Food

Beatrix Bakes · Cinnamon Walnut Bundt

Before we get into anything we must insist that you stop what you’re doing and watch this Bundt cake scene from My Big Fat Greek Wedding, which is possibly the humble Bundt’s most iconic moment in cinematic history.

Alright, now we’re all on the same page!

Over the course of this month, Nat Paull from Beatrix in North Melbourne has taken us on trips down memory lane with her Cocoa Meringue Roulade, delighted both our eyeballs and tastebuds with the most decadent Chocolate Creme Brûlée Tart, and transported us to afternoon tea-time at any time of the day with the perfect combination of crunchy, salty and gooey biscuits, her famous Almond Jaws.

We always knew that our time with Nat was going to come to an end, and if she must leave us, let her go out with a BUNDT.

Written
by
Nat Paull

The deliciously oozy Bundt cake in all its glory. Various vintage ceramics from Beatrix and The Establishment Studios. Photo – Caitlin Mills. Styling – Lucy Feagins. Styling Assistant – Ashley Simonetto.

Fluffy cinnamon, walnutty Bundt glazed to perfection. Various vintage ceramics from Beatrix and The Establishment Studios. Photo – Caitlin Mills. Styling – Lucy Feagins. Styling Assistant – Ashley Simonetto.

Nat is committed to using seasonal produce at Beatrix. Various vintage ceramics from Beatrix and The Establishment Studios. Photo – Caitlin Mills. Styling – Lucy Feagins. Styling Assistant – Ashley Simonetto.

Various vintage ceramics from Beatrix and The Establishment Studios. Photo – Caitlin Mills. Styling – Lucy Feagins. Styling Assistant – Ashley Simonetto.

Slightly cruel of us to post this bang on afternoon-tea time! Various vintage ceramics from Beatrix and The Establishment Studios. Photo – Caitlin Mills. Styling – Lucy Feagins. Styling Assistant – Ashley Simonetto.

‘I named it Beatrix as a homage (albeit a little improper) to the old fashioned suffix for female do-ers like aviatrix or senatrix. I am a female beater thus Beatrix,’ Nat explains of Beatrix’s origin story. Photo – Caitlin Mills. Styling – Lucy Feagins. Styling Assistant – Ashley Simonetto.

Writer
Nat Paull
27th of March 2018

I am slightly ashamed to admit how long my gorgeous Bundt tin has been in storage, lying in anticipation of the perfect recipe to fill it.

As is usually the way with things that bring joy, the wait was well worth it! If you have ever made a Belinda Jeffery recipe you will know that no one guides you through the baking maze better than her.

We bake this, our version of her Caramel Butter Crunch Cake, at Beatrix as an homage to her and her words, and that Bundt tin.

INGREDIENTS

250g sour cream (=250mL)
125g plain yoghurt (=125mL)
5g bicarb soda (around 1.5 teaspoons)
75g toasted walnuts
385g caster sugar (1 ¾ cups)
2 teaspoons freshly ground cinnamon
450g plain flour (3 cups)
1 ½ teaspoons fine sea salt
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
150g egg (around 3) at room temperature
250g unsalted butter, at a squidgy consistency and cut into chunks
2 teaspoons vanilla paste

FOR THE GLAZE

200g soft icing sugar
100g sour cream
1 ½ tablespoons espresso, or a little instant coffee dissolved in hot water

Method

Preheat oven to 170°C and butter a ten cup Bundt tin with soft, melty butter, being sure to get in all the crevices.

In a small bowl, whisk the sour cream, yoghurt, and bicarb together and allow to stand for 15 minutes. The mix will get puffy.

Put the nuts, half a cup of the caster sugar (110g) and the cinnamon in a food processor and pulse until the nuts are finely chopped. Put this mix into a small bowl.

Sift the flour, salt and baking powder together and set aside.

Pop the eggs and the remaining sugar in the food processor bowl (no need to wash in between) and whizz them for one minute. Add the butter and whizz for another minute. Pay no mind if the mix looks curdled

Stir the vanilla into the sour cream mix – it will deflate a bit. Add this mix to the food processor.

Add the flour mix to the food processor and whizz until the mixture is just combined.

As the full mix may be too big for most food processors, add the flour with the egg mix in a large bowl by hand with a whisk.

Starting with a layer of one-third of the cake batter, spoon it into the buttered bundt tin and smooth out.

Scatter over one-third of the nut sugar.

Cover this with another layer of batter and then the remaining nut sugar.

Finally, spoon over the rest of the batter and smooth with a hot spoon.

Bake for around 60 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean.

Cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes then gently turn out – if there are any problem areas, that skewer can help tease out the cake. Don’t freak out if there are any stuck bits, the glaze will mask it.

FOR THE GLAZE

Whisk together by hand, adjusting with extra sour cream to make an oozy, runny consistency.

Just before serving the cake, pour the glaze over the top, allowing it to find its way down the creases and crevices on the cake. This cake is beautiful served while still a smidge warm and can be glazed warm or room temperature.

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