I recently made St. Germain Bundtlette Cakes on my YouTube channel and I have some tips for you to ensure success.
There are specific methods to mix cakes depending on what you are making. The St. Germain Bundtlettes use the creaming method of mixing. Utilizing this method always results in a beautiful, light and tender crumb to any cake.
This method always starts with softened butter and granulated sugar being mixed together in an electric mixer using the paddle attachment. The mixing basically forces air into the butter. This creates tiny air bubbles that will work together with the chemicals leaveners, baking powder and baking soda, to create a nice light crumb with tiny air bubbles throughout the finished bundtlettes. They almost melt in your mouth!
Next the eggs are added, one at a time, making sure that each is incorporated before adding the next.
Now the dry and wet ingredients are added in an alternating manner to create a creamy light emulsion resulting in a rich, thick cake batter. I usually add 1/3 of the dry ingredients first, followed by 1/2 of the wet ingredients. Combining these ingredients on low speed helps to prevent too much gluten from developing. Too much gluten development would create a tough cake.
Stop the mixer periodically to scrape down the sides of the bowl with dry ingredients that have not been blended in well. After scraping down the bowl, I add another 1/3 of the dry ingredients, followed by the remaining wet ingredients. I end with adding the remaining dry ingredients, blending the mixture just until all of the ingredients are well combined. STOP MIXING AT THIS POINT or the cake will bake up tough.
Be sure you heavily spray the bundtlette pan with nonstick cooking spray. Bundtlette pans have nooks and crannies so smear the spray around with your fingers or a paper towel to cover all surfaces or the cakes will not come out!
The biggest tip I can give you is to NOT over fill the pans. Only fill each bundtlette 1/2 full. They will rise quite a bit.
After baking, do not remove them right away. Allow them to cool until they feel just lukewarm. I made a batch and tried to remove a few of them when they were too warm, and they broke as I took them out. Trust me, I ate every one of those broken baby bundts. It was for quality control and research purposes, and I enjoyed every crumb!
I then made a scrumptious St. Germain syrup to soak those bundtlettes in. The syrup is very easy to make. It’s just a simple syrup to start, which is simply equal parts water and sugar brought to the boil until the sugar dissolves.
I allowed it to cool down and then added my St. Germain liqueur. I then gave each of my little cakes a dunk in the pool flipping them over in the process.
Remove the cakes and place them onto a serving plate dusting them with powdered sugar before serving them.
Try these little cakes, and remember, when you make individual cakes, there is NO sharing.
Happy Baking!
Chef Gail