Recipe by Elizabeth Marek
Photography by Megan Smith
Test kitchen baker – Canaan Smith
(makes about 18)
For the Cake
Dry ingredients
- 9 oz cake flour
- 9 oz granulated sugar
- 1 Tablespoon plus one teaspoon baking powder
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
Wet ingredients
- 8 oz whole milk
- 3 large eggs
- 2 oz vegetable oil
- splash of Grand Marnier Cognac
- zest of one lemon
- 1 heaping Tablespoon finely chopped fresh rosemary
- 6 oz unsalted butter at room temp (should be soft to the touch but still hold its shape when you press your finger into it)
Raspberry Glaze
- 1 cup fresh raspberries (blackberries or strawberries work also)
- 1 tablespoon milk
- about 3 cups confectioners sugar (powdered sugar)
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. I like to use cake goop (equal parts flour, oil and shortening mixed into a paste) to grease my pans. Combine your wet ingredients, including the lemon zest and rosemary and set aside. Combine the dry ingredients in your mixing bowl. Turn the mixer on low speed and add in your softened butter in small chunks. Let mix until your dry ingredients resemble wet sand. Do not walk away or you could accidentally over mix. Whisk your wet ingredients together to break up the eggs. Pour in about 1/3 of the wet into the dry and turn your mixer onto medium speed. Set a timer or watch the clock and let your batter mix for 2 full minutes. Do not be tempted to stop the mixing sooner or just guess how long it has been mixing.
This is the most important step. If you do under-mix, they will be short and crumbly. I promise you won’t over-mix them. Once the batter has mixed for 2 minutes, scrape the bowl with a spatula. Turn the mixer on low and slowly add in the rest of the liquid until it’s all in there. Scrape the bowl once more and turn back up to medium for 30 seconds. Your batter should be light and fluffy enough to scoop with a spoon.
Place roughly two heaping scoops of batter per bundlette cavity. Bake in the oven for about 15 minutes or until lightly browned on top. Remove and let cool 5 minutes before flipping the cakes out of the pan and onto a wire rack to fully cool.
To make the glaze, put your berries in a blender with the milk to make a puree. Strain out the seeds into another bowl. Add in your sifted powdered sugar one cup at a time until you reach a glaze consistency that is like thick paint. If it’s too thick add a couple of drops of milk. Don’t add too much, a little liquid goes a long way.
Dip your cooled cakes into the glaze and place onto a serving plate. Garnish with a sprig of rosemary, some fresh berries and a light dusting of powdered sugar.
