Poland- Sour cream bundt cake with butter glaze

A Little history:

The Bundt cake (also known as Gugelhupt) is a cake which is baked in a ring tin, giving its distinctive shape. The cake was created in Poland and was made extremely popular among Jewish communities. It is traditionally a fruit bread but has been changed through out time. The Bundt cake did not gain public popularity until the 1950's, when an american made a metal pan for two Jewish- american brothers and the public where mesmerized by the unique shape of the tin. 

Now, this recipe does require for you to have a bundt tin, you can purchase them in cake shops, lakeland, amazon or I did recently see one in sainsburys! I'll pop a few links at the bottom of the page so you can take your pick of which one you would like! 

Ingredients: 

• 125 grams of softened unsalted butter
• 180 grams of caster sugar
• 2 large beaten eggs
• 180 grams of sifted plain flour
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon of baking powder
• a pinch of salt
• 150 grams of soured cream

1. Grease your bundt tin and preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius/ 160 degrees fan/ gas mark 4.

2. Beat the butter and sugar together until the mixture creamy and very light. Beat the eggs and then add to mixture a little bit at a time, then beat well between addition. The mixture may curdle but don't panic! just add a little flour. Then add the vanilla extract.

3. Mix the sifted flour, baking powder and salt together in a separate bowl and then add half to the mixture along with the soured cream, beat well and then add the rest of the flour and soured cream. Spoon into the tin and level the mixture out, then pop in the oven for 35- 40 minutes.

 4. Whilst the cake is cooking, crack on with the butter glaze.

• 100 grams of caster sugar
• 50 grams of unsalted butter
• 4 tablespoons of water
• a capful of vanilla extract

5. Add all the ingredients to a saucepan and pop on the hob and heat until the butter has melted. Bring the mixture up to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer the mixture for 3 minutes, take off the hob and leave to cool and thicken.

6. Once the cake is cooked, leave to cool for five minutes in the tin, then turn out on to a wire rack. Place the wire rack above a tray and drizzle half the glaze on to the cake and let it soak into the cake, then pour the rest on and leave until completely cool.

Enjoy this with a cup of strong coffee and look out on the autumn weather! You could always add berries in when you add the vanilla in to give a bit of sour juice when you bite into the cake. This cake is so super yummy and if defo worth all the hassle to make!

Next time I will be going Sweden (and before you ask, it wont be Ikea meatballs!) and I will also do a special post on the Great British Bake Off!  Thanks for reading!!!!

Top Ten baking things

There are many things that people need in order to bake a cake. Eggs, butter, flour, sugar and vanilla. But there is always one thing that most people overlook, how would we make the cake with out the bowl, or the spoon or the scales? We wouldn't!

I own a lot of baking equipment, some of it more useful than others. To help you decide what to use in the kitchen, I've chosen my top ten baking equipment, so read away!!! (I will also pop up some links to where you can buy the equipment)

 

10. Aprons 

Aprons are ever so handy! If you are like me and make such a mess when you are cooking then an apron will stop anything from going on your clothes. Another great thing about aprons is that there will be one that reflects your personality or a personal like, for example my mums apron has liquorce allsorts on it, which is her favorite sweet, so they also make a great present!

9. Dough Scraper 

If first saw a dough scraper on the great British bake off, before then I was forever breaking my nails and getting frustrated at a pile of dough as it would get stuck on to my kitchen counter, after I saw it on the bake off I went straight to my dad and asked him to get one of amazon and we have never looked back, I'm no longer resisting the urge to shout when ever I make bread and my dad gets more bread to eat! Dough scrapers are also not only used for bread, its also pretty handy to get flour off the kitchen surface!

 

8. Palette Knife

Palette Knifes are so handy to have around, they have so many different uses, wether its picking up biscut dough to put on to the baking tray, spreading melted chocolate or icing cakes. The best thing about palette knifes is that they are inexpensive and last for ages, I've had mine for roughly three years now and it still works as if it was good as new! 

7. Pastry brush

Now before I start about the pastry brush I will say this now. DO NOT BUY A SILCONE PASTRY BRUSH THEY ARE USELESS AND A WASTE OF MONEY! Anyway, rant over! If you are going to buy a pastry brush, buy one with bristles as they are so much better at spreading whatever you are spreading, they are very good for greasing baking tins as it puts enough butter on the tin but not loads that the cake has butter melted in at the sides! 

 

6. Cake tester 

I got this for christmas from my nan and I was very curious about what this strange looking blue stick did. What it does is, when you think your cake is done, you pop it in the middle, leave it in for five seconds and then pull it back out and if the tip is red then your cake is done! If not, pop it back in. This little tool allows for precise results, meaning that your cake is less likely to be under cooked, which is always a plus! 

5. Silicone Spatula

This has so many uses, scarping cake mix, melting chocolate, hitting your annoying brother who keeps trying to eat the melted chocolate... Lots of different uses! The spatula is so handy and also quite quirky due to the hot pink colour and luckily, if pink isn't your colour, there's lots of different colours available!!! Another plus as well, with the spatula being made of silicone, you won't get any broken handles or tops of spatulas falling off when you are baking, I use to get through spatulas like there's no tomorrow but its okay now as this beauty doesn't break!!! And the best thing is that ITS DISHWASHER ABLE!!!! Less washing up!!!!

4. Measuring Spoons

These are an essential, most recipes say "one teaspoon of vanilla extract" or "One tablespoon of cinnamon", and for accuracy you cant use a bog standered spoon. These will accurately measure what ever you need and make it easier to put in the bowl or mixer. Also with measuring spoons, they hold liquids better than a normal spoon so you are less likely to end up with golden syrup down your favorite dress! My measuring spoons are my mums and I'll be honest a bit ugly as they are older than the dawn of time, but you can get really cute measuring spoons so they can make a great present for the avid baker! 

3. Disposable piping bags

These are a God sent! When I first started to pipe icing on to cakes, I had a white fabric piping bag and it was the worse thing to work with. The grease from the butter would seep through the bag and onto to my hands, which then made it hard to pipe and ruined my cakes. It would also be really tricky to clean afterwards as well, and as you know, I hate washing up. Then my mum came home with these and they are so much easier to use! They are made of silicone and come with a special grip on the outside, therefore making it so much easier to pipe and allows you to deliver accuracy with what pattern you are trying to achieve, you cut off the end of the bag which means you can use all sort of piping equipment. The best thing is, once your finished piping, you just chuck the bag in the bin, no washing up, YAY!!!!!!

2. Electric Scales

If there's one thing you need to get right when you are baking, its accuracy in measurements. One gram under, your cake could go flat and be raw, one gram over, it could resemble a mushroom cloud. With these electrical scales, you get so much more accuracy the none electrical scales. It also allows you the option for grams or ounces, so what ever you read you can get accuracy. Its also a good idea to use electric scales as it makes it easier to teach your children about measurements, if they are into baking it also gives you the chance to give them a little maths lesson! (that's what my mum use to do with me when I really struggled with maths, we would bake a cake, she would teach me measurements and converting measurements and then as a reward we would eat the cake!) really worth the money to get a set.

and my favorite piece of equipment is....

1. Kitchen aid mixer

Having one of these in your kitchen is like having your own bakery. So powerful and so brilliant! It has several attachments including a whisk and a dough hook (no more kneading!). They come in so many colours and are also available to buy with glass bowls and more attachments. This is the best thing that has ever been introduced into baking and also look really lovely in the kitchen. I know that they are expensive but they are worth every single penny, so pop it on your Christmas list for father Christmas! 

So there's my top baking equipment, a slightly strange list but these are the things that I use the most when baking! What do you like to use? let me know in the comments!  Next Time I will be making a bundt cake, I'm so so so sorry that this is really late, but I've started sixth form and I have been a bit busy! Thanks for reading! 

For really cool and quirky aprons of all different designs, themes and colours check out the Apron store:

http://www.theapronstore.co.uk/

For an inexpensive dough scraper, try amazon:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Plain-Plastic-Scraper-Flexible-blade/dp/B00237UYDG/ref=pd_sxp_grid_i_0_0

Also try amazon for a palette knife: 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Tala-Stainless-Steel-Palette-Knife/dp/B0052DFBEA/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1378634839&sr=8-3&keywords=palette+knife

For a nice pastry brush, try Tala:

http://www.talacooking.com/node/697

For the cake tester, Lakeland is where you want to go:

http://www.lakeland.co.uk/10711/Reusable-Cake-Tester

Silicone Spatula is also from Lakeland:

http://www.lakeland.co.uk/p17987/I-Can-Cook-Spoon-Spatula

Check out Etsy for some adorable and unique measuring spoons:

http://www.etsy.com/uk/search?q=measuring%20spoon&view_type=gallery&ship_to=GB&ref=auto3

For the piping bags, another trip to Lakeland!

http://www.lakeland.co.uk/10666/Get-a-Grip-Piping-Bags

Check out these really cool scales and inexpensive scales from Argos: 

http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/9077618.htm

Something to put on your Christmas list! John Lewis is where I got mine! 

http://www.johnlewis.com/kitchenaid-artisan-stand-mixer/p231560698?colour=Almond%20Cream

Italy- Pizza

A Little History:

Pizza is a traditional oven baked, flat bread created in Nepal in Italy and has become an icon of Italian cuisine. The word "Pizza" is derived from the Latin verb Pinsere, which means to press. There are many theories on how the pizza came to be. One of the most interesting is that the pizza was first made in 1889 by a chief who was ordered to make a dish for the Princess Margherita, he made three dishes with basil, tomato and mozzarella to represent the Italian flag. She enjoyed it so much the dish was named after her. 

Ingredients:

• 250 grams of strong white bread flour 
• 1/2 a teaspoon of dried yeast
• 1 teaspoon of salt 
• 145 milliliters of warm water
• 30 milliliters of olive oil 
• 2 tablespoons of passata
• anything you want to put on your pizza! (I put one ball of mozzarella, 8 pieces of parma ham and a handful of fresh basil)

  

Method:

1. Put the flour in the bowl and put the salt and yeast on different sides, sometimes the salt can kill the yeast or slow it down, then make a well in the middle of the bowl and pour in the liquid and mix with your hands until you get a soft but not sticky dough.

 

2. Knead the dough either by hand for ten minutes, or for five minutes in a mixer with the dough hook on. Then bring the dough together into a small flat ball and place on a large baking tray (which has been floured). Make the dough a flat as you can, leave to rise in a warm place for 40 minutes. Whilst this is rising preheat the oven to 220 degrees centigrade/ 425 degrees fahrenheit/ gas mark 7.

 

3. Once the dough has risen, roll it out into a round 30 cm circle, prick holes all over the dough. Spread the passata leave 2 centimeters from the edge, then add your toppings! Once you have all your toppings on the top drizzle with a little olive oil and bake for 15-20 minutes (I went half way and did 17 minutes!) until the pizza is golden brown.

Serve with a simple rocket salad, a glass of sparkling water and enjoy the feeling of being like an Italian mama!! This is really super yummy and easy to make, the best thing is it doesn't take long at all and you feel satisfied when you eat it. Its also great to make with kids as they can put anything on it, cheese, ham, pineapple, play dough and my little pony hair....... 

Next time Ill be going to Poland (so going back on myself, I know I said that in the last blog but I realized that I forgot Italy! how could I do that? That's where most of my favorite foods come from) and a top ten things I have to have in my kitchen (and some of the things on there are quite different!) Thanks for reading!!!!