Celebrating National Bundt Day: Buttermilk Bundt w/ Spiced Vanilla Icing and Chocolate Zucchini Mini Bundts

(If you are looking for a MSC Cupcake, it is posted below this post, I promise)

So, how many of you know that today is National Bundt Day?
I wouldn't have known if it hadn't been for The Food Librarian.

30 Days ago she started her "I like Big Bundt" countdown to National Bundt Day, which means that for the past 30 days, leading up to today, she has posted a different bundt cake everyday. She started with the Pumpkin Spice Bundt with Buttermilk Icing, which I couldn't resist. I saw that bundt on day 1 and made it immediately.

The past 30 days have brought lots of delicious looking bundts. I really really wanted to make this one, this one, this one, this one, this one, ok, well, obviously, you get the idea.
I love Holiday Baking Magazines and I saw this bundt cake recipe in a special edition of Fine Cooking called Sweet Cakes. The link to the recipe is at the very bottom of this post.
I was very intrigued because this bundt cake contains shredded butternut squash. I have never seen a baked good that called for shredded butternut squash, so I decided I would make this bundt for National Bundt Day.

This bundt was a basic buttermilk cake with nutmeg and ground ginger, both of which I doubled because I like spices (ALOT). The shredded butternut squash is folded in at the end, right before you pop it in the oven. The icing also has buttermilk and nutmeg (doubled again) and I added ground ginger, for a little extra zing. Crystallized ginger is finely chopped and sprinkled over the icing.
I don't have a review on how this one tastes, yet. I wrapped it tightly and shipped it to my family in Utah, because I knew my younger brothers (17, 21) would be able to devour the entire thing in a matter of minutes and their bodies would never know the difference. And because my mom always said that sharing makes it taste better.
I did taste one tiny little crumb and it was good.
My girls were dipping their fingers in the leftover icing that had drizzled down the sides onto a piece of foil and they LOVED it
Of course I had to overdo it on National Bundt Day and make some baby Bundts to join in the fun. I really wanted to make the Chocolate Zucchini Bundt that Mary featured a couple of weeks ago and I happened to have a bunch of zucchini that needed to be used asap. I tried talking myself out of it and finally decided that I would just make 1/2 recipe and make some mini bundts.
When I was flipping through my copy of King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking, I saw a recipe for Chocolate Zucchini Cake which only used whole wheat flour and which could also be made in a bundt pan, so I went with that recipe instead. The whole wheat made me feel better about making it and eating it.
I made 1/2 of the recipe and it made 5 mini bundts. I skipped the glaze since I was going for a healthier treat anyway and just made a simple powdered sugar/milk glaze instead.
My kids really, really, really liked these mini bundts. I was going to send some to work with my husband, but they just didn't last long enough.
You can tell that they have whole wheat in them, because they do taste a little bit heartier and healthier than normal cake, but it really goes with the whole zucchini thing anyway. Very, very good.

I hope you have a wonderful Bundt Day! Bake someone a bundt and share the love!


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Chocolate Zucchini Cake from King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking
use 9*13-inch pan or a 10-cup Bundt
Cake:
2 1/2 cups traditional whole wheat flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup packed light or dark brown sugar (I used dark)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened, or vegetable oil (I used butter)
1/2 cup buttermilk
3 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups shredded zucchini
1 cup chocolate chips
Glaze: (optional)
1/2 cup heavy cream
3/4 cup chocolate chips
2 tsps corn syrup

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease the pan of your choice. (I used baking spray w/ flour)
Whisk together the flour, cocoa, baking soda, powder and salt in a medium bowl (I added 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon to this mixture).
Stir together the sugars and butter (or oil) in a large mixing bowl until smooth. Add the buttermilk, eggs, and vanilla; mix well.
Add half the dry ingredients. stirring until evenly moistened. Stir in the zucchini, then the remaining flour mixture. Stir in the chocolate chips. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.

Bake until the top springs back when lightly touched, 45 to 50 minutes. (My mini bundts were done in 23-25 minutes). Remove from the oven and cool on a rack for 15 minutes.
If using a bundt pan, remove the cake from the pan and cool completely.
If using 9*13-inch pan, you can serve from the pan of invert cake onto a platter and drizzle with the glaze.

To make the glaze: Heat the heavy cream to a simmer, and pour over the chocolate chips in a bowl. Stir in the corn syrup, and keep stirring until there are no more lumps and the mixture is smooth. Drizzle over the cooled cake, if desired.

Recipe for Buttermilk Bundt Cake with Spiced Vanilla Icing