This easy lemon bundt cake with pink icing will be great for all the upcoming Spring bank holidays gatherings (or any other occasion!).
So Easter is over and May is upon us! Can you believe it's May next week? And what's with this freezing cold weather recently?!? Perhaps I will not be putting away that winter coat just yet...
May always brings joy to my heart. The air is packed with the fragrance of all the blossoming trees and flowers, the sun is shining much more and for longer, and everyone just seem to be much more upbeat. Such a good month! And, if you are living in UK, let's do not forget the Bank Holidays! Two glorious, long weekends. Fingers crossed for the weather!
And if you like me, friends gatherings for May weekends are a must. So today's recipe for this easy lemon bundt cake with pink icing will be great for one of these gatherings! Pink icing on the cake adds a lovely, vibrant colour and it's made with a 'secret' ingredient...
What is this 'secret' ingredient? It's a beetroot powder! And it acts like a natural dye, giving this icing a lovely pink vibe. And no, it doesn't taste of beetroot. You can increase or decrease the amount of the powder, depending on how deep you want the colour to be. You can also skip it completely from the recipe, or replace it with other pink dye. Beetroot powder is widely available in healthy food shops or online (I used Of The Earth Superfoods one).
Remember my Lemon & Thyme Cake recipe from few weeks back? Well, if you do, then you will also remember that I've mentioned the workshops I went to... Run by two super talented ladies, Aimee from Twigg Studios and Kimberly from The Little Plantation. All the attendees were given a goodie bags, and this beetroot powder was among them. Plus Aimee showed us how to style the cakes using flowers, and when I saw what she created (check out this Chocolate Orange Cake ), my heart melted!
So today's lemon bundt cake with pink icing recipe was a hybrid. Firstly, Aimee's cake put the idea in my head for a pink icing/ frosting. Secondly, couple of weeks ago, I was experimenting with some traditional Polish Easter cakes, also known as 'babka's'. Then I combined both, and this is the result! Lovely, soft cake with fragrant lemon zest and sweet pink icing on the top. If there is one tip I can give you, is to make sure your ingredients are at room temperature. And I've learned it hard way. Because during one of my attempts at baking it, the milk was straight out of the fridge, it resulted in curdling the melted butter, and I had to start again.
So remember to take out your ingredients from the fridge about an hour before and you will be safe and good to go.
Also, I've been experimenting with some darker backgrounds recently, and I think I'm becoming more and more 'dark side' kinda girl... I love the moody effect and the contrast! In this post, I was using just a black foam board from craft shop, and I love how the colours are 'popping out' on the pictures. I'm going through a bit of a weird phase at the moment with my photography, trying to find my own voice, etc.
However, I hope this will not discourage you from visiting this blog and checking out my recipes! Let me know what you think in the comments section!
And have a great long weekend!
Xo A.
Lemon Bundt Cake with Pink Icing
Ingredients
- 4-5 tbsp fine breadcrumbs (for dusting the baking tin)
- 200 g plain flour
- 100 g corn flour
- 200 g sugar
- 100 g dairy- free butter (plus extra for greasing)
- 3 tsp baking powder
- 2 tsp vanilla sugar
- 1 medium lemon (juice and zest)
- 280 ml dairy- free milk
- 30 g chopped pistachio nuts (optional)
For the icing:
- 250 g icing sugar
- 2-3 tbsp lemon juice
- ½ tsp beetroot powder
Instructions
- Grease your cake tin (I've used 2,4 L bundt heritage tin) with butter, then dust inside of the tin with breadcrumbs (they should be really fine so you may want to crush the bigger crumbs) or flour, ensuring to cover it all evenly and shaking off any excess of breadcrumbs/ flour.
- In a small pan, melt the butter, then set it aside to cool a bit.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine together both flours, baking powder and sugars.
- Add the melted butter, milk, lemon juice and zest into the dry ingredients and mix it all together (using a wooden spoon or hand held mixer) until combined.
- Transfer the cake batter into prepared baking tin and bake in the oven at 190 C for about 35- 40 minutes until inserted skewer comes out clean.
- Take out of the oven and leave it to cool down for about 15 minutes, take out of the baking tin and leave on a cooling rack.
To make the pink icing:
- Mix icing sugar and lemon juice until you have desired consistency. It should be slightly thick, otherwise it will not stay on the cake. Add the beetroot powder and mix it all together. Make sure the cake is completely cool before pouring/ drizzling cake with the icing. Top with some chopped pistachio nuts (if using).
Rebecca de Silva
Woooow Anna, this picture is amazing, so beautiful - it's fit for a queen!
annabanana
Thanks Reb, and I'm so happy you have stopped by and left this lovely comment!
I had so much fun with making (and eating) this cake, and I couldn't stop taking pictures of it!
Must write to the Queen and see if she would be interested in having some too.... 😉
JO
Anna, this is just stunning!!!
Your photography in this post looks amazing, and I love the darker background!!! Such a lovely contrast! And this cake...where do I start? It looks too pretty to eat, that's for sure. It also looks fantastic!!! That shape looks so cool, where did you get the baking tin like that from? And that pink icing, such a great idea to use beet powder! 10/10!!! X
annabanana
Jo! Your comments always make my day 🙂 Thanks so much, it's been a heck of a roller- coaster lately when it comes to photos, but thanks so much for appreciating them!
The tin was from Lakeland, I think. Just google 'heritage baking tin' and it should come up.
Thanks again so much for your support!