Spruced Up Vanilla Cake

This recipe came from Nigella's  Christmas book. We had 2 Thanksgiving dinner to go to so I made this one for my sissy's dinner party. The bundt mould has a train that goes around the bottom of the spruce tree. It doesn't show on mine because I didn't spread the batter towards the edges. Most of it was in the middle so the cake has elevated in the center. I'm pleased with how it turned out and this is nice to pair up with white wine, coffee, tea or champagne.

 

 

Here's the photo from her cookbook..

You can't really make out the image of the train on the bottom on this one either.

Ingredients

2 sticks (16 tablespoons) soft butter, plus more for greasing or use a nonstick pan spray

1 1/2 cups sugar

6 eggs

2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup plain fat free yogurt

4 teaspoons vanilla extract (I've used my fancy one for the occasion, madagascar vanilla bourbon)

1-2 tablespoons confectioner's (icing) sugar

Method

Preheat oven 350F and put a cookie sheet in at the same time. Butter or spray your large, regular or fir bundt pan thoroughly.

Either put all the ingredients except the confectioner's sugar into a processor or mix together by hand or a free standing mixer as follows:

- Cream together the butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl until light and fluffly.

- Add the eggs one at a time, whisking each one in with a tablespoon of flour.

- Fold in the rest of the flour, and add the baking soda, yogurt and vanilla extract

Pour and spoon the mixture into your greased pan and spread evenly. Place the pan on the preheated cookie sheet in the oven and bake for 45-60 minutes until well risen and golden. After 45 minutes, push a cake tester into the center of the cake. If it comes out clean the cake is cooked. Let it sit out of the oven for 15 minutes. Gently pull away the edges of the cake from the pan with your fingers, then turn out the cake, hoping for the best.

Once cool, dust with icing sugar pushed through a small tea strainer, to decorate think fresh snowfall on the alps.

TTFN : )