Monday, August 23, 2010

Toasted Pine Nut Lemon/Blueberry Mini Bundt. Yes, I Am Impressed With Myself!

A baker I am not.  I generally don't like to bake because I have had more flops than rave reviews.  Don't get me wrong, most of the time anything I try to bake tastes perfectly yummy, however, I have never claimed to be Picasso, O'Keeffe, Monet or even Duff.  Baking induces anxiety in me kind of like Finite did in college. In baking, everything needs to be precise and measured.  I don't like to measure or follow recipes. I consider myself to be more of a free spirit when it comes to cooking - no measuring, no rules, no recipes = perfection in the kitchen.

Having rambled enough, I had fresh blueberries I was itching to do something with.  Blueberry anything is my favorite and I was craving blueberry muffins but wanted something more filling (so I wouldn't eat half a dozen at one time) and opted for mini bundt cakes.  I took a basic recipe and altered it to what I had on hand and thought might actually turn out well.  This was a big risk for me (see opening note) so I actually measured what I added and wrote it down (another big deal for me since I rarely write my recipes down).  What I came up with was a Toasted Pine Nut  Lemon/Blueberry Mini Bundt Cake and just let me say HOW VERY IMPRESSED WITH MYSELF I AM! 

Toasted Pine Nut Lemon/Blueberry Mini Bundt Cakes
1/3 cup  Butter - softened
2  Eggs - room temperature
1  Lemon juiced & pulp
2 T.  Lemon zest
1 cup Sugar
1 1/2 cups Flour
1 tsp. Baking Powder
1/2 tsp. Salt
1/2 cup Milk (use whole or 2 %)
2 cups Fresh Blueberries
1 cup Pine Nuts - Toasted
Preheat oven to 350 Degrees and grease and flour pan

Mix flour, baking soda and salt in bowl and set aside.

Cream butter and sugar in large bowl.  Add eggs one at a time, mixing well with each egg.  Add lemon juice with pulp and lemon zest.  Alternate adding milk and flour a little at a time and mix well (don't over mix though).

Fold in blueberries and toasted pine nuts.  Pour into pan and bake approx. 25 minutes until toothpick comes out clean.

*Tip for toasting nuts - Put nuts in skillet over medium heat and toss continuously.  When you start to smell their nutty fragrance they are done.  It's very easy to burn nuts while toasting so don't walk away.

Note - I'm still finding it hard to eat just one!



2 comments:

  1. Very nice recipe. Love the idea of individual little bundt cakes.

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  2. I'm like you. Hate to measure. Why I do more cooking than baking. But, you're dessert is great!
    diane

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