Raspberry Olive Oil Bundt Cake + Lemon Cream Cheese Glaze
The berries this year are stunning here on the west coast. It has probably been our outrageously hot weather, I don’t think it has rained in over two months (expect for a small drizzle this past weekend) which is very rare for us, even in the summer time we usually get some west coast famous grey days but this summer is drought like. The berries though are in love with this heat wave, they are extremely sweet and popping up like wildflowers. We even have blackberries already and they don’t normally burst through until August!
Needless to say they have been a major inspiration in my baking/cooking lately….I stop off at the berry stand by my house twice (sometimes three) times a week to grab a fresh basket of either blueberries, strawberries, blackberries, raspberries or sometimes when my will power just does not exist, buying a flat of them all. Throwing them into salads, onto my morning oatmeal or creamy yogurt parfaits, into scones and cakes and muffins! They have been making waves through our house, hence the inspiration for this here, raspberry lemon cake.
I have decided that I am over cake for special occasions only. I mean who made that rule up anyway? I say cake anytime, any day, any occasion, any meal….
I love bundt cakes; I think they are just so lovely; their prettiness is underrated and simplistic. They are ease and beauty in a baked pan. I am on the hunt right now for old vintage bundt pans, in all sorts of different shapes and sizes; I am thinking a collection of sorts is going to start building. How lovely they will all look lined up, hanging so delicately on the wall within arm’s reach whenever a cake dream arises.
This cake has just a hint of lemon and uses the best maple syrup (Canadian, grade a) and olive oil which give it a light richness that is just too hard to explain unless you dig a fork into it yourself.
I love baking with olive oil it gives the cake such softness, this cake is actually just a rendition of my Vanilla, Olive Oil cake found here (apparently I only make cream cheese icings? ha kidding, I do make others, but a cream cheese is usually my go-to, they are just that good...this one is also a little different than the vanilla cake one), which again uses maple syrup as the sweetener. Olive oil and maple syrup are just paired so well together and the cake comes out incredibly moist, yet intrinsically light, but filled with that depth you look for in a bundt cake.
So yes when cake is this good, I see more in my future household, on none special occasion days like this one was made for, a craving nothing more, nothing less. Plus I get to give you pretty recipes and work on my baking skills, which let me tell you don’t always come out so perfect and pristine, there are many a mishaps happened in my kitchen.
Actually Paul and I were making the most amazing meal together on Sunday night (roasted carrots, rack of lamb cuts, with mint sauce and caramelized shallot, garlic, rosemary baby potato soup, it was total heaven in the making and I will probably have to share my lamb and mint sauce with you once perfected) when he turned to me and said “you know your cooking has gotten really good, remember when every second meal used to be “oh this didn’t turn out so well, oh yeah maybe don’t eat that, oh no not that either, yeah I need to work on this recipe”, now you have like a 90% success rate”…ha he knows how to make me feel special…this cake was in the 90% success rate he was talking about.
raspberry olive oil bundt cake + lemon cream cheese glaze
cake
3 cups all purpose flour
½ tsp baking
½ tsp baking soda
2 cups of maple syrup
1 cup olive oil
1 cup buttermilk
3 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
½ cup fresh lemon juice
rind of 1 lemon
½ tsp Himalayan salt
1 cup raspberries
lemon cream cheese glaze
1 cup of cream cheese
3 tbsp of water
2 tbsp of maple syrup
2 tsp of vanilla
juice of one lemon
rind of one lemon
directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Thoroughly grease a bundt pan, I used coconut oil and it came out perfectly.
In a large bowl, stiff together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside
In another bowl whisk together the wet ingredients, maple syrup, buttermilk, olive oil, vanilla, lemon juice and eggs. Leave the raspberries out until later.
Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, lightly whisking until it all comes together, making sure to scrap the bottom and making sure not to over mix.
Pour the cake batter into the bundt pan and then add in the raspberries, lightly pushing them into the batter, making sure to nudge them in around the entire cake.
Bake for 55-60 minutes, until it is a deep golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean.
Let the cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes before taking out and placing on a cooling rack.
Let the cake completely cool before icing with the glaze.
Glaze
Add all ingredients to a mix master and whip until you get the consistency you like, adding more or less water depending on the thickness/thinness you would like.
Spoon the glaze over the cake and serve with a side of fresh raspberries and a cup of tea. Enjoy!
