There are moments when you need something sweet. “A little sweet tooth tonight?” I was asked yesterday evening as I plunged a spoon into my red currant sorbet.
No, a sweet tooth in life, actually, not just last night. It doesn’t really go away. Besides, why would I want it to? Why deny myself a simple pleasure? Sweetness isn’t bad. Overindulgence, sure, but we invented toothpaste for a reason; it’s not as though we’re going to run out anytime soon.
Having written that, I don’t often make desserts, because being just one person, having an entire bundt cake in my kitchen is temptation to overindulge solidified.
Which is why I made this for a party. I walked into the Plateau apartment one chilly winter evening and looked at the group of people sitting around the dinner table at the end of a long hallway – none of whom I knew. A silence fell, a moment of awkwardness. Who is this girl? they thought, or I imagined them thinking.
I blurted, “I brought cake!”
And a cheer rose from the crowd, the awkwardness sliced into like a warm bundt cake straight from the oven.
Cinnamon Spice Bundt Cake (Vegan, Gluten Free)
The glory of this cake is in the caramel glaze lovingly painted onto it when still warm, which makes it slowly sink in and moisten an already soft interior. Don’t skip it, or you take the risk of serving friends (or strangers who’ll never become friends) a dry, bland, Depression-era sorry excuse for a dessert. The magic comes in inverting it from the bundt pan onto a tray or plate. Grease and flour the pan generally before filling to avoid any disappointment and lost potential friends. I’m sorry but you’re going to have to measure the ingredients or it won’t work because of the different flour options, e.g. white rice flour is a lot less dense than sorghum.
290 grams sorghum flour, brown rice flour, white rice flour or gluten free flour blend
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
Egg replacer equivalent to 3 eggs
5 tbsp olive oil
240 grams organic cane sugar
1/2 cup almond milk (or rice, soy or coconut milk)
1 tbsp dark rum (or 1 tsp vanilla or rum extract)
Caramel Glaze:
1 1/2 sugar
3 tbsp water
3 tbsp almond milk (or rice, soy or coconut milk or cream)
3 tbsp vegan margarine
Preheat the oven to 350˚F. Sieve the flour into a medium bowl. Whisk in the salt, baking powder, baking soda, nutmeg, cinnamon and dry mixture of the egg replacer. In a large bowl or stand mixer, cream the olive oil with the sugar. Beat in the flour mixture, almond milk and water for the egg replacer on medium speed for 3 minutes. The mixture should be very smooth. Scrape into the greased and floured bundt pan and bake for 35-40 minutes. A toothpick should come out clean. If it doesn’t, bake for 5 minutes more and check again.
While cake is baking, make the glaze. Stir together the sugar and water in a large skillet. Cook over medium-high heat without stirring until the mixture is amber coloured, about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and whisk in the almond milk and vegan margarine. If the cake is still baking, pour the caramel into another bowl or dish to stop it from burning in the skillet.
Brush 1/3 to 1/2 of the caramel glaze over the bundt cake while still warm and in the bundt pan. Let cool (at least a little) to infuse the caramel into the cake. Use a knife to release the cake from the pan edges and invert onto a rimmed tray or plate. If you’re scared of breaking the cake if it doesn’t all come out when you flip it, you can leave the cake in the bundt pan, but it’s a much prettier cake if you flip it. Take a deep breath. Believe in yourself. And go.
Brush the new top with caramel as desired.
Leave a Reply