An Abundance of Bundts

How I love my Bundt tins.

To begin with I coveted these tins of beauty and mystery from afar via my laptop and all the food blogs - most of which are American - that I somewhat obsessively check daily. There was something so tantalising about them, cake in a brand new form, akin to seeing recipes familiar yet strange in their use of zucchini and arugula (an I still don't understand the different forms of cocoa powder you can get in the US, nor which is the version we have here, but I have mastered converting from cup measures, once managed to make my own 'cake flour' and have grasped that a 'stick' of butter weighs 112g). Then I saw one for sale in Lakeland and discovered how amazing the cakes contained within these tins can be; both to bake and to eat. Versatile, simple, yet their presentation punches well above their weight. Plus (and this is a massive bonus for one not gifted with a delicate touch) their design negates the need for icing - even if a recipe calls for a glaze or ganache, perhaps a dusting of icing sugar, it can be drizzled over in a haphazard manner and most of the time it's not needed at all. The beauty of these cakes lies in the flavour that can be packed into those beautifully designed tins.

Have I convinced you yet to go out and invest in one? If not, then just remember that most Bundt recipes can be divided into two 9x5 loaf tins.

Since that initial Lakeland tin my collection has grown, so much so that I've just arranged for extra shelving to be put up in my increasingly cluttered kitchen, lest the current cabinets detach from the wall under their collective weight (although the uncontrollable baking recipe book fetish may pose more of a risk).

Family and friends are grateful, not only for there now to be an entry under the heading 'hobby' with which to aid their gift buying, but also as recipients of the finished products. Everyone's a winner, from the dairies that provide the many cartons of buttermilk I get through in a month, via the supermarkets that provide the rest of the ingredients, to the neighbours, friends and colleagues who receive their share of the finished goods, to Weight Watchers et al who probably owe a week or two subscriptions to the products of my insomniac Sundays. Bundts even allow me my guiltiest pleasure - their cracked and domed tops, fresh from the oven can be tested and tasted whilst warm as this will soon become the hidden base. I tell you, there's little that these tins can't do - including helping you to make your Sunday Roast.

My recent obsession has been baking with bananas. I've discovered a couple of local shops that sell perfectly ripened bananas reduced in price as they're too perfectly ripe for most consumers, but for a baker they're just perfect. Supermarket bought bananas can take weeks to reach this stage so I've taken to walking round these various shops on a Saturday collecting fruit bursting with flavour (and occasionally out of their skins - I always take a plastic bag with me now) in order to bake on a Sunday morning. I've tried several recipes over the weeks and I think my adaptation from Dorie Greenspan's Classic Banana Bundt recipe is not at all bad. I'm not sure when you can claim a recipe as your own, there are plenty of additions and a couple of substitutions in this recipe, but she certainly gave me the start I needed. I've added spices, reduced the sugar, swapped some of the flour for wholemeal and, of course, used buttermilk. This last Sunday morning was spent with this bread's latest incarnation prompted by the gift of some amazing miniature tins - how great are these?

I can't tell you the fun I had, the only problem was trying to choose which of my neighbours would get which shape and size cake. I hope you enjoy this recipe, and I really hope you get to try baking Bundt soon.

Banana Bread

(adapted from Dorie Greenspan's recipe in 'Baking From My Home to Yours)

225g butter

100g light muscavado sugar

150g caster sugar

450g (approx 4-5) mashed, very ripe bananas

Squeeze of lemon juice

225g wholemeal flour

225g plain flour

2 tsp bicarbonate of soda

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp ginger

1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg

1/4 tsp salt

2 tsp vanilla extract

2 large eggs

1 cup buttermilk ( I use one 284ml carton)

Preheat oven to 180C, grease tin(s) and dust with flour, tapping out the excess.

Whisk together dry ingredients in a bowl

Mash bananas and squeeze over a little lemon juice

Beat together sugars and butter till light and fluffy - about 5 minutes with a stand mixer on medium high speed.

Beat in vanilla and eggs one at a time, beating for a minute after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary

Reduce mixer speed to low and add half the dry ingredients (batter may curdle, don't worry), followed by the buttermilk then the remaining dry ingredients.

Once incorporated scrape into tin(s) and smooth the top(s) and place in the oven.

For one large Bundt bake for 64 - 70 minutes, but be sure to check after 20 minutes or so to see if the top is browning too quickly, if it is, cover the top loosely with foil. For the mini Bundt pans I baked for 25-30 and the teeny and tiny loaf tins, 20 -25 mins.