My raspberry bushes were subpar this year. I ended up with just about a cup of berries for 5 very large raspberry plants, which left me very sad indeed. But to be fair, I didn’t really prune them last/this year because I was so focused on writing my book that I missed most of my garden chores. But luckily, the market shelves had them in spades, so I was able to throw together this tasty raspberry bundt cake with chamomile (and at least the chamomile bit was from the garden!)
What’s Inside this Raspberry Bundt Cake?
The cake itself is made with milk that’s heated and then infused with dried chamomile. After it cools to room temperature, it’s mixed with traditional cake ingredients like eggs, olive oil, flour, sugar, and the like. The batter is poured into a bundt pan in three intervals, with chopped raspberries sprinkled across the filling after the first and second interval. This makes for wonderful little bursts of fresh raspberry that bake into the cake and make it extra-moist!
As for the decorations, the bundt cake is cut in half horizontally after it cools, and then it is iced inbetween the layers and all around with a cream cheese whipped cream. And then, as the final step, fresh raspberries are pressed all over the cake, along with fresh chamomile flowers. This bit is admittedly expensive nowadays with how much fresh berries cost, so I will tell you that it tastes just as lovely without the extra raspberries all over. However, it does bring a certain flashiness that plain white icing just can’t match. You could always do just one little ring of fresh raspberries around the bottom, instead.
I do want to mention that this cake was inspired by the lovely berry-studded cakes Naime Cake bakery makes. I’m not sure where they are located since I can’t read the language on their profile (I think it might be Arabic?) but goodness are they talented!
And if you don’t have fresh chamomile to decorate the cake with, you can use whatever food-safe edible flowers you can find (roses, pansies, etc.) And if you want to take advantage of the edible flowers of summer, may I point you towards this rose and pistachio pavlova?
Raspberry Bundt Cake with Chamomile
This delicious bundt cake is made with dried chamomile tea and raspberries baked into the cake itself, and iced in a not-too-sweet cream cheese and whipped cream icing. Making for the perfect bright and creamy and floral celebratory treat!
Ingredients
Raspberry Bundt Cake with Chamomile
- ½ cup milk hot but not boiling
- 3 tablespoons loose leaf dried chamomile tea
- 1 ½ cups all purpose flour or 1 to 1 gluten free baking flour
- 1 ½ cups almond flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- 3/4 teaspoon table salt
- 5 eggs
- 1 ¼ cups granulated sugar
- ⅔ cup olive oil or avocado oil
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
- ½ cup raspberries finely chopped, fresh or frozen (sprinkle them in so they dont touch the sides of the bundt)
Cream Cheese Whipped Cream and Fresh Raspberries
- 6 ounces cream cheese room temperature
- ¾ cup powdered sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- Pinch of table salt
- 1 ¼ cups heavy whipping cream cold
- 36 ounces fresh raspberries optional
- 1 cup raspberries finely chopped, fresh or frozen
- 1/4 cup fresh chamomile blossoms optional
Instructions
Raspberry Bundt Cake with Chamomile
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In a glass or small bowl, stir together the hot milk and dried chamomile tea until combined, then allow to infuse and cool to room temperature over an hour. (If you cannot find loose leaf chamomile tea, you can use chamomile tea bags, just rip them open and pour out the dried chamomile, discarding the tea bag). Do NOT strain, you should leave the chamomile in the milk and it will all go into the cake batter later on.
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Preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease a 9-cup bundt pan and dust with almond flour and set it aside.
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In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, almond flour, baking powder, and salt until combined, then set aside for now.
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In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the eggs and sugar at medium speed until lightened in color and silky. Add the oil, vanilla, and almond extracts and mix until combined.
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Add half the flour mixture in two increments, alternating with half the milk mixture, mixing at low speed until *just* combined. Spoon into the greased bundt pan, and about ⅓ of the way through the batter, sprinkle half of the chopped raspberries on the batter in the pan, keeping the raspberry bits away from the edges. Repeat again when you’re about ⅔ of the way through the batter, then top with remaining batter.
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Place the bundt pan on a lipped baking pan and place it in the lowest rack of the oven. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean, about 50 to 60 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes, then invert it to remove the cake from the pan and allow the cake to cool completely.
Cream Cheese Whipped Cream and Fresh Raspberries
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In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the cream cheese, powdered sugar, vanilla, and salt starting at low speed and increasing to medium until smooth and fluffy. Make sure there are NO lumps.
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Swap for the whisk attachment and begin mixing at medium low speed again. In a slow and small and steady stream, add the cream, pausing as needed to wait until the cream is incorporated before adding more. Continue mixing until stiff peaks form, but be VERY careful not to over-mix. The combination of cream cheese and cream will over-mix very easily, so don't push it too far.
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To ice the cake, cut the bundt cake in half horizontally across the equator. Ice the bottom layer, then sprinkle with the cup of chopped raspberries and place the top layer on top, sandwiching the icing and raspberries in between them.
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Ice the outside of the cake. Then starting at the bottom, press the raspberries into the cake making a ring around the bottom edge, then continue pressing them into the cake in rings, working your way up. Dot with the fresh chamomile blossoms, or other food-safe flowers. Because of the fresh berries, the cake will keep up to 2 days in the refrigerator in an airtight container before the berries may start to mold. If you don't cover the cake with fresh raspberries, it will keep in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 1 week.
Recipe Notes
Recipe inspired by the lovely cakes that Naime Cake makes.
