“I ran out of that” mini-bundt marble cakes

By Erika Mathieu
Westwind Weekly News

In a celebration of the delightfully chaotic aries-season, I thought I would share this strange recipe which proved victorious despite the somewhat concerning amount of substitutions I made. My partner actually cackled as I was dervishing around our kitchen trying to “make it work”, which resulted in both a snack and a lesson. On one hand, it serves as a reminder that sometimes you can throw a bunch of chaotic things together and make something surprisingly delightful. Perhaps it shouldn’t become your prime modus operandi in the kitchen, but you can definitely get away with deviating from recipes from time to time.
This cake was a happy accident. I honestly don’t remember the original iteration of the recipe, but I do remember not having several of the ingredients and pivoting to try to make these mini-cakes happen in time for my book club. I think the original recipe called for buttermilk and eggs, and in a panic, thrust my hands into the air and prayed my “replacements” would yield something remotely edible. It turns out, the result is primarily plant-based and surprisingly great. In lieu of eggs as the leavener, out of desperation, added yogurt and the plant based “buttermilk” which was just coconut milk and balsamic vinegar, because I was also out of white vinegar. The result is a flavourful pound cake with a perfect soft and sturdy crumb which is great on its own or with some tea or coffee.
Beat 135 grams of room temperature butter or vegan butter substitute together with one tablespoon of coconut oil, and 150 grams of icing sugar until smooth and creamy, continue beating, adding in ¾ cup full fat coconut milk, a generous splash of vanilla, two tablespoons of balsamic vinegar, and one tablespoon of sour cream or dairy-free alternative.
In a separate bowl, mix 1 1/2 tsp baking powder with 150 grams of all purpose flour, and add to the wet ingredients. Be sure to not over-mix.
Pour half of the batter into a second bowl and fold in two tablespoons of cocoa powder. Scoop vanilla batter and cocoa batter into 2 separate piping bags and alternate squeezing a little bit at a time into greased mini bundt pans and swirl with a skewer or toothpick for a marbled effect. Place mini bundt pans onto a baking sheet and bake at 360 degrees Fahrenheit for 20-25 minutes to ensure the batter is baked Allow cakes to cool for five minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to finish cooling.
These cakes are fantastic solo, but can optionally be served with buttercream if you have a sweet tooth. Which I did for the visual effect.
For the optional frosting, combine one cup of room temperature butter or vegan butter alternative with one teaspoon of vanilla and two cups of icing sugar. Beat for 10 minutes to combine and whip to aerate. Pipe and top cakes with rosettes. Serve at room temperature or freeze for up to one month.