The Family (bundt cake) Recipe

Long after the bundt cake trend went cold, I found our old bundt pan tucked in a dusty corner of the kitchen cabinets. Chris, my son, was curious about the odd shaped pan, so I tried to explain the fascination with bundt cakes, the wonderful flavors, and of course the unique hole in the center.

He challenged me to make one so we started with the older cookbooks stuffed with yellowed recipes and soon found a chocolate chip version that seemed do-able with a few minor substitutions.

We washed up the old pan and soon we were working away. No white cake mix, let’s use yellow. No instant chocolate pudding to add to the mix, let’s use vanilla. An hour later, the finished cake cooled on the counter and Chris was ready to dig in with a fork. He settled for a peanut butter sandwich snack until after dinner. He asked me what kind of frosting would be on the cake. My explanation of the proper bundt cake glazed frosting and the skill needed for a really good drizzle technique lost him completely; however, his obvious love of peanut butter sparked an idea.

By dinner time, the whole household couldn’t wait for dessert. I brought out the Chocolate Chip Bundt Cake with Peanut Butter frosting and immediately received rave reviews. "This is the best cake ever." "Dad, you should sell this cake on Ebay!" "We could sell this cake for a million dollars!"

I admit, the cake was good. Heavy and moist like bundt cakes are supposed to be, and VERY sweet, enhanced by the peanut butter frosting. It has become a family favorite. My personal best is three in one week, although I think one was donated to a bake sale.

The bundt pan has a new home in the kitchen cabinet, next to all the pans we reach for routinely.

~Steve, W., Madison, WI

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