your cake rises above the pan, invert it onto a bowl-like plate, slice the top off, or let the icing drizzle onto the plate, giving the illusion of a flat bottom. The cover photo shows that the cake looks fine the way it is.

Both cupcakes and layer cakes should be baked at 375°F. Cupcakes take about 20 minutes, while layer cakes take 40 minutes. Check for doneness before time is up because bake times vary with pan-colours and ovens.    

This is a Be Anything Pumpkin Bread. I love it slathered in cream cheese icing. 

It is delicious covered in cheese slices.

I often cut the cake into quarters and wrap each piece in plastic wrap and foil and store it in the freezer. I love a crescent of Bundt cake on a platter of treats. 

TIP: To prepare a fresh pumpkin, just half it, remove seeds, cut in wedges and peel the skin off the outside while scooping the stringy inner lining away. Next, boil the pumpkin as you would turnips or carrots. Mash the cooked pumpkin and strain any strings out. Use the pumpkin in any recipe calling for pumpkin purée. Purée freezes well. I usually use canned pumpkin for this recipe.