It's a Bundt!
Bundt cakes got their start at Nordic Ware in St. Louis Park, and who knows how many local kitchens include a Bundt pan? Now, an Eden Prairie bakery is selling Bundt cakes. Only Bundt cakes. It's called Nothing Bundt Cakes, and is the first Minnesota franchise for a company based in — what? where? — Las Vegas. The bakery sells 8- and 10-inch Bundts in a variety of flavors for about $30 to $40, with other options such as Bundlets, Bundtinis or tiered Bundts for a crowd. Nothing Bundt Cakes is at 8435 Joiner Way, near Eden Prairie Center. Today, 20 percent of purchases will benefit PROP, People Reaching out to Other People, which provides services to families, children and elderly to help them regain independence. Saturday features family entertainment from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and the first 50 people in line will win free Bundlets for a year.
Tanis comes to St. Paul
All cooks like to have one good dish in their repertoire, something for which they may be known, or can make blindfolded with consistent results. Funny, but that's the name of David Tanis' latest cookbook, which highlights what he calls his "quirky approach to comfort food." The author of "One Good Dish" comes to Cooks of Crocus Hill in St. Paul on Nov. 21 to teach a demonstration class that will include cheese in a jar with dill cucumbers, spiced nuts and garlic toast; polentina alla Toscana; peppery duck with parsley salad and well-charred endives; and ginger-spiced wafer with espresso-hazelnut bitter chocolate bark. The class ($80) begins at 6 p.m., preceded by a book signing at 5 p.m. To register, visit www.cooksofcrocushill.com.
I'll have a blue Christmas
Word out on the baking frontier is that blue velvet will be a hot trend in cakes, doughnuts and — well, that may be enough. Betty Crocker had led the charge a few years ago, developing a blue velvet cake "inspired by the royal heirloom sapphire engagement ring" that Prince William gave to Kate Middleton. Tinted with blue and violet paste coloring, it was a looker. Oprah put her "favorite things" moniker on a turquoise cake from a New York bakery last year, and bloggers since have taken up the cause. Now Gregory's Foods, a local manufacturer of doughs for commercial use, is touting its new Blue Velvet Donut Cake Mix. Blue — it's not just for berries anymore.
Allrecipes you can spill on
Here's a switch: Digital is going dead tree. Meredith Corp., the media and marketing behemoth in Des Moines, has announced that its popular Allrecipes.com website now is available in magazine form. Allrecipes magazine will be published six times a year with a newsstand cover price of $4.99. A one-year subscription is $12. The December 2013 premiere issue is on newsstands nationwide.
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