Cranberry Orange Mini Bundt Cakes with Orange Glaze

Its been almost a month since I posted anything in my blog nor visited any other blogs. 2 reasons why I haven't been very active in blogging (1. laptop crash, 2. On a diet )If you are my face book page follower, then you already know that I am on a diet & have been cooking just the diet food. Well I will be posting more about this diet in my next post. I am posting this from my hubbys laptop & I hope to get my laptop fixed soon.

Today I would like to introduce you to my blogger friend Shema from "Life Scoops" I am sure most of you already know her & her amazing cooking/baking skills. I got to know her through a common friend & I cant tell you how much I admire her cooking/ baking & photography skills. She is my first guest to post in my blog & I am so glad to have her in my virtual space.  To know more about her visit here. She has made some delicious lovely looking "Cranberry Orange Mini Bundt Cakes with Orange Glaze" Now lets go on to her post...

From Shema author of  "Life Scoops"

I got introduced to Sheela, through Renu, a common friend of ours, who wanted to get us seemingly like-minded people together. This is one another reason why I love blogging as it’s a great medium to bring together people who share common passion and interests across the world, exchange ideas and notes and just get to know each other on a personal level. Sheela resides in Singapore, with her husband and a terrific toddler, Zion.

These mini bundt cakes burst with a nice citrusy orange flavor and the tart Cranberries and crunchy Pecans add a wonderful texture and taste. You can use the same batter to make mini bundt cakes, muffins or even bake it as a normal sized cake.

Ingredients

• 2 cups - All purpose flour

• 2 Tsp - Baking Powder

• 1 Tsp - Baking Soda

• 1/2 Tsp - Salt

• 2 - Egg

• 3/4 cup - Sugar (*Refer Notes)

• 2 Tsp - Finely grated orange zest

• 1/4 cup (56gms or 1/2 stick) - Unsalted butter, at room temperature

• 1 Cup - Plain Yogurt

• 1/2 Cup - Orange juice fresh

• 3/4 Cup - Dried cranberries

• 1/2 Cup - Pecans or Walnuts, chopped

Glaze Ingredients(optional)

• 3/4 Cup - Orange Juice, freshly squeezed

• 4 Tablespoon - Powdered Sugar

• 2 Tablespoon - Butter

Directions

1. Preheat the oven 350 degrees.
2. Grease the mini bundt cake pan or line the muffin pan with cupcake liners and set aside.
3. Sift the dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt into a bowl and set aside.
4. In a large bowl, whisk the butter and sugar
5. Add eggs and whisk until combined
6. Stir in the orange zest, orange juice and yogurt and mix until combined
7. Add the flour in 3 batches and whisk until the batter comes together.
8. Mix in cranberries and pecan/walnuts and whisk until they are evenly distributed. Do not overmix.
9. Evenly divide the batter in between the mini bundt cakes or the muffin pan
10. Bake for 15-18 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
11. Transfer the Mini bundt cakes/muffins to a cooling rack and allow them to cool completely before glazing.

To Make The Glaze:

1. Add 3/4 cup of freshly squeezed orange juice and butter to a non-stick sauce pan
2. Heat until the mixture reduces it to 1/2 Cup.
3. Let it cool.
4. Add 4 tablespoons of powdered sugar and whisk until combined
5. Pour the glaze over the bundt cakes with a teaspoon or use a brush to apply the glaze.

Notes and Tips

• If you are not making the glaze, increase the sugar to 1 cup for the muffins
• Make sure not to include the white part of the orange skin while zesting the orange
• Use freshly squeezed orange juice