Cherry Carrot & Banana Bundt for #Bundt Bakers.

I have been craving carrot cake for months. It's one of my favourite cakes - second to the great chocolate. But each time something would happen and I'd bake something other than carrot. Banana was the latest cake to take over my brain and I made a banana cake from Food52. While I enjoyed it, there were changes that I wanted to make (way too small!). And suddenly it was a carrot vs banana tug of war. I simply could not choose. And that's a long way of telling you how I decided to add cherries to a carrot banana cake for this month's Bundt Bakers. The cravings made me do it.

This cake is more "bread-like" than "cake-like". It's extremely moist from the bananas, fresh cherries and carrots. I just could not stop eating it.Normally, most of a cake goes straight to my freezer and I eat pieces for a little while. This never made it to the freezer. Breakfast. Lunch. Dinner. Snacks. Passing by the kitchen. I was nibbling. If I made this again, I'd use dried cherries instead of fresh ones - all that chopping was no fun. Plus, I think I'd love the contrast of tart cherries here.

Oh, I should address the lack of a frosting. I love carrot cake plus cream cheese frosting and I am sure that banana cake plus cream cheese frosting is amazing too. However, I just could not convince myself to make one. If you make this and you love cream cheese frosting, I say go for it. Make it a spicy one. I was happy without it (and it definitely made eating it for breakfast easier) but I would also be happy with it. 

Felice at All That's Left are Crumbs chose stone fruits for us this month. Look what the other Bundt Bakers made:

• All-American Chocolate Cherry Pie Cake from Lauren at Sew You Think You Can Cook
• Black Forest Bundt Cake with Cherry Ganache Topping from Teri at The Freshman Cook 
• Cherry Almond Ginger Bundt from Jane at Jane’s Adventures in Dinner 
• Cherry Carrot & Banana Bundt from Kelly at Passion Kneaded 
• Cherry Chocolate Chip Bundt Cake from Renee at Magnolia Days 
• Chocolate Avocado Bundt Cake from Terri at Love and Confections 
• Cinnamon Peach Bundt Cake from Bea and Mara at I Love Bundts 
• Peaches n Cream Melba Bundt Cake from Laura at Baking in Pyjamas 
• Peachy Bundt from Margaret at Tea and Scones 
• Plum, Chocolate and Orange Bundt Cake by Maria at Box of Stolen Socks 
• Roasted Cherry Kugelhopf with Cherry Bourbon Glaze by Tux from Brooklyn Homemaker
• Upside-down Apricot Butter Bundt from Stacy at Food Lust People Love

#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.

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

If you are a food blogger and would like to join us, just send Stacy an email with your blog URL to foodlustpeoplelove@gmail.com.



 Cherry Chocolate & Banana Bundt 

Ingredients

2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
pinch of ground nutmeg
pinch of ground cloves
3 large eggs
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 butter, melted and cooled
1 cup bananas (~ 2 large), mashed
1/4 cup yogurt
1/4 cup milk
2 cups grated carrots
1 cup chopped fresh cherries

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 F.
Thoroughly grease and flour a 10-12 cup Bundt pan.
Whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg and clove. In another bowl, beat eggs and sugar until pale and frothy then pour in the melted butter and bananas.

Add half the flour mixture and mix until almost combined - there should still be streaks of flour. Add the yogurt and milk and the second half of the flour mixture - again mixing until almost combined. Fold in the carrots and cherries - mixing only until just combined.

Place in preheated oven and bake for  50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean.

Cantaloupe Salsa - Crazy Ingredient Challenge

Cantaloupe and capers. Those are the two ingredients Dawn from Spatulas on Parade chose for this month's Crazy Ingredients Challenge. When you read cantaloupe and capers, what comes to mind? Because absolutely nothing came to my mind when I heard those ingredients. Nothing. I was completely blank. I was just going to sit this month out. I have a lot going on anyway. But the truth is, these cooking groups are my little escape. I look forward to making my dishes and reading about everyone else's. I started thinking.

Flatbread?
Gazpacho?
Bruschetta?
Salsa?
Add pepperoni somehow?

I went back and forth. The truth is, all of those had these would have pretty similar ingredients so even up to the point when I was peeling the cantaloupe, I was still unsure about what I would make. It ended up being this salsa and I have to say that I am glad this was my final choice. I like it. It all works together. Nothing seems strange. It's like cantaloupes and capers were always supposed to be together in a salsa.

This is a pretty simple recipe and I encourage you to adjust to your specific tastes. It will all work well in the end. Somehow. Onions would go well but I don't like biting into raw onions and wasn't in the mood for the extremely fine dice that it would take for me to like it. I think this would go great with fish. I just had it with my eggs one morning.

Cantaloupe Salsa

Ingredients
2 cups cantaloupes, diced
1 plum tomato, diced
1/2 jalapeno, diced
2 tablespoons capers, chopped
1 tablespoon lime juice
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
salt & pepper to taste

Directions 
Toss together all the ingredients. Taste and adjust ingredients, if necessary. Chill for a few hours before serving.

An InLinkz Link-up

Guava and Pineapple Impossible Cake for #BundtBakers

I've been staring wistfully at my neighbour's guava tree for the last few weeks, wondering when it will start to bear fruit. I have lived here for years but I can never remember when to expect the fruit to be hanging over the fence. It's always a surprise. It was the same way when I was growing up in Jamaica. We have a guava tree at the back of the property but we rarely ever went that far so it was always a lovely surprise when one of us ventured way down and realised that the guava tree had fruit.While I knew exactly when was mango season coming, I had no idea when guavas were in season. For all I know, that tree bore fruit all year round.

In lieu of fresh guavas, this impossible cake uses guava paste. Impossible cake (or pastel imposible) is a cake topped with flan. It's so-called because you pour the cake batter in the pan and then the flan batter on top. The flan batter seems to sink down and mix into the cake batter. However, when it's baked, the flan is at the bottom and the cake has risen to the top. Take it out the bundt pan and you have a cake topped with flan - no mixing.

 I've only seen (and made) chocolate cakes with flan (chocoflan) so I was crossing fingers and toes that adding guava paste to the flan mixture and pineapples to my cake batter wouldn't completely throw off the densities and the magic would still happen. I am happy to say that it did.

The pineapple cake is moist and not too sweet. It's perfectly complemented by the sweet guava flavoured flan. I could not be happier. My waistline and MyFitnessPal are, however, very upset with me. I was actually on my way to meet with some friends when I inverted the barely cooled cake onto a platter. I knew it would be better if I let it chill for a while but I could not resist cutting it. I tasted it, and  realised that there was no way I could leave the cake at home. I packed it on ice and took it over. We happily stood by the kitchen counter devouring thin slices. Yes, thin slices. If you read the ingredients, you will see that this is really high in calories. I know that no one wants to think about calories while they're enjoying cake. But my friends are all on a fitness binge and they look amazing! I can't help but think about what I'm eating. Do yourself a favour, eat thin slices. I won't tell if you have 3 of those thin slices. I understand. I had several.

This lovely cake is my contribution to this month's Bundt Bakers. Our theme this month is tropical and our host is Lauren at From Gate to Plate. Look at the other tropical treats we made this month:

Guava and Cream Cheese Bundt Cake by Love and Confections

Guava and Pineapple Impossible Cake by Passion Kneaded

Pineapple Macadamia Nut Bundt Cake by Sew You Think You Can Cook

Passion-Orange-Guava Bundt Cake by All That's Left are the Crumbs

Mini Spiced Upside Down Caramelized Pineapple Bundt Cakes by From Gate to Plate

Hibiscus Lime Bundt Cake by Brooklyn Homemaker

Mango Brown Sugar Glazed Bundt Cake by Noshing with the Nolands

Pineapple Pound Cake by Magnolia Days

Mango Ginger Bundt Cake by Food Lust People Love

Almost Pina Colada Bundt Cake by Tea and Scones

Mexican Mango Cake by My Catholic Kitchen

Mango Coconut Bundt by Jane's Adventures in Dinner

Mini Pineapple Lime Mojito Bundt Cakes by Blahnik Baker

Tropical Pineapple Bundt Cake by Bizzy Bakes

Guava and Pineapple Impossible Cake

Recipe by: Kelster

Yield: 24 servings

Ingredients Pan 3 tablespoons butter 2/3 cup brown sugar Flan 7 oz guava paste 4 oz cream cheese 14 oz can condensed milk 12 oz can evaporated milk 1 teaspoon vanilla ¼ teaspoon salt 3 eggs Cake 2 cups flour ½ teaspoon baking powder ½ teaspoon baking soda ½ teaspoon salt 1 cup sugar ½ cup milk ½ cup pineapple juice ½ cup oil 2 eggs 1 teaspoon vanilla ½ cup of pineapple, blended Hot water for water bath

Preheat oven to 350 F. Find a large pan that the Bundt pan can be placed in (like a roasting pan). This will be used as a water bath.  Place the 3 tablespoons of butter in a standard 12 cup Bundt pan and place pan in the oven that is preheating. When the butter has melted, remove pan from the oven. Swirl the butter around and ensure that the entire surface is coated. Add the brown sugar evenly to the pan. Place it in the oven a few minutes until just melted. Cut the guava paste into small pieces and soften for 15 – 30 seconds in the microwave. Be careful not to burn it. Add softened guava paste to a food processor along with cream cheese and process until completely blended. Scrape down the food processor if there are bits of guava paste sticking to the sides. Add the two milks, vanilla and salt. Process until completely blended. Add the eggs and process until just mixed. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl. In another bowl, whisk together sugar, milk, pineapple juice, oil, eggs and vanilla. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until thoroughly combined. Stir in the pineapple. Pour the cake batter into the prepared Bundt pan. Pour the flan mixture on top. Place the Bundt pan in the larger pan. Place in the oven and pour an inch of hot water into the larger pan. Bake for 50 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool to room temperature. When the cake has cooled, invert onto a serving platter. Chill for several hours before serving.  Impossible cake may be eaten cold or at room temperature.

Notes You can substitute caramel or cajeta for the butter and sugar mixture placed in the pan. However, still be sure to still completely grease the Bundt pan.

#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. We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient. If you are a food blogger and would like to join us, just send an email with your blog URL to foodlustpeoplelove@gmail.com.