Vanilla Bean Mini-Bundt Cakes & Winner Announced!

Isn't this cake gorgeous?

You know what else is gorgeous? I have something really beautiful & special I want to share with you all. The post will be out in a couple of days! :) Don't forget to come back and check it out! 

Now, back to these white-capped beauties. I have been wanting to use my mini bundt molds for ages, and I am so glad I finally did!

You know, once I find a good recipe, I stick to it like glue! I've been using the same vanilla cake recipe since the beginning of time! So I decided I would  be brave and try something new.

I looked around and finally decided on a new recipe and it made the kind of cake I love! It is not a bundt cak recipe, really. It is just a vanilla bean cake. But I just wanted to use my bundt molds. So I did. I am sorry if this offends anyone.

You know how some cakes have a shiny, slightly crispy top and a soft fluffy interior? This is one of those cakes. Sometime I want a dense, moist pound cake, and sometimes I need light, fluffy, delicate cake. This one is definitely the latter.

This cake method was new to me, and I must admit I was a little skeptical about how it would turn out. Worked just fine! Whew!

Vanilla Bean Mini-Bundt Cakes
Adapted from Sweetapolita
Ingredients
50g egg whites, at room temperature
1/4 cup (60ml) whole milk, at room temperature
1 vanilla bean
95g (3/4 cup) all purpose flour
110g (1/2 cup) castor sugar
1 1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
55g (4 tbsp) unsalted butter, at room temperature

Method
1. Preheat the oven to 350. Grease and flour your bundt molds.
2. In a medium bowl, combine the egg whites and half the milk. Slit the vanilla bean down the center and with the tip of the knife, scrape out the insides of the bean into the milk. Throw in the bean to infuse for a while.
3. In a large mixing bowl, add the flour, castor sugar, baking powder and salt. With your mixer on low speed, stir well to combine. For the mixer, the paddle attachment is recommended. I used the whisk attachment and it worked just fine.
4. Add the butter and the remaining milk and continue mixing until the mixture is evenly moistened. Increase the speed to medium and beat for about a minute.
5. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, and start adding the egg-vanilla mixture (after you have fished that bean out!) in 3 installments. Beat well after each addition.
6. Fill your molds 3/4 full and bake 20-25 minutes or until very slightly golden brown and feels 'set' to the touch. Keep an eye on the cake and make sure you don't over bake.
7. Allow to cool for a while, and turn out of the molds.
8. Glaze when completely cool.

For the glaze, I simply scraped out the insides of half a vanilla bean and combined it with 1 cup of powdered sugar with enough milk to get the consistency I like. I ended up making the glaze a little too thick, and while that makes for nice presentation, I found it too sweet. Next time I will make a thinner glaze.

But I loved the double hit of vanilla. I mean, look at those gorgeous flecks in the cake and in the glaze!

Delicious!

Now, for the giveaway winner!

First, let me thank each and every person who commented on my anniversary giveaway post! I totally appreciate the encouragement and anniversary wishes. I didn't reply to each comment because that would confuse me too much while taking a count for the giveaway.

As you may notice, we have 81 comments,  but only the first 80 qualify for the giveaway. That last comment came in too late :( Sorry!

And the winner of this gorgeous book

is... (drum roll, please!)

Comment #47 belongs to Tara, who said - "whoa that is one pretty cake... i would love something like this for my wedding! i've been reading your blog for a while now, and my favorite recipe so far is the brownies with bacon. yummers!!"


Congratulations, Tara! You will be getting an email from me very soon :) 

Thank you all once again for taking part in this giveaway, and for all the support!


A quick reminder - please don't miss the special post that will be out in a couple of days. I promise it is going to be really beautiful. So beautiful, that I am considering getting a professional photographer to come take the pictures! Don't miss it!

Note: The giveaway winner has been contacted by email, and if there is no response within 72 hours, another winner will be drawn using the same method, and will be contacted by email.