Two things I do are bake and read. And I also read about baking. One of my very favorite things to read about baking is Mary, The Food Librarian’s 30 Days of Bundts. 

In 2006, Nordic Ware (based in St. Louis Park, MN) got Gov. Tim Pawlenty to sign a proclamation declaring November 15 (the anniversary of their Bundt pan’s introduction) National Bundt Day. The Food Librarian blogged National Bundt Day in 2009, with a prelude of 30 Days of Bundts leading up to Nov. 15. And a logo.

Last year I baked along (my grandma’s delicious apple spice cake, as I recall), but never got around to joining the round-up.

This year, my friend and coworker Mary (yet another baking-loving librarian. We we really are a dime a dozen.) and I decided to bake together. Partly because we’re always up for a good excuse to bake, and mostly because we really want buttons that say “I like big bundts.” ‘Cause who wouldn’t? 

So Mary baked a brown-sugar poundcake with blueberries (rear, in the picture), which was caramelized and delicious, and I baked the spiced cranberry bundt cake from Bon Apetit, with which I’ve recently fallen in love. LOVE. It has Chinese 5-spice powder, but not too much (I dislike anise. But did I mention I love this cake? I also omitted the glaze, and didn’t miss it a bit. But then, I’m generally anti-glaze.) It’s buttery and almondy and there are fresh cranberries and dried … and I might make it about fifteen times this holiday season. Or at least several times, until I use up my bag of almond flour. Then I might try it with all regular flour, and a bit of almond extract. Or maybe even a bit of whole wheat flour, so I can pretend it’s healthy ;-)