The Bundt Thing, Revisited

My last foray back in time to the 70's Bundt revolution was such a huge hit, I thought it was worth giving it another try. This time I was after a cake which would please the masses but also welcome in the season of Autumn. The cold and wet days have come to Melbourne with a vengeance - many a tree has fallen down and many a cold nose has needed warming up via a kiss from Mum.

Autumn, to me, is the start of all those cold-weather flavours coming back from hibernation: cinnamon, cloves, wood-fired bread and heady spices like cardamom. Not yet a full-blown winter cake, this one is fabulous in that it has the warming autumnal spices yet is not so heavy as to need to be eaten under a wool blanket while wearing mittens. It does, however, go well with a cup of sweet, milky tea...but then, doesn't everything?



Honey Spice Cake with Coffee Glaze
(from Bundt Classics, published by Nordic Ware)

1 cup hot water
1 tsp instant coffee or espresso powder
1 cup honey (golden syrup also works well)
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
3 cups plain flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp allspice
1 tsp cinnamon (an emzee addition)


Heat oven to 170C. Grease and flour a large Bundt pan. Mix hot water with instant coffee. In a large mixing bowl, mix honey, sugar, oil and eggs until very light and fluffy. All all the remaining ingredients including the coffee mixture and mix well. Pour into the prepared tin. Bake for 50-60 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool in tin for 10 minutes and then cool completely before glazing.

Coffee Glaze

2 tsp instant coffee or espresso powder
3 T hot milk
2 cups icing sugar
1 T butter, softened


Dissolve the coffee in the milk. Mix the sugar and butter until crumbly. Gradually add the milk until you reach the desired consistency (wet enough to run down the sides of the cake slowly.) Mix until smooth and spoon over the top.

Notes: The glaze is not required, but for me it does add a bit of OOMPH to the cake. If coffee is not your thing, either make a vanilla glaze (by removing the coffee and using vanilla essence instead) or even a cinnamon glaze. The coffee in the actual cake can't really be tasted - it's more a way of getting that gorgeous dark brown colour.

Enjoy!