Mini-bundt cakes are the perfect size for one person celebrations or, when feeding a crowd, for everyone to have their own cake. When the cakes are Vanilla Bean Mini-Bundt Cakes with Chocolate-Toffee Crunch, no one will want to share. Under the double drizzle of chocolate and vanilla icing is a fluffy vanilla bean cake and a crunchy chocolate-toffee filling.
Cookbooks are one of the few genres in publishing that is still growing. In a digital age where newspapers are becoming obsolete and books are downloaded, there still appear to be enough people who love collecting (and occasionally cooking from) real print-on-paper cookbooks, that more and more are being published. That makes me happy. I don’t own a Kindle. I do not want a Kindle. I do own several dozen (plus or minus) cookbooks. Even my digital age son, with the iPhone fused to his hand and Siri at his beck and call, seemed happy with the cookbooks I gave him as an apartment warming present. (Mark Bittman’s “How to Cook Everything Vegetarian” and Thug Kitchen’s “The Official Cookbook”)
I often read cookbooks just for fun, the way most people read a novel. I find inspiration in the flavors, techniques, and back stories. The recipe I adapted to make Vanilla Bean Mini-Bundt Cakes with Chocolate-Toffee Crunch is in “Sweet Times” by Dorie Greenspan, published in 1991. The same sour cream bundt cake with a few changes also appears in her 2006 cookbook, “Baking: From My Home to Yours”. In the 1991 recipe, a layer of filling is sprinkled onto the bottom of the cake. If that sounds odd, it is. The directions even warn that when the cake is turned out of the pan, some of the filling will “go flying”. In the 2006 recipe, the filling stays inside the cake, but instead of vanilla, the cake is flavored with orange. I know many people love the combination of orange and chocolate. Not at my house. So, I used a combination of the two recipes with a few of my own edits and re-sized for use with a 6-mold mini-bundt pan.
I stuck with the original vanilla cake and upped the flavor using vanilla paste to speckle the cake with vanilla bean bits. Both of the Dorie Greenspan versions of this cake use pecans for crunch in the filling. I don’t ever use pecans, due to allergies and a preference for breathing. Instead, I substituted an equal amount of toffee bits. The vanilla bean-chocolate-toffee flavors are wonderful together and, though some of the toffee melts into the cake (a good thing), some of the toffee stays crunchy. For those with nut allergies who cannot eat packaged toffee bits (which contain almonds), an easy recipe for homemade toffee can be found here.
As I was sprinkling toffee bits on top of each cake, it occurred to me that individually plated Vanilla Bean Mini-Bundt Cakes with Chocolate-Toffee Crunch would be an impressive holiday dessert! Change the toffee for holiday sprinkles to dress up these cakes for any occasion.
When stored at room temperature in an airtight container, the texture of these little cakes is moist and fluffy for up to 5 days. The flavors are best on days 2-3. Vanilla Bean Mini-Bundt Cakes with Chocolate-Toffee Crunchare sure to make a grand entrance, whether in a care package or straight to the table from the kitchen!
Vanilla Bean Mini-Bundt Cakes with Chocolate-Toffee Crunch
Ingredients
- FILLING:
- ½ cup toffee bits
- 3 tablespoons brown sugar packed
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ tablespoon cocoa
- ½ ounce semisweet chocolate finely chopped
- BATTER:
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ¾ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ cup unsalted butter room temperature
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg room temperature
- ½ cup sour cream room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla paste for vanilla bean speckles or vanilla extract
- CHOCOLATE ICING:
- ¾ cup confectioners’ sugar
- ½ tablespoon Lyle’s golden syrup or corn syrup
- 1-2 tablespoons water
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons coco
- VANILLA ICING:
- ¾ cup confectioners’ sugar
- ½ tablespoon Lyle’s golden syrup or corn syrup
- 1 tablespoon water
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Directions
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Preheat oven to 325° F. Butter each mini-bundt mold and coat with flour.
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In a small bowl, combine the filling ingredients: toffee bits, brown sugar, cinnamon, cocoa, and chopped chocolate.
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In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and baking soda.
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In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar for 4 minutes, until light and fluffy
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Add the egg and beat for 2 minutes.
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Add the sour cream and vanilla and beat for 2 minutes.
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Mix in the flour mixture at the lowest speed, just until combined.
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Spoon about 4 tablespoons of batter into each mini-bundt mold. Use a butter knife to even out and smooth the batter. Sprinkle the chocolate-toffee filling (about 1 tablespoon) on top of the batter. Gently spoon the remaining batter on top of the filling (about 4 tablespoons into each mold) and use a butter knife to smooth the surface.
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Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
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Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn over onto a wire rack to unmold the mini-bundts and cool completely.
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TO DECORATE: Mix the ingredients for each icing in a separate small bowl, using just enough water to create a drizzle consistency. Place each icing in a zip lock bag. Cut a tiny piece off a bottom corner of each bag. Start with the chocolate icing and use a back and forth motion to zigzag the icing around each cake. Repeat with the vanilla icing. (optional) Top each cake with a sprinkling of toffee bits or seasonal sprinkles.
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Allow the icing to set completely (about 2 hours depending on humidity) before storing or wrapping. Store at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 5 days. The flavor and texture is best on days 2 and 3!
Packing Tips
When the icing is completely set, wrap each mini-bundt cake first in wax paper, then in plastic wrap. Place wrapped cakes in freezer weight zip lock bags or plastic storage containers.
These are adorable Wendy and sound fabulous. I love how you adapted the recipes!
Thanks, Chris! I had fun eating my way through the trial runs!
Wendy, these look beautiful! I love mini bundt cakes, and these little cakes are exactly what I would want to bake and eat. I also love cookbooks in good old fashioned book form. Great post!
Thanks, Liz! All the creaming and mixing called for in this recipe makes these min-bundts surprisingly light and fluffy. Real live cookbooks have some hidden gems. 🙂
Mini bundts are the best!! No sharing necessary, my kind of dessert.
I would fit right in at your house, I hate orange and chocolate too.
The addition of toffee bits is brilliant. They offer so much more than the lowly pecan.
Thanks for sharing the vanilla bean past love. More people need to know about it. I buy it in the big 64 ounce bottle. It makes me very happy to open it and smell.
Can’t wait to give this one a try.
Thanks, Cindy! Why doesn’t it surprise me that you would fit right in at my house?! You can stop by for coffee and cake any time you like, confident that I won’t serve anything orange-chocolate. 🙂
I chose the toffee bits to serve as crunch. When most of it melted while baking (duh) I was disappointed. Then I tasted the cake and all disappointment disappeared!
Only learned about vanilla paste when I started reading baking blogs. I can’t believe I lived that long without it! I could almost (not quite) eat it with a spoon.
These mini bundts look really good! I love that they have both a chocolate and vanilla icing. Little toffee crunch make them even better! 🙂
Thanks, Lokness! The sour cream makes these cakes so moist and delicious…perfect with a cup of tea or coffee!
I definitely read cookbooks just for fun too – I love reading them all curled up in bed!! 🙂
These bundt cakes are so so pretty Wendy! And they sound absolutely delicious!
Thanks, Ashley! The only problem I have with reading cookbooks in bed, is that I go to sleep with my stomach growling! 🙂
These are soooooooooooo delicious looking!
And the combination of flavors – awesome
Thanks, Winnie! Mini-bundt cakes are impressive to serve and delicious to eat! 🙂
I’m a big Dorie fan! Her books are just so full of ideas and wisdom.
These look so good! That first pic with the drizzle and toffee is incredible. And I am all about how you customized the tops to different occasions and seasons!
Thanks, Mir! There are certain cookbooks I return to time after time because I can be sure that the recipe will turn out delicious! Dorie cookbooks are like that for me, also Tish Boyle, and Alice Medrich. Also, I am definitely all about sprinkles. 🙂
These are so pretty! Vanilla bean anything calls my name every time.
Thanks, Dorothy! I am a major vanilla bean fan too. 🙂
These are adorable Wendy! You said chocolate toffee crunch and I fell in love! They’re the perfect holiday dessert and would be great to bring to a potluck party. I bet they would be the first to dissapear!
Thanks, Reeni! We are big chocolate toffee lovers too! I think these would be wonderful to bring to a potluck party. The icing dries just firm enough to transport (or mail) making these much easier to travel with than iced cupcakes.
O M G !!!
Wendy these little cakes are mouth-watering!!
They’s be a hit with my family 🙂
Thanks, Winnie! I am a huge vanilla fan, and these little bundt cakes a hit the spot! 🙂
Can these be made in one bundt pan instead of minis
Hi, Mary. Double this recipe to make it in a 12 portion bundt cake pan. For example, you would need 2 cups flour, 1 1/2 tsp baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon baking soda, 1 cup butter, 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar, 2 eggs, 1 cup sour cream, and 2 teaspoons vanilla. A regular bundt would be baked for about 1 hour and 15-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.