Peanut Butter and Jelly Bundt

I hate peanut butter. I only tried it for the first time about three years ago, and was bitterly disappointed that it didn't taste just like a Snickers bar. When I set the theme for cake club as 'Pump up the Jam' I thought coming up with a new recipe would be easy. I love jam! Nope. I wanted to avoid lemon curd as I already use it quite a lot. I wanted something a bit different. Then there it was. An idea which worked beautifully in my head... I just had to test it out in the real world.

I decided to make a peanut butter and jelly bundt. Cake has this way of transforming flavours and taking harsh edges off ingredients. The Anchor Porter bundt is a prime example of this - I hate beer but love the cake. This bit of baking alchemy worked an absolute dream first time. I was flabbergasted! I set the cauldron (mixer) going and hoped for the best!

This cake is a winner on both the taste and texture fronts. It has a subtle peanut taste which goes perfectly with the sweet jam. It's moist with a hint of nutty crunch and has a belting sugar crust. I was going to take this into work for my tribe of tame guinea pigs to test, but my husband stole it! Feedback from his colleagues... 'Your best cake yet. Fact.' Can't argue with that!

Ingredients

• 275g unsalted butter 
• 425g golden caster sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla paste or extract
• 6 medium eggs
• 150g crunchy peanut butter
• 300g plain flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 4 tbsp low fat plain yogurt
• 8 tbsp strawberry jam
• Icing sugar to dust

Method

1. Grease and flour a regular sized bundt tin (2.4l, 10 cup, 10 inch). I would recommend using one without too much decoration, as nooks and crannies may complicate matters when it comes to the jam...
2. Soften the butter then add in half of the sugar and beat for about a minute. Then add the rest of the sugar and beat until fluffy.
3. Beat in the vanilla.
4. Add the eggs one at a time on a low speed.
5. Using a spatula, blend in all of the peanut butter.
6. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl.
7. Fold in half of the flour mixture, followed by the yogurt, then the rest of the flour. 
8. Give the whole thing a quick whizz for about 10 seconds just to combine everything properly.
9. Pour half of the mixture into the bundt tin and smooth out.
10. Dot the jam around the surface, taking care not to touch the edges then smooth to create a jam layer.
11. TIP: Jam will make a sticky mess if it seeps to touch the tin and may make releasing the cake a nightmare...
12. Pour the remaining batter on top and smooth out. 
13. Bake your cake at gas 4/180 C for 45 minutes, then turn the temperature down to gas 3/160 C for around another 25-30 minutes. As aways, you'll know it's done when a skewer comes out clean and the cake is shrinking from the edges of the tin.
14. Leave to cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes before turning out.
15. Allow to cool completely before dusting with icing sugar. This cake doesn't need anything else because of the big flavours inside.

Bloggers: Please respect the fact I am sharing my own ideas and recipe. Blood, sweat and many tears have gone into getting this right, so you may enjoy a perfect bundt. If you wish to re-blog a recipe from these variations, please credit my blog and link to this original post rather than pasting the recipe on your own page. 

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Paul Hollywood and Mary Berry Return for Bolton Food and Drink Festival 2013

Every year I book leave for the Bolton Food and Drink Festival... a year in advance. I adore it. The celebrity chefs, the shows, the local producers and general hustle and bustle. I went every day last year, including the Monday when it hammered down with rain! I don't think I have ever been quite as soaked in my entire life!

The festival has been on my mind for the last couple of weeks, as I remember it being around this time last year when I found out that the legendary baking duo of Hollywood and Berry were coming to Bolton. I was in the work canteen. I scared the life out of Sheila with my shrieks of excitement! Imagine my giddiness at lunch time today when I learned that they are to return for a second year... They were such a hit last time that the wonderful festival organisers snapped them up for a return visit.

Last year's festival

Mary said: “I received such a warm welcome from the people of Bolton last year that I was only too happy to return to the food and drink festival in August. Everyone was so friendly and it was heartening to see so much interest in the art of baking.”

Paul added: “I was very impressed with Bolton and in particular their award-winning market. There was an abundance of fresh, local produce on offer and I am thrilled to be making a return visit. I look forward to seeing people at our demos.”
The festival will run for four days over the August Bank Holiday weekend, starting on Friday 23rd August and ending on the Bank Holiday Monday. Last year the festival attracted a whopping 102,000 visitors over the course of the event.

Mary and Paul will be joined by James Martin, Michael Caines and Aldo Zilli. Aldo said: “I’m really looking forward to coming to the Bolton Food and Drink Festival and cooking up some delicious Italian food. I’m passionate about fresh and local produce, so I can’t wait to see what Bolton has to offer.”

The Leader of Bolton Council, Councillor Cliff Morris, said: “There is no doubt that the Bolton Food and Drink Festival is firmly on the map as one of the best events of this type, and it just gets better and better each year.

“Last year’s festival beat all previous records in terms of visitor numbers and we are determined to make this year’s event one to remember. The fabulous Michael Caines will launch the festival once again and we have firm favourite James Martin entertaining the crowds on Monday.

“We were impressed with the impact Paul Hollywood and Mary Berry made on the audiences, so we were delighted they agreed to return again this year. And with the Italian flair of Aldo Zilli, the festival is bound to appeal to all tastes.”

More information will be available soon, and tickets will go on sale from May. Keep your eyes peeled on the website for updates www.boltonfoodanddrinkfestival.com.

Bolton Clandestine Cake Club Visits the Women's Institute...

A few months ago, Lucie, Jenny and I decided to join our local Women's Institute. We expected crochet, baking, jam and Jerusalem. We got the Jerusalem bit, but our ladies are more active in the fields of charity work and worthy causes. Together we could be amazing... So a couple of months in, we were asked to do a presentation to the group on Clandestine Cake Club. 

Not long after this was decided, I got a phone call from the lovely Lucy at WI Life Magazine. She was doing an article on the popularity of the club, our new book and the WI members who had recipes published. They printed the wonderful article below, complete with my bright pink bundt! I was thrilled. 

Last night we did our little talk to a packed audience at Horwich Conservative Club. I gave a brief history of how it all started, how the Bolton branch was born, how gatherings work and explained the rising popularity of the club. Jenny went into detail about the interpretation of the themes we have, whilst Lucie showed the group some of her amazing decorated cakes, and talked about why she wanted to join. 

We decided that the best way to show the ladies how things work was to have a cake club as part of the show. We invited some of our baking buddies and even had a new recruit on the night. How torturous would it be to speak of cake but not eat any? Not on my watch! So as usual, I set a theme for our club, which was 'When I was just a little girl'. 

I asked bakers to remember the great british classics from our childhoods. I'm not sure who was more nervous... the cake clubbers who feared baking for the WI, or the WI members who wanted to make a good impression on the bakers! 

We had a wonderful array of cakes considering there was only a handful of bakers! Our cakes included:

• Apple Streusel Cake
• Cornish Clotted Cream Layer Cake
• Golden Lemon Drizzle Bundt Cake
• Frosted Carrot Cake
• Lemon and Poppyseed Cake
• Lemon Layer Cake
• Strawberries and Cream Heart Cake
• Toffee Layer Cake

We were a little worried at first that there wouldn't be enough cake to feed around 35 hungry ladies, but as usual there was plenty! We even had enough for them to take some home. 

It was lovely to bring a little cake club magic to the group. Because we have a packed schedule at the WI, we rarely have time to sit and chat. Monday night was perfect because the group got to mingle, meet new people, and enjoy a slice of cake with a cuppa. I was keen to impress upon the ladies that cake club is popular because of this laid back, non-competitive atmosphere. We had laughter, cheering and of course... the cake aches by the end of the evening.

We had a fantastic time. Hopefully our two organisations can spend more time together over the coming months.

If you are interested in joining the Women's Institute, please visit the website. The Horwich WI are also on Twitter @Horwich WI and Facebook at Horwich Women's Institute. We meet on the second Monday of the month at Horwich Conservative Club at 7:30pm.

Likewise, if you want to join the Clandestine Cake Club, please visit the website, Twitter @ClandestineCake or Facebook at Clandestine Cake Club.


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