Can you believe it’s July already? I hope you all have been enjoying the warm weather. It has been lovely weather in my hometown, but we have had many rainy days. I also hoped you enjoyed the Fourth of July holiday with your friends and family. I had a lovely day eating cookout food, and I saw a few fireworks from my front porch. During the holiday weekend, I created a new recipe that I would like to share with you. Bundt cakes are a fun dessert that is perfect for family picnics or barbeques, and I never made one until now. I watched one of my favorite baking shows on Netflix, “Zumbo Just Desserts,” and got in the mood to experiment in the kitchen.

This recipe is a delicious take on a Strawberry Glazed Bundt Cake inspired by Food blogger Julie Clark. This bundt cake is moist, fluffy, and full of flavor, with cinnamon and nutmeg added into the gluten-free flour and cake flour mixture. Please note this recipe is not entirely gluten-free because of the cake flour. I always had a little cake flour into my gluten-free cakes to help the cake not be too dry. There are also chopped walnuts and ice with a strawberry glaze. This bundt cake is sweet, delicious, and made with love. I am going to be completely honest; I started using the recipe by Julie Clark. Then I decided to be creative, so my recipe is entirely different from Ms. Clark’s recipe, but her directions and baking time were very helpful.

                    Vanilla Spice Bundt Cake

Ingredients:

• 1 stick of salted butter
• 1 cup of granulated sugar
• 1 cup of light brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tablespoon of vanilla bean paste (Substitution: 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract)
• 1/3 cup of canola or vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup of reduced-fat Fairlife milk
• ½ cup of heavy whipping cream
• 1 cup of King Arthur’s Unbleached Enriched Cake Flour
• 1 cup of Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-Free 1 to 1 Baking Flour
• 2 teaspoons of baking powder
• 1 teaspoon of baking soda
• 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon of nutmeg
• ¼ teaspoon of salt
• ½ cup of chopped walnuts

Strawberry Glaze  

Note: Orange or lemon would work well with this recipe if you do not want to use strawberries.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup of strawberry jelly or 2 cups of fresh chopped strawberries
• 2 cups of powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon of LorAnn Gourmet strawberry flavoring
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
• 2-4 tablespoons of heavy whipped cream
• 3 tablespoons of melted butter
• ¼ teaspoon of salt

Directions:

1. Gather all your ingredients.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the gluten-free flour, cake flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Set aside.
3. In a microwave-safe bowl, place one stick of butter in the bowl, and melt for fifteen to twenty seconds to soften the butter.
4. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, blend the cane sugar, light brown sugar, and butter until blend well like a paste, about two minutes.
5. Add the eggs, oil, and vanilla until light and fluffy. (Baking tip: Crack eggs into a liquid measure cup to prevent egg shells from getting into your batter.)
6. Measure out the milk and heavy cream in a liquid measuring cup.
7. With the mixture on low speed, gradually add the flour mixture in 2 batches, beating until combined, stopping to scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed. Do not over-beat.
8. Slowly pour the milk and cream mixture into the mixer while the dry ingredients are incorporated into the batter.
9. Once the batter is blended and fluffy, fold in the chopped walnuts using a baking spatula.
10. Mix batter until it is smooth and blended well.

1. Spray the bundt cake pan with baking spray or cooking spray to prevent the cake from sticking in the pan.
2. Using a baking spatula, fill the pan ¾ of the way, making sure there is room for the bundt cake to rise while baking in the oven.
3. Bake the cake for forty-five minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Time may vary depending on the type of oven you have.
4. While the cake is in the oven, prepare the glaze.
5. To make the glaze, combine the powdered sugar, melted butter, diced strawberries or jelly, and strawberry oil and vanilla bean paste in a small bowl. Mix until it is smooth, adding the cream a tablespoon at a time until you’ve reached the consistency you’d like.
6. Once the cake is cool, spread the glaze and rainbow chocolate chips on top of the cake. Slice and serve.

I planned to use fresh strawberries with this recipe, but I curdled the icing mixture the first time and remade the icing with jelly because I didn’t have any more fresh strawberries. Sometimes, I make mistakes when I experiment in the kitchen, but I never give up. I hope you enjoy making this recipe as much as I had fun making it for my family. The bundt cake came out so good my parents went back in the kitchen for a second slice.

Featured Photo by Ksenia Chernaya from Pexels