“Cake is happiness! If you know the way of the cake, you know the way of happiness! If you have a cake in front of you, you should not look any further for joy!”
C. JoyBell C.
Lime Marzipan Mini Bundt Cakes … charming little tea cakes and a nice departure from my recent adventures with bittersweet chocolate. These little babies came together thanks to all the yummy food gifts I get ever so often. I am eternally grateful for them, they offer a constant source of inspiration.
Finla sent me some marzipan when Haan was visiting India a while ago. She sent me sacks full of stuff actually. So much that I think of her every time I bake because there is always a connect at the baking level. I was also at the receiving end of loads of other baking ingredients that another visiting friend from the UK brought for me.
It’s a touching feeling, nice to be at the receiving end I mean. Growing up, being at ‘that‘ end wasn’t always nice. Now it’s all good! For the baker in me, it can’t get better than this.
Summer has arrived in North India with a vengeance. Not yet into May and we are already hitting the 40C mark. The promise of stone fruit, summer berries, litchis, mangoes and melons lures me, but there’s work to do. I need to get the perishables into the fridge. Can’t leave even chocolate out as ‘room temperature‘ is another story!
Everything melts … E V E R Y T H I N G! Even poor Coco looks like she will melt, eyes and all!
So as I sat settling stuff into my ‘baking fridge,‘ I found many yummy ingredients. So rather than settling stuff, I settled down to bake something I had bookmarked – A Lemon Marzipan Cake. It would need to go the lime way though, as we are not a ‘lemon country‘.
My penchant for mini servings and petite cakes cannot be understated. I reached out for my sweet little mini bundt cake tin that I had bought from Old Delhi in 2009. For some reason I didn’t use it until 2 weeks ago. That was the first time {post yet to see light of day} but I was smitten! A mini bundt tray is a brilliant idea.
I loved the Lime Marzipan Mini Bundt Cakes. The batter gave me a bakers dozen – 12 mini bundts and one a little bigger! The texture of the batter was interesting; almost thick and sticky. Must have been the golden syrup doing something in there. The consistency was somewhere in between a cake batter and a cookie batter! It did get me a little unsure but then again, it was ready to bake!
This is my first time using marzipan in a cake. It added delicious new dimensions to these petite cakes. The lime and marzipan paired beautifully, the glaze adding a nice touch to them. I like mini bundts because you have the choice of adding a teeny helping of fresh fruit, or a dessert sauce, or whipped cream, maybe even preserves. For food on the go, a picnic or snack box, they are good to go as is!
It’s always fun when the kids get back in from school. The first question always is – what did you do {as in make in food terms} today. All roads lead to the kitchen! From sudden peace and quiet, it’s always a burst of activity, dog happier than ever that the kids are finally home!
So I served them mini bundts with fresh fruit, strawberries and mulberries, and strawberry & mulberry smoothies on the side! Colourful, pretty and fun, I was glad I made these little bundts! Simple, ONE BOWL {yes indeed} and fuss free, it’s a great recipe to have on hand.
Recipe: Lime Marzipan Mini Bundt Cakes
Summary: Lime Marzipan Mini Bundt Cakes … charming little cakes that seem perfect for a tea table, picnic, snack box or as a gift. Simple one bowl petite cakes that are fresh and exciting. A Tate & Lyle recipe
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes
Ingredients:
- 125g golden marzipan
- 250g plain flour
- 1½ tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 115g soft butter
- 115g Tate & Lyle Fairtrade Caster Sugar {I used 100g}
- 75g Lyle’s Golden Syrup
- 2 medium eggs
- 3 tbsp milk
- 2 large lime {or 1 large lemon}, grated zest
- Icing:
- 1 tbsp lime juice {lemon juice}
- 75g Tate & Lyle Fairtrade Icing Sugar
Method:
- Preheat the oven to 180C. Grease a 12 mold mini bundt tray or line a 900g/2lb loaf tin.
- Cut the marzipan into small pieces and toss in a teaspoon of the flour. {It’s easier to chop marzipan when it’s chilled}
- Sift the remaining flour and baking powder into a large bowl, add the butter, Tate & Lyle Fairtrade sugar, Lyle’s golden syrup, eggs, milk and lemon zest and beat together until well mixed and smooth. Fold in the marzipan bits gently.
- Spoon the mixture into the tin and level the surface. Place in the oven and cook for 20-25 minutes {or 40-45 minutes for the loaf tin} or until well risen and firm to the touch. Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack.
- Mix the lime juice and icing sugar together and stir until smooth, when the cake is cool drizzle over the top and leave to set.
- Note: Serve with fresh seasonal fruit if you like.
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Also find me on The Rabid Baker, The Times of India
I was in a hurry to slice the pie so the juices ‘leaked’ a bit. It sliced just fine a while later! The dough is a normal short crust that I substituted with a little cornmeal. Cornmeal works really well in all my galettes. This was my first double crust pie. It worked great. A classic American apple pie served with vanilla ice cream seems likely in the future!
