brown sugar

pumpkin streusel coffee cake

If you live in the northeast, or anywhere in the U.S. for that matter, you’ve probably noticed something if you’ve been outside lately.

It’s pumpkin season!!!

Even though the weather still feels relatively summery here in NYC, there are pumpkins EVERYWHERE lately! Grocery stores, farm stands, corner bodegas, hardware stores, front porches, brownstone stoops, even apartment windows. Some of them are being nestled just so amidst colorful pots of hardy mums, while others are getting carved up into jack-o-lanterns with big toothy grins. You just can’t step out the front door without seeing a bunch of big orange squash all over the place.

And guess what! Pumpkins aren’t just decorative, they’re also pretty damn tasty! Canned or cubed, roasted or boiled, baked into pies and cakes or simmered into stews and curries. Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!

Pumpkin’s so adaptable and so universally loved this time of year that a huge part of the blogging community is coming out today to share their favorite pumpkin recipes in the Virtual Pumpkin Party! This pumpkin recipe sharing event has been hosted by Sara from Cake over Steak since 2015. Head over to her blog to see this year’s full list of links and check out all the drool inducing pumpkin recipes that speak to the versatility of the pumpkin, along with the limitless creativity of the blogging world.

Speaking of versatility and creativity, I decided that the Virtual Pumpkin Party was the perfect opportunity for me to take my spice cake bundt recipe out for a spin and really show you what she can do. I could have just made the pumpkin purée substitution and baked a simple, yet delicious bundt cake, but I knew that I could take this recipe even further. If you’ve been reading this blog long enough you’ve probably already noticed that I’m actually a curmudgeonly old lady living in the body of a 34-year-old gay man. So, true to form, I decided to use my humble spice cake recipe as the base for a show stopping coffee cake. A layer of toasted pecans and brown sugar, and a topping of buttery crunchy streusel may seem simple enough, but they seriously transform this cake.

The only slight change I made to the base recipe was to add just a bit more oil. The additional ingredients and thick layer of streusel mean this cake has to bake a long time before it’s fully cooked inside, and the extra oil helps keep the bottom and sides of the cake from drying out before the interior is done. I also decided to bake the cake in an angel food pan rather than a bundt pan, because bundts are meant to be turned out of the pan and served upside down, but I wanted that gorgeous streusel topping to be the star of the show. If you don’t have an angel food pan though, just bake it in a bundt pan and serve it with the streusel side up!

This cake is dense and rich and packed with heavenly, homey fall flavors. The cake itself is almost like a rich spiced pumpkin bread, the filling adds a lovely bit of toasty nutty texture, and the streusel is crunchy and buttery and salty in the best possible way. A light drizzle of cream cheese glaze adds just a touch of extra sweetness and a bit of creamy tang. I could go on, but I’m sure you get the picture. Now go preheat the oven already.

Pumpkin Streusel Coffee Cake

Servings: 12 to 16
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Streusel:
1/2 cup roughly chopped pecans
1 2/3 cups flour
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon espresso powder (optional)
1 1/2 sticks (12 tablespoons) cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes

Filling:
1 cup roughly chopped pecans
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon espresso powder (optional)

Cake:
3 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup dark brown sugar, firmly packed
4 large eggs
3/4 cup peanut oil (or vegetable or canola oil)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 3/4 cup (1 15oz can) canned pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)

Preheat oven to 350F.
Coat a large angel food pan with a removable bottom with butter and flour, or baking spray that includes flour. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Toast the pecans for the filling and the streusel together on a sheet pan for about 6 to 8 minutes or until fragrant. Let the nuts cool before making the streusel.

To make the streusel:
Put the flour, brown sugar, salt, cinnamon, espresso powder, and cold butter in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix the streusel slowly on low-speed just until it begins to clump together, which should take between 5 and 10 minutes depending on how cool everything is. Add the 1/2 cup of cooled toasted pecans and mix until well-distributed, about a minute.
Transfer the streusel to a small bowl, cover, and refrigerate.

To make the filling:
Mix the pecans, brown sugar, cinnamon, and espresso powder together with a fork in a small bowl. Set aside.

To make the cake:
Whisk flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, & nutmeg together in a bowl and set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, sugar, & brown sugar together on high-speed until light and fluffy, about three minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the eggs, one at a time, scraping between additions. In a small bowl or measuring cup, stir together oil, vanilla, & pumpkin purée. In the bowl with the butter and sugars, alternate additions of the flour and pumpkin mixtures at low-speed, beginning and ending with flour. Mix just until combined and do not overwork the batter. Scrape down the sides of the bowl to make sure all ingredients are well incorporated.

Pour about half the batter into the prepared pan and smooth out the top. Sprinkle the filling over the batter in an even layer, then top with remaining batter and smooth out. Firmly pound the pan against the countertop several times to tap out any air bubbles, then add the topping in an even layer. Bake in the center of the oven for 65 to 70 minutes, or until a toothpick or cake tester comes out clean from the center of the cake.

Transfer the pan to a wire rack to cool completely. Once cool, remove the cake from the pan and drizzle with cream cheese glaze (recipe below) if desired.

Cake should keep, in an air tight container at room temperature, for about 3 or 4 days.

Cream Cheese Bundt Glaze:
4 ounces (1/2 package) cream cheese, at room temperature
1 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 to 8 tablespoons milk

In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the cream cheese until it’s soft and smooth and light. Add the powdered sugar, vanilla, and 3 tablespoons of milk and blend until there are no lumps. If necessary, add more milk, a tablespoon at a time, beating after each addition until the glaze reaches the desired drizzle-able consistency. It should be about the consistency of thin melted ice cream to drizzle correctly.

Place a tray under cake and cooling rack to catch any drips. I used a small squeeze bottle to get a thin even line of drizzle and let some of the streusel show through. You could also do this by cutting a small hole in a sandwich bag, or you could make your life easier and just pour the glaze over the whole top of the cake.

This recipe will probably make more glaze than you need, but it’s tough to make a smaller batch with an electric mixer, and without a mixer it won’t come out as creamy and smooth.
It’s great though, so I promise you won’t be sad that you’ll have extra.

drømmekage (Danish dream cake) bundt cake #bundtbakers

Are you guys as ready for summer as I am?

Are you ready for sunny days and warm weather? Ready to feel the warmth of sunshine on your skin? Ready to walk outdoors in short sleeves and single layers of thin cotton clothing?

I’m not afraid to admit that I am. I am 100% ready. I’m also, officially, over this winter.

Up until this point I’ve been doing just fine. Really I have!
Here in the Northeast this winter has been totally mild and easily tolerated. At least it was until last week, when shady ol’ Mother Nature decided it would might great fun to give us a little taste of what we’ve been missing.

For three glorious days, temperatures were suddenly in the mid-70s during the day, with ample sunshine, warm breezes, and the smells of spring air. Record breaking warmth for this time of year. Easily deceived by Mother Nature’s dirty tricks, I started planning barbecues and garden parties.

Our false summer was fleeting though, and disappeared behind some rain clouds as suddenly as it arrived, leaving us to close the windows again and turn the heat back up.

Luckily, Christiane from Taking on Magazines chose “Tropical Vacation” as our theme for the bundt bakers this month. What better way to delude myself into thinking it’s warm and bright and wonderful outside when you and I both know that it isn’t?

If you’re as hungry (pun very much intended) as I am for some tropical distraction, please be absolutely certain that you scroll down past the recipe and see all the bright & tropical bundts that everyone came up with this month!

Oddly enough, I’ve never really been a huge fan of most tropical fruits. For whatever reason, I prefer my produce from more temperate climates. Maybe it’s because my family comes from sturdy cold-weather Bavarian German stock, maybe it’s because my grandfather spoiled me with all of his fruit trees and garden fresh berries, or maybe it’s just because I’m a creature of habit and prefer what I’m familiar with. Who knows?
Either way, given a choice between an apple or a mango, a pear or a papaya, a peach or a pineapple, 9 times out of 10 I’m going to choose the option that grows right here in the Northeast, not the one grown on some faraway island under the shade of a palm tree.

Coconut however, is the one exception to my aversion to tropical fruit. Ever since I was a child I’ve loved coconut, and I can remember countless fluffy white cakes covered in downy clouds of sweetened coconut flakes. I especially love coconut around Easter, when Grandma’s coconut cakes used to be made to look like cute fuzzy bunnies with licorice lips and whiskers, and candy coated eyeballs and noses.

It’s only fitting that I now have the chance to make a sensational coconut bundt cake with Easter only 10 days away.

A sensational bundt cake calls for a sensational bundt pan. Luckily Nordic Ware, the company that literally invented the bundt pan, just released a gorgeous new pan to celebrate their 70th anniversary. This elegant crown shaped pan is a gold plated show stopper and features curves in all the right places! They’re truly celebrating their anniversary in style.

Nordic Ware has been making exceptional cookware and bakeware right here in the US for 70 years now, and even after all this time they’re still a family owned company. The bundt pan is by far their most famous and most popular product, and no one makes bundt pans as well as they do. Their pans are sturdy, heavy duty, ultra-non-stick, and unbelievably durable.
I should know! I put those bundt pans through more than their fair share of abuse!
I know that I’ve said this before, but as a bundt baker and bundt lover, I can’t sing enough praises for Nordic Ware’s bundt pans.

I really wanted to come up with something special this month, so I was on a mission to come up with a recipe that would not only fit our tropical vacation theme, but that could also honor Nordic Ware’s Scandinavian heritage. It didn’t take me long to find a recipe for a traditional Danish cake called a Drømmekage or “Dream Cake”.

If you’re not familiar (I wasn’t), drømmekage consists of a tender vanilla cake that, after baking, is covered with a caramel and coconut topping and returned to the oven to brown up and caramelize. It certainly doesn’t get much dreamier than that!

The only problem was that drømmekage is usually made as a single layer sheet cake, with the topping added only at the very end of the baking process. Since the top of a bundt cake is actually at the bottom of the pan while it bakes, I knew that converting this cake into a bundt might be challenging. I was a man on a mission though, and I was determined to make it work. I just kept telling myself, “I can bundt that.”

At first I just tried making the recipe as originally written but baking the topping into the bottom of the pan. Unfortunately the topping didn’t hold up well and got sort of rubbery when baked along with the cake for the full time, and I found the vanilla cake to be a bit bland. Next I tried simply mixing the topping ingredients together instead of cooking them into a caramel first. I just added some of the cake batter to get it all to come together. This attempt was much improved but I thought it lacked the toasty caramel flavor I was hoping for. For my third (and final) attempt I decided to toast the coconut and brown the butter before mixing it all together. I also added some vanilla bean and coconut extract to un-bland-ify the interior cake.

Third time’s a charm as they say, and this cake seriously ended up being thebomb.com. Thankfully, it was worth all the effort and recipe testing!

The rich brown coconut part of this cake is dense and chewy on the outer edges with a buttery and almost creamy quality on the inside. It has an amazingly rich, toasty, nutty flavor from the browned butter and toasted coconut, and a wonderful caramel flavor from the dark brown sugar. The simple vanilla cake on the interior is tender and buttery and packed with warm homey vanilla flavor.

Getting the coconut and brown sugar mixture to work as a “topping” like it would in a traditional dream cake means that you have to carefully press the mixture against the walls of the pan and make sure to push it up the sides and center tube. This can be a bit of a pain but does make for an impressive presentation. If you want to make your life a little easier though, I think it would be simpler and just as delicious if you were to combine these two batters like a marble cake instead. I’ll leave that up to you.

If you can, I recommend you try to make this cake the day before you’d like to serve it. It was amazing on the first day but I found that the texture of the coconut part had become even more tender and wonderful by the second day.

Drømmekage (Danish Dream Cake) Bundt Cake

Servings: about 12
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adapted from Saveur

If possible, try making this cake one day before you plan to serve it. The cake benefits from a day’s rest.

Coconut “Topping”:
3 cups sweetened shredded coconut
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, plus more for pan
3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar

Cake:
1 1/4 cups sugar
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 vanilla bean, seeds scraped and pod discarded (or 1/2 teaspoon vanilla powder)
4 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon coconut extract (optional)
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pan
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 cup whole milk
1/4 cup powdered sugar for dusting, optional

Heat the oven to 350.
Evenly brush a 10 to 12 cup non-stick bundt pan with softened butter. Be sure to get into every nook and cranny. Dust pan with flour and tap out excess. Place pan in freezer while you proceed with recipe.

Make the coconut “topping”:
Spread coconut in an even layer over a large baking sheet. Toast coconut for about 10 minutes, stirring once to promote even browning and prevent burning. Watch carefully, the coconut can go from toasty to burnt in under a minute.
Once cool enough to handle, crush up roughly half of the coconut with your hands.
In a medium saucepan, brown the butter (only first stick) over medium heat, stirring regularly. Watch carefully to avoid burning. Once the butter reaches a nutty golden color, immediately transfer to a heatproof bowl. If desired, strain out browned milk solids in the butter. (I did, but not entirely necessary)
Add brown sugar and toasted coconut and stir to combine. Set aside.

Make the cake:
In a the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the sugar and softened butter (remaining stick) on high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 to 5 minutes. Add scraped vanilla bean seeds (or paste or powder) and mix to combine. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating to incorporate after each addition and scraping the sides of the bowl between additions. Add vanilla and coconut extracts and beat to combine.
Whisk together flour and baking powder in a small bowl.
Alternate additions of flour and milk, beginning and ending with flour, scraping sides of bowl after each addition. Mix just to combine after each addition. Do not over-mix.

Measure out about 2 cups of the batter and transfer to the bowl with the (cooled) browned butter and coconut mixture. Fold the batter in until combined.

If you want the coconut mixture on the outside and top of the cake, transfer it to the bundt pan and press the mixture against the sides of the pan, pushing it almost all the way up the outer sides and center cone of the pan. Next pour the remaining cake batter into the center of the coconut side walls.
If you’d prefer a marbled effect, pour cake batter into pan first, dot the top of the batter with several large spoonfuls of coconut mixture, and gently swirl the two batters together with a dull knife or icing spatula.

After adding batter to pan, gently tap the pan on the counter to remove air bubbles.
If using an intricately designed pan, you may want to place it on a cookie sheet to keep it level in the oven. Transfer to the center of the oven and bake just until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean, about 50 to 60 minutes.

Cool for 15 to 20 minutes on a wire rack before inverting the cake onto the rack to remove the pan. Cool for at least 30 minutes more before dusting with powdered sugar. Store in under a cake dome, in an airtight container or tightly wrapped in plastic wrap to prevent the cake from drying out. If well stored, the cake should keep for several days at room temperature.

There are so many mouthwatering bundts this month you can’t help but feel tropical. Regardless of what’s happening outside, you’re gonna need sunglasses to get through these amazing links!

Banana Coconut Pineapple Bundt by Food Lust People Love
Banana Pineapple Mini Bundt Cakes by I Love Bundt Cakes
Banana Rum Cake by Jane’s Adventures in Dinner
Bounty Bundt Cake by Baking in Pyjamas
Bundt Cake Tropical by La mejor manera de hacer …
Chocolate Coconut Tres Leche Bundt Cake by The Whisking Bowl
Drømmekage (Danish Dream Cake) Bundt Cake by Brooklyn Homemaker
Golden Tropical Coconut Bundt Cake by Faith, Hope, Love & Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice
Key Lime Bundt Cake by Taking On Magazines
Lava Flow Bundt Cake by All That’s Left Are The Crumbs
Lime-Coconut Bundt Cake by Palatable Pastime
Piña Colada Rum Bundt Cake by Making Miracles
Pineapple Upside Down Coconut Cake by Adventures in All Things Food
Raspberry Mojito Bundt Cake by SpiceRoots
Speckled Tropical Bundt Cake by I Camp in my Kitchen
Tequila Sunrise Bundt Cake by Los Chatos Chefs
Tres Leche Bundt with Pineapple and Strawberry Whipped Cream by A Day in the Life on the Farm
Tropical Hummingbird Bundt Cake by Tartacadabra
Tropical Supreme Cake with Rum Cream Cheese Glaze by Sew You Think You Can Cook

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#BundtBakers is a group of Bundt loving Bakers who get together once a month to bake Bundts with a common ingredient or theme. We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme or ingredient. You can see all of our lovely Bundts by following our Pinterest Board.

Updated links for all of our past events and more information about BundtBakers can be found on our homepage.

nori and black sesame caramel corn

You may or may not already know this about me, but I’m totally lame.

Other than going to work, I rarely ever leave the house. I loathe going into Manhattan, especially to go shopping, and thanks to the magic of the internet I don’t even have to leave the house to buy underwear!

I can remember a time (in my 20s) when my social calendar was overflowing, but over the years I started going out less and less. I got married, I took a stressful job, I got two little dogs, I started a food blog, I started trying to save rather than spend extra money. Before I knew it all these things added up to me going home, cooking dinner, and watching the Walking Dead after work rather than going out drinking with friends.

A few weeks ago, some amazing friends of mine invited me to the movies with them. It was a hard choice to make, whether to sit on my duff in front of the TV or to go talk to live humans in the wilderness of Williamsburg Brooklyn, but after some soul searching and option weighing I chose human interaction. Weird right?

Thing is, going to the movies in New York City is expensive. Like crazy expensive.
We discussed picking up snacks on the way to smuggle into the theater, but before I left the house a funny thing happened. Russell was out of town and I was alone at home on my day off and I was bored. I started getting excited about the prospect of leaving the house, and the next thing I knew I was in the kitchen.

Out of nowhere, I decided I needed to make caramel corn. I’ve only made caramel corn once before, but before I knew it the popcorn was popping and the caramel was bubbling away. You might not expect it, but caramel corn is actually a pretty easy recipe. Easy for homemade candy anyways. You don’t need a candy thermometer at all, just an easily adjusted burner and a good kitchen timer. And the ability to move quickly while handling bubbling hot sugar without injuring yourself.

I’ve been on a bit of a sesame oil kick lately, so I decided to swap some of the butter in the recipe for some nutty, toasty sesame oil. And some black sesame seeds. And why not, some crushed up toasted nori flakes too.

Before you turn your nose up at caramel corn with seaweed in it, rest assured this stuff is GOOOOOOOD. My friends were going crazy for it and impassioned whispers about how amazing it was could barely be heard over the movie. Weeks later they’re still cursing me for how good this stuff is and how they couldn’t stop eating it through the whole movie.

This is everything you want in good caramel corn with a little something extra. First you get the crunchy, sweet, salty, caramely, amazingness that you expect, but then you notice the nutty toasty sesame flavor and a gentle hint of salty brininess from the nori. The nori is really just a subtle hint that pairs incredibly with the sesame flavors and complements the salty caramel in a really modern, mature, and interesting way.

If you still really aren’t sold on the nori though, I promise you can leave it out and still maintain the modern and mature flavor of this caramel corn.

About a week later I actually made this recipe again at my grandmother’s behest. We were having the same friends over to watch the Oscars and planned to make some braised chicken for dinner. Grandma asked what I had planned for dessert, and when I said we weren’t having dessert she insisted that I couldn’t have a dinner party without something sweet at the end. So, with only an hour or two before I needed to start dinner, I decided to try another twist on this same recipe.

Never wanting to serve the same thing twice, I decided to make a few little changes to add a different flavor. I skipped the nori, and added a heaping tablespoon of srirachi chili sauce instead (added at the end with the vanilla and sesame oil).
This version was equally phenomenal, and I’d be really hard pressed to pick a favorite. Along with a great chili flavor, the Sriracha adds just a hint of lingering heat that’s amazing with the sweet buttery caramel and isn’t overpowering in any way. If you’re really not stoked on the idea of seaweed in your caramel corn, go ahead and try the sriracha version instead.

Nori and Black Sesame Caramel Corn

Servings: makes about 8 cups
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adapted from the New Better Homes & Gardens Cookbook, 2005

2 tablespoons peanut oil
1/4 to 1/3 cup unpopped popcorn kernels (8 cups popped)
1/4 cup crushed nori (optional)
1 tablespoon black sesame seeds
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
5 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
3 tablespoons light corn syrup
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon baking soda

Preheat oven to 300.

Heat oil in a large heavy bottomed stockpot or dutch oven over medium high heat. Add popcorn and cover with a lid. Using potholders or a towel to hold the handles, shake the pot around to keep the kernels moving as they pop. When several seconds pass between pops, remove from heat. Remove and discard any un-popped kernels and return popcorn to the pot it was popped in. Crush nori up into small flakes with your hands and add, along with sesame seeds, to the pot with popcorn.

Combine brown sugar, butter, salt, and corn syrup in a medium sauce pan. Cook and stir over medium heat until mixture begins to boil. Reduce heat to medium to maintain a moderate boil, and cook, without stirring, for exactly 5 minutes.

Remove pan from heat and stir in sesame oil, vanilla, and baking soda. Immediately pour caramel mixture over popcorn and gently toss toss toss to combine as quickly as you can. If you don’t work quickly the caramel will harden and become difficult to mix.
Spread popcorn in an even layer over a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes, stir mixture around, and bake for 5 minutes more. Once cooled enough to handle gently toss the popcorn around so it doesn’t all stick together in one large block.

Store tightly covered for up to one week. It probably won’t last that long.

*variation: If you’re not sure about the nori but like a bit of heat, try skipping the nori and add a heaping tablespoon of sriracha along with the sesame oil and vanilla in the recipe.

brown sugar coconut bundt cake with dark chocolate ganache #bundtbakers

Have you had your Girl Scout Cookies yet this year?

We got ours, shipped in from Texas a few weeks ago, fresh from one of Russell’s girlfriend’s daughters. He ordered a few different flavors, but of course our favorites are the coconutty caramelly shortbread Samoas. In my experience, these are most people’s favorite choice, unless they don’t like coconut (in which case they’re probably crazy and may need to be committed).

This month Kelly from Passion Kneaded is our Bundt Bakers host and, in the spirit of the season, she chose Girl Scout Cookies as our theme. It didn’t take me more than half a millisecond to decide my cake would be inspired by the incomparable Samoa.
Thank you Kelly!

If you love Girl Scout Cookies (and Bundt cakes) as much as I do, be sure you scroll down past the recipe to see all the other mouthwatering recipes the Bundt Bakers came up with this month!

Rather than recreating the Samoa in Bundt cake form, I decided to just let the flavors and ingredients of the cookie inspire, rather than dictate, the direction I would take my cake.

I just bought a classic 12 cup Nordic Ware Bundt, and wanted to show it off in all it’s beautiful glory so I decided not to cover up the outside of the cake with a thick layer of coconut and caramel.
Instead, I thought I’d try to mix some brown sugar and butter with sweetened coconut flakes and make a sort of “shell” to line the interior of the pan before pouring in the batter. This way the coconut and “caramel” would appear to be on the outside just like the cookie, but it would really be baked as part of the cake. For the body of the cake, I used brown sugar and coconut milk to help emphasize the flavors of the coconut shell.

Mere words cannot describe the otherworldly sublime aroma that filled my house while this cake baked.

When it came time to glaze the cake I went with a thick, rich, bittersweet dark chocolate ganache. I decided on dark chocolate over milk because, A) I personally prefer dark chocolate, and B) real Samoas have dark chocolate drizzled over them too.

Have you ever heard anyone refer to Samoas as Caramel Delites? I always assumed the two names were just regional variations on the same cookie, but it turns out that these are two different types of girl scout cookies and the difference depends on the bakery they come from. Samoas have a richer, darker caramel color and a higher caramel to cookie ratio with a dark chocolate drizzle. Caramel DeLites have a caramel that’s lighter in color and not as thick, so more of the cookie comes through in the flavor. They’re also, oddly enough, actually octagonal rather than round, and are drizzled with milk chocolate instead of dark.

I usually bring at least half of my bundt cakes to work with me every month to share with my coworkers, because a bundt cake is too big for me and Russell to eat on our own (as much as we’d like to). Unless I have a special occasion or celebration that calls for a homemade cake, I’m baking these cakes each month just for the fun of it and because I like the challenge of working within the group’s theme each month.

This time around, everyone LOVED the cake other than one coworker who doesn’t like coconut (lunacy). The one thing that seemed to be a point of contention though was the dark chocolate ganache. Some people, myself included, were crazy for the contrast of light sweet delicate cake and assertive rich dark chocolate, while others thought the dark chocolate was too strongly flavored and overpowered the cake. If you’re not a fan of dark or bittersweet chocolate you can definitely go with milk instead for a Caramel Delite affect, or you could even substitute a powdered sugar and cocoa glaze if you think ganache might be too rich for you.

However you want to glaze this cake is just fine. Dark chocolate, milk chocolate, or a thin cocoa glaze, it’s all going to be delicious. In the end it doesn’t matter anyway, because the real star of the show here isn’t the glaze, it’s the CAKE!!!

The outside of this cake has a sweet buttery chewy crunchy coconut caramel shell that really drives that Samoa flavor home. The interior of the cake is buttery, tender and impossibly moist with a perfect subtle hint of caramel thanks to brown sugar and a delicate touch of coconut. Oh man.

So good.

Brown Sugar Coconut Bundt Cake with Dark Chocolate Ganache

Servings: 12-16
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Adapted from Food Network

Coconut brown sugar mixture:
butter and flour for pan
2 cups sweetened shredded coconut
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) melted unsalted butter

Cake:
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup white sugar
1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
6 large eggs, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon coconut extract, optional
1 cup canned unsweetened coconut milk

Ganache:
4 oz good quality dark chocolate
1/2 cup heavy cream
pinch of salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 F.
Generously butter and flour a 10 to 12 cup non-stick bundt pan. I recommend one of Nordic Ware’s cast aluminum pans because of their superior non-stick coating. The coconut brown sugar mixture may stick to less non-stick pans or pans that are very intricately designed. Simpler is better in this case. Tap out excess flour and refrigerate.

Mix brown sugar and coconut together until well distributed. Pour melted butter over the mixture and toss to combine. Press into prepared bundt pan and refrigerate while you prepare the rest of the cake.

In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and baking powder.
Cream the butter and sugars together using a stand mixer or hand mixer until very light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, scraping the bowl after each addition. Once incorporated, stir in the extracts and the coconut milk and beat until combined. Slowly beat in the dry ingredients in three additions just until the mixture is smooth. Do not over mix.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan up to about 3/4 of the way full. If your pan is smaller than 12 cups, you may have batter leftover. Bake until a cake tester comes out clean, about 70 minutes. Cool cake 20 minutes before turning it out onto a wire cooling rack. Cool completely on the rack.

Once cake is completely cool, make the ganache.
Chop chocolate into small pieces and place in a small heat proof bowl. Heat heavy cream in a small saucepan just until it begins to simmer. Pour cream over the chocolate, add a pinch of salt, and let sit for 2 minutes so the heat from the cream can melt the chocolate. Add the vanilla and stir or whisk until smooth and free of lumps. Before the ganache cools, pour it over the cake in a thick even stream.

Cake will keep, well covered and air tight, for 2 to 3 days at room temperature.

Check out all these drool worthy Girl Scout Cookie inspired cakes! I can’t handle this much delicious in one place!!!

- - Brown Sugar Coconut Bundt Cake with Dark Chocolate Ganache from Tux at Brooklyn Homemaker
  - Chocolate Dipped Vanilla Mini Bundt Cakes from Renee at Magnolia Days
  - Chocolate Mint Bundt Cake from Teri at The Freshman Cook
  - Coconut Caramel Samoas Bundt Cake from Anshie at Spice Roots
  - Cranberry Lemon Bundt Cake from Jelena at A Kingdom for a Cake
  - Do Si Do Mini Bundts from Anne at From My Sweet Heart
  - Double Glazed Peanut Butter & Chocolate Fudge Bundt from Laura at Baking in Pyjamas
  - Golden Nut Bundt (Juliettes Bundt) from Tammy at Living the Gourmet
  - Lemon Bundt Cake with Lemonade Frosting from Anna at Media Racion Doble, Por Favor
  - Lemon Yogurt Bundt Cake with Limoncello Glaze from Pam at Sidewalk Shoes
  - Lemonade Bundt from Jane at Jane’s Adventures in Dinner
  - Lemonade Bundt Cake from Esti at Mummy & Cute
  - Marbled Samoa Bundt Cake from Patricia at Patty’s Cake
  - Mini Samoa Bundt Cakes from Andrea at Adventures in All Things Food
  - Mini Vanilla Bundt Cakes with Lemon Drizzle from Kathya at Basic N Delicious
  - Mint Chocolate Chip Bundt Cake from Sarah at The Chef Next Door
  - Mint Filled Coconut Vanilla Bundt from Shilpi at Simply Veggies
  - Peanut Butter Tagalong Bundt Cake from Mary at That’s My Home
  - Peppermint & Chocolate Marble Bundt Cake from Lara at Tartacadabra
  - Samoa Bundt Cake from Beatriz and Mara at I Love Bundt Cakes
  - Samoa Bundt Cake from Jana at Jenny and Sweets
  - Samoas Bundt Cake from Aisha at La Cocina de Aisha
  - “Savannah Smiles” Lemony Bundt Cake from Samantha at Un Mordisco Un Pecado
  - Spiked Lemonade Bundt from Kelly at Passion Kneaded
  - Tagalong Cookie Core Bundt from Julie at Eat, Drink, Be Mighty
  - Thin Mint Chocolate Bundt Cake from Rebekah at Making Miracles
  - Toffee-tastic Bundt Cake from Linda at Brunch with Joy
  - Trios (Peanut Butter-Chocolate Chip-Oat) Bundt from Stacy at Food Lust People Love
  - What’s your favorite Girl Scout Cookie? (Tagalong Bundt Cake) from Wendy at A Day in the Life on the Farm
  - Whole Grain Oats Bundt {Rah-Rah Raisins} from Rocio at KidsandChic

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Interested in learning more about us? #BundtBakers is a group of Bundt loving bakers who get together once a month to bake Bundts with a common ingredient or theme. We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient. You can see all our of lovely Bundts by following our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated after each event on the BundtBaker home page here.

If you are a food blogger and would like to join us, just send an email with your blog URL to foodlustpeoplelove@gmail.com. If you are just a lover of Bundt baking, you can find all of our recipe links by clicking our badge above or on our group Pinterest board.