hibiscus | Bewitching Kitchen

Valentine’s Day is just about here! Today I share a few ideas to sweeten up this special weekend… Make sure to visit my cookie blog tomorrow for a series of cookies that celebrate love. And now, let’s get started, shall we?

I open this post with a Vanilla Pound Cake with Hibiscus Glaze

VANILLA POUND CAKE WITH HIBISCUS GLAZE
(from The Bewitching Kitchen)

for the cake:
3 sticks (339g) unsalted butter, softened (room temperature)
8 oz Cream Cheese, at room temperature (one regular package)
2 + 1/2 cups (500g) sugar
1 tsp salt
2 tsp vanilla paste or extract
6 Eggs, at room temperature
3 cups (375g) flour

for the glaze:
3 tablespoons hibiscus tea
200g powdered sugar
squeeze of lemon juice

Heat oven to 325F.

Cream butter, cream cheese and sugar with hand mixer until light and fluffy. Pound cakes do not contain leavening agent, so make sure to work the butter until fluffy. Add salt and vanilla, beat well.
Add eggs one at a time, mixing after each addition. Gradually mix in the three cups of flour.

Pour into well greased bundt pan. Bake for about 90 minutes, covering with foil if the top gets too brown before a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Wait for 15 minutes before un-molding over a rack. Let the cake cool completely, then make a glaze whisking all the ingredients. Pour the glaze over the cake, decorate with sprinkles, if desired.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe click here

Comments: The Bundt pan I used is this one. Any cake will look good with a simple dusting of powdered sugar, but I decided to go with a light glaze and sprinkles.

CHOCOLATE-COVERED
BROWNIE HEARTS

If your heart is set on chocolate, but you don’t feel like a simple tray of brownies, here is a very cute idea… Bake the brownies in a heart-shape silicone mold, then use the same mold to coat each piece in chocolate (I went with compound chocolate dyed red). I used these molds to bake and coat the brownies. And my favorite recipe for the little cakes (check here).

When you bake the brownies, the bottom side, that touches the mold, will be super flat. You can flip them when you coat and place the non-flat side touching the chocolate. That will end up smooth, so both sides of your little cakes will be nice and flat.

So the process goes like this: bake the brownies, cool them completely in the mold. Freeze for 10 minutes to make sure the brownie will be nice and firm. Remove cakes. Wash the mold, dry well. Melt compound chocolate in the color of your choice, add a layer to the bottom of the mold and immediately insert the cake back. Push gently all the way down. Make sure you see the chocolate coming up a bit around the edges, no need to come all the way to the top. Freeze for 15 minutes. Un-mold, and decorate.

Once they are coated, you can pipe a drizzle of melted chocolate and add sprinkles.

CHOCOLATE-COVERED OREOS

No need for recipe, just a little festive decoration, made with Royal icing and sanding sugar. Leftover melted chocolate was used to form little hearts using this mold.

VALENTINE’S SQUARE CAKE

I cannot share the recipe, as it is copyrighted. Published as Sunny Sprinkle Layer Cake, it is in a great book by Molly Gilbert called Sheet Pan Sweets. I baked it in a half-sheet pan, then cut 4 squares to make the layers, used a simple American Buttercream to frost it. It was not easy to frost smoothly a square cake, but oh, well. What does not kill you, makes you stronger.

I wish you a wonderful weekend, no matter where you stand on the festivities of February 14th!

ONE YEAR AGO: Baking with the Heart

TWO YEARS AGO: Baking with the Heart

THREE YEARS AGO: Roasted Cauliflower with Chickpeas and Quinoa

FOUR YEARS AGO: A Savory Phyllo Pie

FIVE YEARS AGO: Nut-Free Lady Grey Macarons

SIX YEARS AGO: Mini-Heart Cakes for your Valentine

SEVEN YEARS AGO: Blue Moon Milk

EIGHT YEARS AGO: Slow-Cooked Chicken Meatballs

NINE YEARS AGO: Zesty Flourless Chocolate Cake

TEN YEARS AGO: Maple Pumpkin Pecan Snacking Cake

ELEVEN YEARS AGO: Silky Gingered Zucchini Soup

TWELVE YEARS AGO: Sweet Fifteen!

THIRTEEN YEARS AGO: Sesame and Flaxseed Sourdough

FOURTEEN YEARS AGO: Green Beans with Miso and Almonds

FIFTEEN YEARS AGO: Saturday Morning Scones

SIXTEEN YEARS AGO: White Bread

Perfect for the holiday season! First, a simple vanilla cake made special by a soft pink hibiscus glaze…

I debated for a while whether to order this gorgeous pan from Nordicware. It took me 24 hours of back and forth until I caved, and I am so glad I did! As all the products from that company, the pan is super high quality and the cake baked perfectly and un-molded like it was born to do so….

VANILLA BUNDT CAKE WITH HIBISCUS GLAZE
(from Nordicware)

for the cake:
1 + 1/2 cups flour (180g)
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup butter, softened (113g)
1 + 1/2 cups sugar (300g)
4 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
2/3 cup plain yogurt

for the glaze:
2 bags Hibiscus tea
1 cup water
1 + 3/4 cups Confectioners’ sugar (220g)
2 tsp fresh lemon juice
1-3 Tbsp brewed Hibiscus tea, cooled to room temperature

Make the tea: In 1 cup of boiling water, brew tea bags, covered, for 8-10 minutes. Set aside and cool completely.

Heat oven to 350° F. Prepare pan with baking spray. In a small bowl, mix together flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside. Using a mixer with a paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar. Mix in eggs until thoroughly incorporated. Add vanilla, flour mixture and yogurt. Blend until smooth. Pour into prepared pan, filling no more than 3/4 of the capacity. Tap on counter to release air bubbles. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes or until toothpick inserted into center of cake comes out clean. Remove from oven and let cake cool for 10 minutes before inverting onto a cooling rack.

While cake is cooling, mix the rest of glaze ingredients. To the confectioners’ sugar, add lemon juice and cooled brewed tea, adding 1 tablespoon at a time and up to 3 tablespoons for desired consistency and color. Drizzle glaze over cooled cake.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: I don’t think it is possible not to smile when a cake un-molds like that… I was actually smiling the whole day. I was not sure if the glaze would cover the details too much but in fact, I think it turned out pretty perfect.

I sprayed a little gold dust on some spots of the cake because I cannot help it. The cake was donated so I could not taste it but I heard it was absolutely delicious, very moist and tender, and everybody was mesmerized by the look…. So I say mission accomplished!