Grapenut Bundt Cake #BundtBakers

This cake is based on the favourite ice cream of my childhood

When the ice cream man showed up every Sunday, I always got one of two flavours (sometimes both) – Grape-Nut or rum and raisin. When I got older, Devon Stout became my favourite flavor but childhood was all about the Grape-Nut. I honestly had no idea what a Grape-Nut was and didn’t care. Grape seeds? Who knew? I didn’t find out that Grape-Nut was a type of cereal until I was an adult.

Felice challenged us this month to make Bundts with cereal. This Bundt has been on my mind for years and I was so happy that I finally got to make it. Thanks for hosting a great theme, Felice!

My only wish here is that the shop down the road had some Grape-Nuts ice cream when I stopped by. She had rum and raisin (not even the good kind but I’ll eat any ice cream you give me –shameless) so that had to do.

Be sure to scroll down to see what other cereals my fellow Bundt Bakers are baking with this month. And P.S., it feels good to be baking Bundts again!

Grape-Nut Bundt Cake

Ingredients

1 cup butter

2 cups sugar

1 teaspoon salt

4 eggs

2 teaspoons baking powder

3 cups flour

1 cup milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

¼ teaspoon almond extract

¾ cup Grape-Nut cereal

Directions

Thoroughly a grease and flour a 12 cup capacity Bundt pan. Do it well, or your Bundt will stick.

Preheat the oven to 350 F.

Cream butter and sugar well until light and fluffy. Add salt and mix well. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition.

Whisk together the baking powder and flour.

In a separate container mix together milk, vanilla, and almond extract.

Alternate adding the flour mixture and the milk mixture to the butter mixture. You’ll start with flour, doing 3 additions of flour and 2 of the milk mixture. Thoroughly combine and then by hand, stir in the Grape-Nut cereal.

Bake 40 – 60 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean. Cool for about 10-15 minutes and then invert onto a cake rack to cool completely.

Notes

I used light brown sugar so you can try that instead of granulated, if you wish.

Bundt Bakers March 2019

Breakfast Cereal Bundt Cakes

#BundtBakers is a group of Bundt loving bakers who get together once a month to bake Bundts with a common ingredient or theme. You can see all our of lovely Bundts by following our Pinterest board. We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient. Updated links for all of our past events and more information about BundtBakers, can be found on our home page. And don’t forget to take a peek at what other talented bakers have baked this month ~

• Breakfast Mini Bundts from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Cinnamon Frosted Flakes Bundt Cake from All That's Left Are The Crumbs
• Granola Brownie Bundt from Food Lust People Love
• Grape-Nuts Bundt Cake from Passion Kneaded
• Honeycomb Cereal Bundt Cake from Patty's Cake
• Mixed Cereal Upside Down Pineapple Bundt from Sneha's Recipe
• Oatmeal Bundtlets with Granola Topping from Sweet Sensations

Cheese Babka - #BreadBakers

Most delicious bread ever.

I know that's a bold statement but trust me on this one. This bread is amazing. My only complaint is that I did not make 2 loaves. I certainly did not want to share this one and my mother felt the same. When my sister-in-law asked if I'd made bread, my mother handed her a loaf of supermarket bread. You can't hide anything from my brother so he found the babka stashed in a curio cabinet and quietly enjoyed his slice. He didn't share with my sister-in-law either.

We're evil. One of these days I'll make her some bread just for her. She won't need to share with us.

If you're a cheese lover, this month's Bread Bakers is just for you. Our host Sue chose cheese as the theme and lots of deliciousness awaits you - just scroll down to see the list.

Cheese Babka

Yield: 1 loaf 

Dough adapted from Bon Appetit

Ingredients 
Dough
300-360 grams flour
2 teaspoons instant yeast
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup milk
7 tablespoons butter

Filling 
3 cloves of garlic, minced
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1/2 cup finely sliced escallion
2 tablespoons fresh thyme
6 oz cheese, grated (I used aged cheddar and mozzarella)
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes


Directions

Whisk together flour, yeast, salt, and sugar. Add the eggs and milk and mix together until the dough just starts to come together. Knead in butter one tablespoon at a time until  the dough is smooth, elastic and very tacky - about ten minutes. I found that with only 300 grams of flour per the original recipe, my dough was very wet and definitely needed more flour. Sprinkle in a little a time. You don't want a dry dough.
Place the dough in a greased bowl and allow to rise until doubled. You can also refrigerate overnight.

When the dough is ready, line a loaf pan with parchment paper leaving about a 2 inch overhang to help you lift the bread out when it's baked.

Mix garlic and butter.

Roll out the dough to a 16" x 10" rectangle. Brush the garlic mixture over the dough. Top with escallion, thyme, cheese and red pepper flakes. Starting along a long side, roll the dough up tightly.

Use a serrated knife to slice down the length of the roll. All the layers will now be exposed. With the halves cut side up, place one half over the other to form an X. Next twist the ends on either side twice.  See here for pictures.

Place the dough into the prepared pan. Lightly cover and let rise until doubled.

When the dough is almost doubled, preheat the oven to 375F.

Bake until the top is golden brown - 25-35 minutes. Let cool in pan for 15 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Enjoy your hard work!

Notes 

• Escallion = scallion. Sometimes. All this time I thought that escallion was just the way we spelt scallion. But a little googling made me realise they might be different plants that look and taste the same.
• Don't despair if it seems like the dough is falling apart when you try to do the twists. Just smoosh it into the pan, it will still taste AMAZING.
• 1 teaspoon of red pepper flakes is not even slightly spicy. Feel free to use more.

• Brazilian Cheese Bread by All That's Left Are The Crumbs
• Buttermilk Cheddar Quick Bread by Food Above Gold
• Caramelized Onion and Cheese Bread by Ambrosia
• Cheddar Beer Bread Rolls by Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Cheese Babka by Passion Kneaded
• Easy Cheesy Pull Apart Rolls by I Camp In My Kitchen
• Irish Cheddar Scone with Scallions by Baking Sense
• Mexican Cornbread Waffles by Food Lust People Love
• Mozzarella Stuffed Breadsticks by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Mini Chilli Cheese Parathas by Sizzling Tastebuds
• Pancakes Huancaina by The Schizo Chef
• Spicy Cheese Bread by Gayathri's Cook Spot
• Stuffed Mini Cheese Chicken Burger Buns by Sneha's Recipe
• Wholemeal Cheese Bombs by Cook with Renu
• Vanilla-Mascarpone Popovers by Culinary Adventures with Camilla

#BreadBakers is a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme. Follow our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated each month on this home page.

We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient.