Bundt Cake

  I've been wanting a Bundt cake pan for years. A few weeks ago Tom and I were in a Goodwill-type store and I found a Bundt pan. Tom took one look at it and said to wait, we'd find a better one (it was not perfectly clean and still had bits of cake stuck to the interior).

 I didn't think any more about it - the pans are expensive - until Tom made a stop at Kohl's and came home with one. It's the real thing - Nordic Ware (perhaps they all are) - and non-stick. Perfect. All I needed was a bit of time. And being out of desserts didn't hurt, either.

 I have been looking at recipes. None were very complex but I wanted to start with something very basic. I settled on a vanilla version that was posted on Sugar Spun Run. The recipe is here.

 I never use an electric mixer. A tablespoon and a whisk are enough. And I didn't follow the directions to add the ingredients slowly, a little at a time. Everything went into the bowl at once and then I took pains to make sure it was completely mixed before pouring it into the pan..

 But I did make it with the ingredients specified and found that just over 50 minutes baking time was perfect.

 The cake rose until it was almost out of the pan. That gave it a built-pedestal to sit upon while I added the glaze.

 I'd call it perfectly done. I used a thin metal cake tester and pushed it into the deepest part of the cake. It came up clean.

 A top view after glazing. I sprinkled chopped pecans atop the still-unset icing. That's the only modification I made to the recipe.

 And a side view of the completed cake.

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 It's delicious! I can think of a thousand things to do with the basic recipe. A lemon version and one with cinnamon inside sounds great. Onward!