lemon bundt cakes with olive oil and blood orange glaze

Hey friends! It’s been a long hiatus since I posted on Dana’s Edible Affair. Hope you didn’t forget about me. But, even if you did that’s okay as long as you make these tasty little lemon bundt cakes.

These cute little mini cakes are a variation of my vanilla bean cupcake recipe that I made a few summers back. I love the texture of this cake base – it’s soft but dense, and lends itself to an endless combination of fun flavor duos. Dare I even say on the internet that it’s MOIST?

This recipe calls for a few tweaks from the vanilla bean cupcakes that make for a delicious difference. Firstly, a crap ton of lemon zest. Which in actual recipe terms is the zest of 2-3 lemons depending on how strong of a flavor you are trying to achieve. If you’re looking for the watered down version of this cake then I would recommend using the zest of just one lemon. It pains me to recommend that since I freaking love lemon in any form of a baked good, but I understand it’s not for everyone.

The second tweak is olive oil instead of coconut oil. It lends a subtle flavor at the end of the bite that is wonderful and amazing and that’s all you really need to know.

Okay, so now that I’ve hopefully convinced you to make this cake – other life things that have happened in the last year.

I had a series of hilarious and not so hilarious incidents on my bikes that involved curbs. Got hit by a car, ran over a curb on my bike (which resulted in a double flat, blown side wall, and dented rim – WHOOPS), and crashed in a race at 25 mph which end in a shredded elbow and $2k in urgent care bills. Everything is fine and dandy now. I have a great scar and a nice photo that I basically show anyone who will look at it.

Made some amazing friends over the course of the bike season whom I love for so many reasons. They are hilarious, supportive, and just downright amazing people. Mostly just feeling very thankful for all the great people in my life, new and old.

Made A LOT of trips to Kentucky for work but got to visit my family in Louisville for a few of them. It’s been so fun reconnecting as an adult and spending time with them. I also visited them for Christmas which was my first time not celebrating in Wisconsin or Colorado.

Made a lot of work trips in general.

Also went to Colorado a few times for fun. I am currently out here riding my bike with friends for the week and I don’t think I’ve ever been happier to ride my bike outside. It’s been a long winter in Minneapolis.

Got to travel internationally for work for the first time this year. I spent about 10 days in Germany and then made a quick pit stop in Spain on the back end of the trip. I will be going back in June this summer so looking forward to taking another mini adventure on the end (hopefully). It was exhausting, but it’s also VERY hard to complain about going to Europe for work.

For the most part, things have been really great. There are so many great memories that are intermingled in between. I also got to pet all the dogs and eat all the tacos so no regrets there.

So, if you didn’t really care about any of my life things and you just skipped right to the recipe – here it is. Also if you don’t have a mini bundt cake pan – you could easily make cupcakes or regular cakes from this recipe. Just keep in mind that you may have to adjust the bake time depending on what you make. Enjoy!

 

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lemon bundt cakes with olive oil and blood orange glaze

Servings: 12 bundt cakes

Time: 4 hours, 1 hour 15 minutes active

Ingredients:

for the cake:

• 1 cup non-dairy milk
• 1 TBSP apple cider vinegar
• 4 TBSP olive oil
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• zest and juice of 2 lemons
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup organic cane sugar
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt

for the frosting:

• juice of 2 small blood oranges
• 2 cups powdered sugar *
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• dash of salt

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 deg F. Prepare the bundt cake pan by oiling the pan with shortening (or a butter substitute) and dusting with flour. If you are making a full cake you can also line the pan with parchment paper which is typically my go to.
2. In a small bowl, whisk milk and apple cider vinegar together and let rest for 5 minutes. Combine flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda in a medium-sized bowl and set aside.
3. Combine the sugar and lemon zest in a large mixing bowl. Use your hands or a wooden spoon to combine them until fragrant. Add olive oil, vanilla extract, lemon juice, and milk mixture into the bowl. Stir until combined.
4. In 1/2 cup increments, add flour mixture to liquid and whisk to combine. After all the dry ingredients have been added, whisk until all the lumps are gone but be careful not to overmix the batter.
5. Distribute batter evenly between molds until they are about 3/4 of the way full. Lightly tap the pan on the counter to remove any air. Bake for 20-25 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through for an even bake. Use a toothpick to test if the cupcakes are done by inserting it into the cake. If it comes out clean with no residual batter, then they are done. Allow cakes to cool in the pan for 5 minutes before flipping onto a wire cooling rack. Allow them to cool completely before glazing.
6. For the glaze, combine blood orange juice, vanilla extract, and salt in a small bowl. Add powdered sugar in 1/4 cup increments until desired consistency is achieved (see note below). Dunk the bundts into the glaze and set onto the cooling rack to achieve a similar look as seen here. You can also use a spoon to spread the glaze, there are no rules to glazing cakes. Store at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

 

*I wanted a drippy look for these cakes so I didn’t put a lot of powdered sugar into the glaze. I would start adding the powdered sugar in small increments until you reach your desired consistency – note that it may be more than I used as well!