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Back to Basics: A better Bundt cake
A marble Bundt cake — called Babovka in Czech — fits either a fancy or casual occasion
Bundt cake is one of the most versatile cakes around in that it can work for both casual and fancy occasions. To dress it up a bit, you can add in a marbling effect, which provides an elegant and appetizing two-color interior. Babovka — a traditional Czech cake, with a layer of vanilla cake and a layer of chocolate cake — is delicious, fun, and best of all, easy to prepare, which is why it has become popular way beyond the borders of its Central European origin.
To prepare any Bundt cake, you are going to need a Bundt cake pan, which is known for having a hole in the middle. It is best to select a non-stick version since it will help you more easily overcome the potential challenge of releasing the cake from the form after baking. You can purchase taller or wider pans based on your cake-shape preferences. I prefer using a somewhat taller than wider pan since I find taller cakes more elegant. This recipe is meant to work with any pan with a capacity of 7+ cups.
Even with an excellent non-stick pan, you need to make sure to properly grease and flour the pan to prevent any difficulties with releasing the cake from the pan. The best is to use a softer stick of butter for greasing the form (softer than a stick just taken from the fridge but harder than one that has reached room temperature).
While holding the butter in hand, distribute the butter evenly in all inner parts of the Bundt cake pan and pay special attention to any harder-to-access details in the pan (if present) to make sure that none of the surface is dry. Using butter instead of oil will help you to create a thicker layer, which is exactly what you need to attach enough flour all over the pan. Before adding the flour, take a pastry brush, and spread the butter inside the pan evenly. Then add the flour and tilt and shake the pan to distribute the flour evenly all over the interior surface. I always try to focus on the central part of the pan first since it is the hardest part to cover. When evenly coated with flour, shake the excess flour out of the pan.
It is easiest to use a self-standing stand mixer with a whisk attachment for the preparation of the batter, but you also will be just fine with a hand mixer and a large mixing bowl.
The preparation of the Bundt cake batter is very simple. Start by placing eggs into the mixing bowl of the stand mixer and add sugar. Then, process on high speed until all ingredients are nicely combined and have turned into a creamy but not solid texture. Next, incorporate fully melted butter. I usually melt butter in the microwave while working on the processing of the eggs with sugar. Then, I pour the melted butter into the processed eggs with sugar without stopping the mixer. Process this all together until a creamy texture is reached again.
Next add juice from one lemon, vanilla extract and baking powder and process until fully incorporated.
The last step, before dividing the batter into two parts for further steps, is to incorporate all-purpose processing until thoroughly combined.
To create a Marbled Bundt Cake, split the batter into two parts in a ratio of about 5:3 — this does not need to be an exact science, just give it your best guess. First, pour about 2 1/2 to 3 cups of the batter into the Bundt pan while trying to pour evenly around the entire diameter and not pouring on the sides of the pan. Keep the remaining batter, which should be about 1 1/2 to 2 cups, in the mixing bowl and hand stir in a couple tablespoons of cocoa powder until fully incorporated. This step is crucial for creating the marbling texture that has such a wow effect.
By adding just a couple of tablespoons cocoa powder, you will create a heavier batter that will nicely sink in evenly and help you to create a nice marbling effect. Keep in mind that the amount of cocoa powder you add will affect how the cake turns out. If you do not incorporate enough cocoa powder, the cocoa batter may not sink in enough and instead, may stay in the bottom of the cake. On the other hand, if you incorporate too much cocoa powder, the result is that the batter will sink too much and may end up all accumulated on the top of the cake.
And now the fun and easiest part of all — creating the fancy marbling effect. Simply just pour the batter with the cocoa evenly around all diameters of the Bundt pan. At first, it will stay on the top, but I promise, while it bakes, the cocoa batter will sink in. If the ratio is correct, you will be rewarded with a beautiful marble-looking cake!
To make the pouring process even easier, I recommend using a measuring pitcher or any pitcher you have available. It will help you to more easily target where you pour the batter in comparison to pouring the batter out of a bowl.
Bake the cake in a preheated 350 degrees oven until fully baked, which takes just about 25 to 35 minutes. Test with a toothpick to confirm that the cake is done. To get an even baking result, rotate the pan 180 degrees in the middle of baking.
Let the cake slightly cool (for about 10 minutes) before removing from the pan. To remove the cake, cover it with a plate and flip it upside down. Since this step occurs soon after removing the Bundt cake, you will need to use oven mitts to prevent yourself from getting burned. I have heard about many tricks for releasing a cake, such as using a cake knife or utensils, but there is no easy way to release the cake prior to flipping the cake upside down. If you are experiencing any difficulties, please see my tips for solving these issues.
Serve sliced (while still warm or when cold). Most Europeans eat this cake when it has been lightly dusted with powdered sugar, but it may come as no surprise that it also goes great with ice cream.
Enjoy your meal!
Tom Slepicka is the founder of www.cookinghub.com, and is a recipe creator, culinary instructor, chef, and a consultant. You can reach him at tom@cookinghub.com.
Good to know
If the Bundt cake does not want to release itself from the pan, use one of the following tricks:
Soak a kitchen towel in cold water, then squeeze out the excess water and place the towel on the bottom and side of the pan.
Wait about 3 to 5 minutes and after, the Bundt cake should release itself easily.
If that doesn’t work, you can steam your Bundt cake by placing the pan with the Bundt cake over boiling water (a water bath) for about 1 to 2 minutes. This should release the stuck edges and allow for easy Bundt cake removal. Be careful though to make sure that the water does not get into the pan.
Recipe
Marble Bundt Cake “Babovka”
12 servings
Active Time: 45 min.
Total Time: 45 min.
Ingredients:
For the cake:
4 eggs
1 cup of sugar
1 stick (1/4 pound) of butter — fully melted *
Juice from 1 lemon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon baking powder
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups of milk
2 tablespoon cocoa powder (preferably unsweetened)
* Cut butter into small pieces before melting and place into a measuring pitcher (or small microwaveable mixing bowl). Then, microwave for a short time with a few seconds break in between — to prevent the occurrence of little “explosions.” Optionally, melt the butter over low heat with occasional whisking.
Greasing the Bundt cake pan:
1 stick (about 1/4 pound) of butter (you will only partially use) *
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour — adjust if needed
* For easy manipulation, the butter should be just slightly soft (not room temperature but softer than if it has just been taken directly from the fridge). This allows the butter to be spread more easily, and at the same time, will not be too messy to work with.
Final touch:
Powdered Sugar
Directions:
Set oven to 350 degrees.
Grease and flour the Bundt cake pan (about 8 1/2 inches by 4 inches)
Note: It is very crucial to perfectly grease and flour the pan of Bundt cake in order to have an easy time releasing the baked cake. Please pay attention to the following steps carefully. In the end of the recipe, you will be provided with tips for how to release the Bundt cake from the pan if you experience any difficulties.
Grease: Take a soft stick of butter and thoroughly and evenly grease the inner part of the Bundt cake pan (the layer should be thicker than if you grease with oil).
Note: You are not going to need the whole stick so use just use enough to grease all of the inner parts of the pan — use the remaining butter for another cooking project.
Using a silicone brush, distribute the butter even more inside the pan. The butter should cover every little corner. When you are done, the layer of butter will still be quite thick.
Important: Do not wipe it out — the butter layer for this cake needs to be thicker in comparison to how you may butter the pan for other cakes.
Flour: Flour the inside of the pan — start with the center.
After you flour the center, tilt and shake the pan to evenly distribute.
When done, turn the pan upside down and with a couple of extra hits, remove the excess flour.
Tip: Optionally, use a fine sieve to achieve a more even distribution of the flour.
The batter: Place into a stand mixer with a whisk attachment:
4 eggs
1 cup sugar
Whisk on high speed until all ingredients are nicely combined and have turned into a creamy, but not solid texture (about 2 — 3 minutes).
Meanwhile fully melt:
1 stick of butter — fully melted
And then pour the butter into the eggs with sugar combination, which should have just reached a creamy texture. Let all mix together for an additional 1 — 2 minutes. Note, there is no need to stop the mixer during this step.
Add: Juice from 1 lemon, 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract,
1 tablespoon baking powder
Process on high speed until fully incorporated for about 2 minutes.
Add: 2 cups all-purpose flour; 1 1/2 cups milk. Process on medium speed until fully combined (about 2 minutes).
Bundt Cake Assembly: Note: Now that your batter is done, you still need to split it into 2 parts and add cocoa to the smaller part. For easier manipulation, pour the batter into a 4 cup measuring pitcher. If you do not have one, leave it in the mixing bowl. The entire batter will be approximately 4 cups.
Pour approximately 2 1/2 cups of batter into the Bundt cake pan (try to pour around the whole diameter).
Note: The amount for dividing the batter is just an approximation. Note, it is important to have at least 1/3 of the batter prepared to add cocoa powder to in later steps. If you leave less than 1/3 of the batter, the batter with cocoa will thicken too much and become heavy, which can have a negative impact on the marbling effect.
Add to the remaining 1 1/2 cups of batter:
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
And thoroughly stir with a silicone spatula until fully combined.
Then pour the remaining batter with cocoa powder into the Bundt cake pan around the entire diameter.
Bake: Bake in a preheated oven until fully baked (about 25 — 35 minutes). To reach an even baking result, rotate the cake 180° in the middle of baking.
Test with a toothpick.
Remove from the pan: Let slightly cool before flipping out of the pan (about 10 minutes). Do not go too much over this time, the Bundt cake needs to be removed while still hot.
When done, remove from the oven, cover with a plate, and flip upside down — since you should do it soon after removing the Bundt cake, use oven mitts to prevent yourself from getting burned.
If you had greased and floured your pan thoroughly and evenly, the Bundt cake will nicely release onto the plate without any effort.
Serving: Let fully (or at least partially) cool before serving. Cut into 12 even pieces. Serve with a delicate dusting of powdered sugar on the top.
Tip: If parts of the ingredients stick to the side of the stand mixer during processing, stop the mixer, and use a spatula to mix it back in. Then, continue processing.
Source: Tom Slepicka
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