mint julep bundt cake

May 6, 2012

mint julep bundt cake with sugared bourbon glaze | une gamine dans la cuisine

With the Kentucky Derby coming up this weekend, I had a valid excuse to create a recipe inspired by one of my favourite cocktails. I never watch the actual race because too many things can go wrong and I tend to form bonds with the horses just by looking at them...especially if they have a clever name.

But I'm not afraid to watch the hats. I'm hat person, I collect hats the way some people collect shoes.

Aside from newsboy hats & my favourite fedora, which I plan on wearing far too frequently this summer, I also love jaunty hats...as long as they're feather-free.

I also love knee-socks. Unfortunately Thankfully, both can't be worn at the same time.

Hats are always fashionable, and they're capable of making you feel better about yourself on those "please, don't look at me," days.

Mint juleps have the very same effect.

mint julep bundt cake with sugared bourbon glaze | une gamine dans la cuisine

I do like wine, just not as much as I pretend to like wine. Secretly, I'd rather sip on something doused in sugar and bourbon, a fabulous mess of empty calories.

These bundlettes come quite close to their namesake, the mint julep. Fresh mint is rubbed directly into the cake batter's sugar, giving them a refreshingly cool aftertaste. They're finished off with a brush of bourbon, followed by a tipsy sugar-bourbon glaze. The perfect fusion of cocktail + cake.

Should you decide to have both this weekend (thank you, Cinco de Mayo), don't worry too much. Because we all know that what we eat and drink on Friday night through midnight Sunday, doesn't count. Right?

mint julep bundt cake with sugared bourbon glaze | une gamine dans la cuisine

Mint Julep Bundt Cake
recipe loosely adapted from Williams Sonoma
Yields 6 mini-bundt cakes

for the cake
1/2 cup fresh mint
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking Powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
13 Tablespoons unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
3 eggs, lightly beaten

for the glaze
3 Tablespoons Bourbon

for the drizzle
1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
1/2 Tablespoon Bourbon

method
Finely chop the fresh mint. Place mint + sugar into the bowl of a stand mixer and, using your fingertips, rub the mint into sugar until sugar becomes aromatic and somewhat moist. (It won't get nearly as moist as it would with lemon zest, but it should take on some of the mint's moisture.) Set the sugar mixture aside to marinate as you prepare the rest of the ingredients.

Position a rack in the lower third of an oven and preheat to 325°F. Generously grease and flour a 6-well bundtlette pan. Tap out excess flour.

In a medium size mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt; set aside.
Add butter to the sugar mixture and, using the paddle attachment, beat sugar mixture and butter together on medium speed until creamy and smooth (about 3-5 minutes). Gradually add the beaten eggs, beating for about 1 minute after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Reduce the speed to low and add the flour mixture in three additions, blending each addition until just incorporated. (Do not over mix.) Spoon batter into the prepared pan and try to spread out the tops as evenly as possible. [Note: I used a soup spoon to drop the batter into the wells. I found it was easier to dollop 2 spoonfuls on opposite sides, and then gently coax them together with the spoon.]
Bake for 17-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of a cake comes out clean.
When the cakes are ready to come out of the oven, transfer the pan to a cooling rack and let the them rest upright (in pan) for 15 minutes; gently tap the pan on a work surface to loosen the cakes. Set the rack over a sheet of waxed paper and carefully invert the cakes onto the rack.
While the cakes are still a bit warm, dip a pastry brush into the bourbon and give each cake a healthy slather of bourbon. [If you want, you can brush the entire cake, not just the bottom.] Set the cakes aside, on a sheet of wax paper, as you prepare the glaze.
In a medium size mixing bowl, combine the confectioners' sugar and bourbon. Mix until smooth. If it's too thin, add more sugar, if it's too thick, add a little bit more rum...not too much, as a little bit of liquid goes a long way. Once you've reach your desired consistency and boozyness, drizzle/drench each cake. Allow the glaze to harden for about 10 minutes.

Enjoy at room temperature.

16 comments:

  1. Love this! These cakes look so good. Love the mint julep theme. Very clever, and beautifully done!

    I also love this because the bundt pan was made popular by a Minnesota company! ;-)

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  2. Bundtlettes? How cute is that! I can only imagine how refreshing these must taste thanks to the mint sugar - brilliant!

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  3. I already can smell the mint, great treat!

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  4. Lovely cake! A great flavor.

    Cheers,

    Rosa

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  5. I was hoping to see a photo of you wearing one of your hats. Don't make me wait until next year's Derby! My oversized head doesn't look good in hats but I love them on other people.

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  6. P.S. I would settle for a photo of you in knee socks.

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  7. @Beth, I have a huge head too, which is why I love hats! Headbands give me a headache, or they end up flying through the air as soon as I chew on something (which I find myself doing on a regular basis). :D

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  8. these sound super delicious with all that fresh mint! yum! and i love that you called them bundtlettes. i'm definitely jealous of your miniature baking pan collection :)

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  9. These bundt cakes are just gorgeous! And they sound delicious!!

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  10. I think there's a recurring drink theme going on here...I'm not complaining, though! Everything looks good! Love the photography, too.

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  11. Another alcohol recipe. That's perfect. I love hats, though I've almost never been able to pull them off. And knee socks. They're so much fun :) Just yesterday I went to a back to school party and wore them xx

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  12. Looks like such cute, yummy cakes!

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  13. Well aren't these just adorable...everything tastes better in mini form :)

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  14. Gorgeous! I wish I had seen this before I had to throw a sad bunch of mint out. I'll just test the bourbon to make sure it's still good...

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  15. Awww these are just darling! I don't really like mint but now I might give it another chance so I can make these beautiful babies.

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  16. I wish I had a hat collection, and more reason to wear them! I love hats.
    These little cakes look delicious - great idea!

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Happy Baking!
♥ Valerie

 

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