I was recently gifted with a mini-Bundt pan. I had always wanted to try them, but had never gotten around to buying one. My first attempt with the mini-Bundt had two goals:
1) learn how the pan responds to use; and,
2) get rid of some of the excess food in the pantry -- including some of this grapefruit that has stacked up.
Mission accomplished! Check out this recipe for a light-flavored citrusy cake that will leave people guessing as to its main ingredient. (They'll know it's not lemon, and not orange, but they probably won't guess grapefruit.)
The other success from this experiment was successfully cooking for few. Using the mini-Bundt cakes, I was able to bake up desserts for 2 people that would last a few days. I poured the rest of the batter into cupcake liners, and popped the unbaked cupcakes into the freezer, where I can then grab them next time I need a small batch of cake happiness in the house.
Grapefruit Bundt Cake
adapted from Food Babbles dot com
3 c flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
zest of 1 grapefruit, minced (I use my spice grinder for the mincing)
3 c sugar, divided
1 c unsalted butter, room temperature
6 eggs
1 c plain yogurt (I used Greek)
1 tsp almond extract
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 c fresh grapefruit juice (from about 1 grapefruit)
Preheat oven to 350. Thoroughly grease and flour your 10" Bundt pan, or, your mini-Bundt pan.
In the bowl of your mixer, beat together zest, 2 1/2 c of the sugar, and all the butter. Beat on medium until light and fluffy.
Scrape the bowl, then with the mixer running, add the eggs, yogurt and extracts. Mix on low until combined.
Slowly add the dry ingredients - beginning with the salt and soda in order to incorporate, and ending with the flour.
Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and spread the top so that it is even. (NOTE - do not fill mini Bundt pans over 3/4 full - this cake will rise. This is less of an issue with the full Bundt pan, since there will not be enough batter to fill the entire pan.)
For a full cake, bake 65-75 minutes, or until a toothpick comes our clean.
For the mini-Bundts, bake for considerably less time, also until a toothpick comes out clean. (I honestly did not time this, but would estimate it at about 25 minutes. You should keep your eye on it until you know how your oven works with the mini pans.)
Once the cake is done, cool in the pan 5 minutes, then invert and poke all around with a toothpick.
Make the glaze by combining the remaining 1/2 c sugar with grapefruit juice. Heat on the stove and stir until the sugar is dissolved.
While the glaze is still warm, drizzle over the Bundt(s). (To do this with minimal clean-up, I leave the cake on a cooling rack that is set over aluminum foil.)
Dust with powdered sugar (optional) and serve.
I was introduced to freekeh several months ago, at a restaurant in New York. While I really enjoyed the smoky flavor of the grain and its substantial crunch, the most memorable part of the introduction to freekeh for me was how the server waxed poetically about the grain, but wound up getting every characteristic of the grain wrong in her description. Still, freekeh is delicious, very familiar (since it is similar to bulgur wheat), and tremendously fun to say out loud!
Here is a recipe I highly recommend -- present it as a variant of tabbouleh and no one will be concerned about your describing the salad as if you were a Valley Girl trying to say "freaky salad."
Freekeh Salad
Adapted from Wise Monkeys
Salad:
2 c freekeh
4-5 tomatoes, roughly cut
1-2 cucumbers, roughly cut
1 red onion, roughly cut
1 bunch parsley
1 bunch mint
zaatar, to taste
slivered almonds, dry roasted
feta cheese
Dressing:
1/4 c olive oil
juice of 2 lemons
salt and pepper
Important notes:
- Freekeh is trendy right now. Don't spend your money buying it at an upscale grocery. If you have a Middle Eastern or Indian grocery in your community, buy freekeh there.
- Since I was buying freekeh at a Middle Eastern grocery, I also used Persian cucumbers, since they were available. Not much different from our English cucumbers (or other Western styles). The most important step, imho, is scooping out the seeds before chopping the cucumber. This will lower the total amount of water in the salad, and, as a result, it will keep longer.
- You can use red, white, or yellow onions in this salad. I prefer red for the bite, and, for aesthetic reasons; the color itself set up a nice contrast in the salad as a whole.
Bring a pot of salted water to a boil.
Measure the freekeh onto a flat plate and sort through for pebbles or other impurities.
When ready, add to the boiling water and stir. Boil until just tender, about 15-20 minutes. Then, drain into a fine-mesh colander and wash with cold water. Drain, and then spread out on a plate to dry off for 30 minutes. Whatever we can do to lower overall water content is a good thing.
Combine all other salad ingredients together and toss.
Combine dressing ingredients and toss with the salad just before serving.
This salad has a very unusual, smokey flavor that isn't off-putting, but rather alluring. I highly recommend it!
Hold on to your hats! And, get ready to throw away all your dessert plans for Christmas.
This simple and refreshing pie provides a light, citrus flavor at dessert, with a pleasant textural surprise inside. Imagine the base of, say, a lemon meringue pie - but without the meringue. Now, replace with a small orange and lime flavor, complete with actual orange slices in it.
Beguiling!
Clementine Lime Pie
Vegetarian Times, January 2005
Crust:
1 1/2 c graham cracker crumbs
1/2 c pecans, crushed
2 T brown sugar
4 T unsalted butter, melted
Filling:
1/3 c lime juice
1/4 c clementine juice
1 T grated clementine rind
4 egg yolks, lightly beaten
1 14-oz can sweetened condensed milk
2 clementines, peeled and sectioned *
Garnish:
2 clementines, peeled and sectioned
1/2 c pecans, crushed
* Note - I used only 2 clementines when I made this for the first time. But for future iterations, I would at least double - enough clementines to cover the entire base of the pie.
Preheat oven to 350.
To make crust: stir all ingredients in a
mixing bowl until well blended. Press mixture into bottom and sides of
9" pie plate. Bake 10 minutes. Cool. Reduce oven temperature to 300.
Meanwhile,
to make filling: Mix lime juice, clementine juice, grated rind, egg
yolks and condensed milk in a mixing bowl. Line edge of bottom of crust
with clementine sections.
Pour filling over top.
Bake about 15 minutes, or until firm.
Cool at room temperature and fridge until completely firm, about 2 hours.
