We were excited to tell you about Amy Ho's newly released cookbook, Blooms and Baking: Add Aromatic, Floral Flavors to Cakes, Cookies, Candies and More. 

Now, the Vancouver baking maven and blogger behind Constellation Inspiration shares her recipe for Jasmine and Vanilla Bundt Cake with us. 

“It is my mom's favourite recipe from the book,” Ho tells the Straight.  “The recipe produces a large cake but the cake freezes extremely well. You can simply cut off a slice and let it come back to room temp before eating."

Make this for mom to celebrate her on Mother's day.

Jasmine and Vanilla Bundt Cake

What I love about Bundt cakes is that they are so beautiful without any decorations—the Bundt pan does all the work! It is worth it to invest in a very good nonstick Bundt pan (my favorite is Nordic Ware). A high- quality Bundt pan lasts a long time and almost guarantees that your cake will not get stuck inside the pan, which can be the most devasting thing when you invert the cake. This Bundt cake is very tender due to the addition of cream cheese and sour cream to the batter. It has a dense crumb, and the texture is similar to a pound cake. A light brushing of jasmine syrup adds another layer of flavor to this cake.

Yields 1 (10- to 12-cup [2.4- to 2.8-L]) Bundt cake

Ingredients

2 2/3 cups (320 g) all-purpose flour
1/3 cup (40 g) cornstarch
1⁄2 tsp baking powder
1⁄4 tsp salt
11⁄2 cups (340 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup (224 g) full-fat cream cheese, at room temperature
2 1/3 cups (466 g) granulated sugar
1⁄4 cup (60 g) full-fat sour cream, at room temperature
1 Tbsp (15 mL) pure vanilla extract
6 large eggs, at room temperature
1⁄4 cup (60 ml) jasmine syrup (see below)

Method

Preheat the oven to 325°F and generously grease a 10- to 12-cup (2.4- to 2.8-L) Bundt pan with butter or nonstick spray.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and salt. Set the flour mixture aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter on high speed until it is smooth and creamy, about 1 minute. Add the cream cheese and beat on high speed until the mixture is completely smooth and homogenous, about 1 minute. Add the sugar and beat on high speed for 1 minute. Add the sour cream and vanilla and beat on high speed until the mixture is combined and creamy, about 30 seconds. Scrape down the sides and along the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula.

On low speed, beat in the eggs, one at a time, allowing each to fully incorporate before adding the next.

While the mixer is running on low speed, add the flour mixture. Increase the mixer’s speed to medium and beat the batter until everything is just combined and no streaks of flour remain, about 45 seconds. Do not overmix the batter. Scrape down the sides and along the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula to make sure all the ingredients have been incorporated. The batter will be thick.

Pour the batter evenly into the prepared Bundt pan. Bang the pan on the counter a few times to remove any air pockets in the batter. Bake the cake for 85 to 95 minutes. Place a sheet of aluminum foil over the cake halfway through the baking time to prevent the top of the cake from overbrowning. Start checking the cake for doneness at the 80-minute mark. The cake is done when a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Remove the cake from the oven and allow it to cool for 2 hours inside the pan. Remove the cake from the pan by inverting the cake onto a wire rack or serving dish. Allow the cake to cool completely.

With a pastry brush, brush the jasmine syrup over the top and sides of the cake.

Jasmine Syrup
1 cup (240 ml) of water
1 cup (200 g) of granulated sugar
1⁄4 to 1/3 cup (6 to 8 g) dried culinary-grade jasmine flowers

In a small saucepan over medium heat, bring the water and sugar to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer the mixture until the sugar is dissolved, about 3 minutes, stirring at each minute interval. Add the flowers, then simmer the syrup for 10 minutes. Remove the saucepan from the heat and pour the syrup through a filter or fine-mesh sieve into a sealable glass jar to remove the flowers. Let the syrup cool, and then put it in the refrigerator.