I am really looking foward to this post, as this is the first post of my new baking event THE HOME BAKERS. This new event was started as a result from having many cookbooks, I would not use the term "too many", we can never have too many cookbooks, which I'm sure you would agree! (grinning!) I love trying out new recipes and love adding cookbooks to my collection whenever I can and when budget $$$ allows! (don't we all!!). Most of the time, I would try perhaps just a couple of recipes from one book and it would be left forgotten or simply being pushed behind as I collect more cookbooks from time to time. That's what prompted me to start an event to bake from one book until every recipe has been tried. Anyone who loves baking and trying out new recipes, are invited to join in and bake together. There are many other baking groups and events that bake from some other cookbooks, and I guess our goal is the same, to complete a book and at the end of the journey, we can proudly say that, "Wow! I've completed this book!", what an achievement!
I was happy when some blogger baking buddies are interested about joining in, thank you friends for your support! :o) All of us love baking and this seems like the perfect event to be baking together from a book as a baking group. We are baking from "Coffee Cakes" by Lou Seibert Pappas. This is a book of Coffee Cakes, both sweet and savory. You may read more about the book from Amazon.
Now on to the bake, the first bake that was chosen is Cheese-Swirled Chocolate Bundt Cake. It took me quite awhile to finally decide on this cake, as there are so many that I wanted to bake! It is a really huge cake, I only make 3/4 of the recipe and it almost fill my 9-3/4" bundt pan! This is a chocolate cake with swirls of cream cheese that was mixed with chocolate chips in the centre which makes an attractive pattern, white cheese contrasting against the chocolate cake which has chopped walnuts in the chocolate batter. This cake really rises and it will get done much sooner than what was stated in the book, so watch out for the baking time. My 3/4 recipe cake, took about 45 minutes.
Overall rating : There's a intense chocolaty taste in the cake itself and I love the texture from the walnuts. The chocolate chips in the cream cheese has sort of melted and settled under the cream cheese, most likely the quality of the chop chip that I use is not the one that stays in shape during baking, as you can see from the picture above! The cream cheese filling is very nice, like the taste of it. Overall rating, I would prefer the cake to be a little more moist. It is not really that dry, but would be better if it is moister. And I find that this cake tastes better the next day, I guess this is one of the cakes that tastes better overnight.
Please hop over to THB's site, where members have linked their bake in the thumbnail linky and also to find out more about THE HOME BAKERS (THB). If you would like to join THB and be a member of the baking group, you are welcome! Details at THB!
Cheese-Swirled Chocolate Bundt Cake
(adapted from "Coffee Cakes" by Lou Seibert Pappas)
Makes one 10-inch Bundt or tube cake, serves 12
Cheese Filling
1 cup (8 ounce) cream cheese at room temperature
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large egg
1 cup (6 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips
For the Cake :
2 large eggs
2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, plus 1 teaspoon
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk or low-fat plain yoghurt
3/4 cup (3 ounces) coarsely chopped walnuts
2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar
Preheat the oven to 325F. Butter and flour a 10-inch Bundt or tube pan.
To make the cheese filling : In a medium bowl, cream the cheese, granulated sugar, and vanilla until fluffy and beat in the egg. Stir in the chocolate chips and set aside.
In a large bowl, beat the 2 eggs, granulated sugar, and oil and vanilla until thick and smooth. In another bowl, combine the flour,the 2/3 cup cocoa, the baking soda, and salt. Stir to blend. Add the dry ingredients to the egg mixture alternately with the buttermilk or yoghurt in 2 increments, and beat until smooth. Stir in the nuts. Spoon half of the chocolate mixture into the prepared pan. Carefully spoon the cheese filling over. Spoon the remaining chocolate mixture over and smooth the top.
Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then unmold right side up on a wire rack. Let cool completely.
In a small bowl, combine the 1 teaspoon cocoa powder and the confectioners' sugar. Dust the cake with this mixture, shaking it through a sieve. Cut the cake into slices to serve.
kitchen flavours notes :
For 3/4 recipe, I only use about 230gm sugar
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