Apple Cinnamon Bundt

A is for Apple.

B is for Bundt

C is for Cinnamon        

This cake is as easy as A-B-C 1-2-3! The batter for this cake is a bit more like a muffin batter, because you have all the wet ingredients mixed together and the dry mixed together and then you just combine them.

I like the easy things in life especially in the chaos of everyday life. Plus a good slice of cake makes life just a little bit better too.

This cake fits both criteria.

It’s easy to make and since it’s in a bundt pan there is no need to decorate, as it’s gorgeous as is! It isn't a big secret that I don't do a lot of fancy decorating when it comes to my cakes. Probably because I have been tricked by too many pretty cakes that had no flavor!

Trust is an easy thing to lose yet, very hard to gain back. So, while I am still building up a trust in gorgeous looking cakes, I will stick to the simple and wow looking ones like these!  

It’s also a good cake, with a soft spongy texture and cinnamon apples spread through out, exactly what you need when life is being a little complicated. 

Apple Cinnamon Bundt                                      

 2-3 tart apples

3 tbsp sugar

1 tsp ground cinnamon

350g sugar

250ml sunflower oil

4 eggs

60ml apple juice

2 tsp vanilla extract

500g plain flour

1 tablespoon of baking powder

½ tsp salt

Grease and flour a 10 or 12 cup bundt pan, leave aside. Peel and chop the apples into little cubes. Sprinkle the sugar and cinnamon over the apples and mix. Leave aside.

Heat the oven to 160C or 325F. 

Whisk the sugar and oil together in a bowl until combined and a bit sloppy looking. Add the eggs one at a time and mix until just combined. Then add the apple juice and vanilla extract. In a separate bowl mix the flour, baking powder, and salt together before sifting into the wet ingredients. Fold the dry ingredients into the wet until just combined.
Spoon a third of the batter into the bundt pan, then spread half of the apples over the batter before topping it with half of the remaining batter. The apples might be a bit watery try to leave the liquid behind. Then spread the rest of the apples and top with the remaining batter before placing in the oven to bake for an hour/60 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean. Beware that the apples may make it look greasy when doing the skewer test, but just check in a few different places.

Leave to cool for at least 10 minutes before turning it over and taking it out of the pan.

Slice and enjoy! 

notes: This bundt was actually made for National Bundt Day, that day is November 15th. I am clearly not on top of my posting at the moment. So, here it is finally! 

Monkey Bread

No one really knows where the name for this cinnamon sugar covered bread came from. It is possible it got its name because it resembles the fruit from a monkey-puzzle tree.

Once you've tasted it you won’t really care where the name came from only where you can you get some more!

It first appeared in women magazines in the USA back in the 1950’s. It has recently become popular because of the blogging world! It seems I have quite literally seen it everywhere in the last year or so.

Therefore it was no surprise when I saw a recipe appear in Ruby Tandoh’s book Crumb. I thought it was about time I tried it out for myself.

Monkey Bread reminds me a lot of a cinnamon roll, it’s the same components just differently executed. Chopped pecans or almonds could easily be layered between the dough balls before the second rise.

It’s super easy to make, like all yeast type bakes it’s more just the time. My kitchen is particularly cool so unless I move it into the lounge to rise sometimes it feels like it takes forever to rise properly.

But it’s well worth the time invested! It is a great way to get a sugar fix!

Monkey Bread

250ml full-fat milk

400g strong white flour

7g instant dry yeast

1 teaspoon salt

30g unsalted butter, softened

Gently heat the milk in a small saucepan until it’s warm to the touch. Stir the flour and yeast together, then stir in the salt. Pour in the warm milk and add the soft butter. Mix with a wooden spoon until it’s combined enough to use your hand to bring it together to form a soft dough. Very lightly dust the work surface and knead for 10 minutes. It should become elastic and have a smooth shine to it. Leave in a bowl to rise for at least an hour.

Glaze:

80g unsalted butter, melted

2 ½ tsp cinnamon

100g light brown sugar

Grease a bundt pan with some of the melted butter. If it’s not greased the bread won’t come out of the tin. Mix the cinnamon sugar with the brown sugar and leave aside in a bowl. Once the dough is raised, break into small balls the size of a walnut. Then dip in the melted butter and then the light brown sugar, before placing in a very well greased bundt pan. Don’t worry about how they are placed in the bundt pan. Once all the sugar coated dough balls are in the pan leave to rise for another hour or until doubled in size. Heat the oven to 180C and once it’s heated and the dough has risen bake for 30 minutes.

Once it’s done tip it out on to a plate immediately and only wait a few minutes until it’s cool to the touch to start ripping off pieces! 

notes: Adapted from Ruby Tandoh’s Crumb, which I reviewed here.

Pizza Night {prize draw promotion}

Nights in are the new black.

A night out can be a lot of fun, but so can a night in especially when you have your friends and family with you!

One of my favorite nights in is Pizza Night with my little family! 

What cartoon characters love pizza? The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. 

It is my all time favorite childhood cartoon and I am proud to say my girls love it too! It's a common pizza/movie night combo for us!

We make individual pizzas with all our favorite pizza toppings. Anything goes! 

Well, with in reason I mean we don't go as far as the turtles themselves, see suggestions by them below! 

Then after we're done with dinner we cuddle up with some dessert pizza and enjoy the movie! It's a great way to get the whole family involved and spend time together!

Pizza Dough

makes 4 individual pizzas, half the recipe for 2

400g Sainsbury’s Strong Canadian Bread flour

16g/2 pouches of Sainsbury’s Fast-Action dried yeast

pinch of salt

280ml luke warm water

extra virgin olive oil

In a mixing bowl mix the flour and yeast together, once combined put in the pinch of salt and mix again. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and add the warm water, plus a tablespoon of olive oil. Mix with a wooden spoon or spatula until it comes together as a wet-dough. Knead the dough for about 5 minutes on a floured surface, I always start out with a light dusting then add about another two light dustings while kneading. Once it’s smooth and elastic, lightly oil a separate bowl for the dough ball to rest cover with clingfilm and rest for 25 minutes.

While it’s resting lightly oil two baking sheets/trays and heat the oven to 200C.

Once it’s rested gently break it into four separate pieces. Use a sharp floured knife if you want a more even division of the dough. Roughly spread out into a circle or an oval as we did to fit on our trays.

Top with sauce and a choice of your favorite toppings, suggestions listed below, before baking in the oven for 18 minutes or until the edges just start to turn brown. After 10 minutes I switched the pizzas from the top shelf to the bottom shelf to insure even coloring for all the pizzas, but you don’t have to do this. Serve immediately with salad or any sides that you like!

Suggested Pizza Toppings

passata flavored or with added oregano and garlic salt to taste

tomato paste, just a squeeze

cheese, mozzarella is always a favorite

ham/sausage/pepperoni/pineapple/mushrooms/peppers/onion/olives/etc… 

Ninja Turtle Suggested Pizza Toppings:

Pepperoni & Ice Cream
Jelly Bean & Sausage
Anchovie & Peanut Butter
Whipped Cream
Sashimi
Bananas & Sausage
Cereal (Raisin Bran, Cornflakes, Coco Puffs)

Then for dessert we had pizza again! This is inspired by an American treat sometimes called cactus bread. I used mixes for this one to save on time and cost! Start this about 10 minutes before the pizzas are done or just after you've rotate the pizzas if you have done that.

Dessert Pizza

1 pkg (145g) Sainsbury’s pizza base mix

1 pkg (225g) Sainsbury’s crumble mix,

1-2 tablespoons cinnamon sugar (Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference or make your own)

100g icing sugar

1-2 tbsp of milk

Follow the instructions on the back of the pizza base mix package, leave to rise in front of the already heated oven. Once you've eaten your amazing pizzas from above your pizza dough should be risen, poke a few holes in it with a fork before spreading over the cinnamon sugar, then spread over the crumble mix. There will be leftover crumble mix because you don’t need very much to cover the top of this pizza. Bake in the oven according to the packaging. Both the pizza base and crumble mix bake for about the same amount of time.

Before it’s out of the oven make the glaze by mixing the icing sugar with the milk. Once it’s out of the oven while it’s still warm drizzle over the glaze. You might have a little leftover, but that’s okay you can use it as dip for the dessert pizza. Enjoy! 

That is one of my favorite nights in, but I have had many date nights in with my husband and occasionally I'll have a wine night in with my girl friends. So.... 

Prize Draw Closed

notes: In association with Sainsbury’s, all opinions are my own please see my contact/policy page for more information. Ninja Turtle topping suggestions are taken from the first season of the original show. Pizza dough recipe adapted from Gino D'acampo's Italian Home Baking