Mahlab Vanilla Bundt Cake
A bundt cake flavored with freshly ground mahlab, cardamom and ginger. Mahlab is a fragrant Levantine baking spice.
Ingredients
| 3 cups (378 g) | AP flour (up to 1/3 may be cake flour, or a few tablespoons potato/corn starch) | |
| 1/2 t | baking soda | |
| 3/4 t | salt | |
| 1/2 lb (2 sticks) | unsalted butter, softened | |
| 1 1/2 t | freshly ground mahlab | |
| 1/4 t | ground cardamom | |
| 1/4 t | ground ginger | |
| 3 cups | 720 ml | sugar |
| 6 | large eggs | |
| 1 T | vanilla extract | |
| 1 cup | 240 ml | sour cream |
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325 F. Spray a nonstick bundt pan thoroughly with flour/grease mixture. Also spray some bundlettes or mini loaves for the excess dough or use a 10 inch tube pan for the entire cake. Set aside.
- Whisk the flour, baking soda and salt together. Set aside.
- Cream the butter in the large bowl of a mixer on moderate speed for 4 mins. Add the spices and beat. Scrape the sides of the bowl down.
- Add the sugar gradually, beating thoroughly while adding. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating for 30 secs after each addition and scraping down the sides of bowl.
- Add the vanilla and blend it in.
- On low speed, add the flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with sour cream in 2 additions, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Remember to keep scraping sides and bottom of bowl.
- Spoon batter into prepared pan(s) and smooth top with rubber spatula.
- How long you bake the cake will depend on the size(s). A 10 inch tube cake will take 1 hour and 15 minutes. A 9-10 inch bundt cake will take approximately 1 hour. The funky silicone bundt pan took about 45-50 minutes, as did the full size loaf pan. 1 cup size bundlettes take around 25 minutes. Watch for whatever sizes you choose to make.
- Bake the cake(s) for the recommended time, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. The baked cake will pull slightly away from the sides of the pan.
- Cool the cake in the pan(s) on a rack for 10-15 mins, then invert onto another cooling rack and then invert again to stand upright (for a tube pan or loaf pan; a bundt pan will already be upright). Cool completely. Store in airtight cake container. Sift confectioners' sugar over the top of the cake before serving if desired.