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December 4, 2006 | 5 Comments

Dear Mr. Keillor,
Greetings. I am a former Minnesotan currently living in New Mexico. I am writing a Bundt Cook Book for the Minnesota Historical Society. Do you have any Bundt stories, jokes, or memories you would be willing to share? Also-what is your favorite Bundt? Hope you are well. We all enjoy your show-particularly our nine year old who quotes the Ketchup people regularly. Take care.

Susanna S.

(Response from Mrs. Sundberg, Bundt expert)

Oh, Susanna, I don't know about Mr. Keillor but I will confess I've had my issues with Bundt cakes over the years. Really. Seems most of them I've made have come up a bit on the dry side and there they sit, half-eaten and nothing to brag about. However, there is one Bundt cake I've found turns out amazingly moist and just right every time. It's always been my father's favorite cake, and my mother has made it on many a special occasion. The original recipe called for an orange cake mix, but you don't find such a thing anymore so I use a yellow cake mix and it works just fine.

My mother calls it "Harvey Wallbanger Cake." Now, don't let the name mislead you. This cake is intoxicating only in flavor, and if you're feeling something afterward, it's all in your mind. Which is why I've taken to calling it "It's All In Your Mind Cake." It was at a family reunion some years back when I brought three of these cakes. The reunion was at a park, and it rained hard all day, so we spent most of our time in a building built for such purposes. There were tables and a small kitchen so we set up camp and had a good ol' time. Someone brought a karaoke machine, and that afternoon of all the cousins got a bit carried away. To say they were giddy is an understatement. The aunts got annoyed after a while and blamed my cake, as it does contain a decent amount of alcohol. I found the idea ridiculous, and said, in defense of my cake, "It's all in your mind, Ladies."

So here we go.

Harvey Wallbanger Cake
(It's All In Your Mind Cake)

1 yellow cake mix
1 small box instant vanilla pudding
4 eggs
1/2 cup oil
Combine cake mix and pudding mix;
add eggs and oil and mix well.
Add 4 oz. Galliano
1 oz. vodka
4 oz. orange juice

Pour into a greased and floured 10-inch Bundt pan. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes.

For a lovely frosting, mix 1 oz. each of Galliano, vodka and orange juice together in a bowl. (Don't add more than one ounce of each. Trust me. It gets a bit overpowering.) Add powdered sugar and stir until desired consistency.

Frost cooled cake as you wish.
Serve warm.

(Note: I keep my recipe for this one taped to the bottle of Galliano in the top cupboard. Just so I know.)

Enjoy!!

5 Comments

Tom Scanlon | December 4, 2006 10:15 PM | Reply

Dear Susanna,
Amazing how mentioning something as simple as a "Bundt Cake" can bring back a flood of very fond memories.
My late mother used to make Bundt cakes. She didn't have any special receipe she just used Duncan Hines cake mix. She frequently used the yellow cake mix. What was unique to me and to the others in the family who knew, was that she used duck eggs instead of chicken eggs. (We had 5 ducks as pets) The cakes were memorable in that they came out a dark orange in color and that they really tasted good.
So after reading your post and subsequent receipe from Mrs Sundberg I made a trip to the basement. Nestled benath the "microwavable" Bundt pan and the new rubberized "roll-em-up" Bundt baking pan was my mothers old teflan coated Bundt. I paused to think of a simpler time 35 years ago of my mother's dark orange "yellow" Bundt cakes and how they never really lasted long enough to get stale.

Warmly
Tom Scanlon
tescanlon@gmail.com

tim clifton | December 7, 2006 1:40 PM | Reply

Harvey Wallbanger cake: On my 21st birthday in 1975 I over indulged in the drink of the time,Harvey Wallbangers, and got drunk/sick as a dog! To this day the sight of that yellow liquor makes me ill. It would be fun to try it in a cake though. I think Bundt cakes,like crock pots are making a big comeback

B | December 10, 2006 5:54 PM | Reply

The recipe looks great, and a friend of mine whose birthday is coming up in January loves orange cake, so I'm looking forward to trying it! Also, just some FYI - Duncan Hines makes and "Orange Supreme" Cake Mix: http://www.duncanhines.com/newDuncan/pub/products/cakes.asp
I've bought the last two January's for my friend's birthday :)

mg | December 24, 2006 2:18 PM | Reply

this is my mother's recipe and it is NOT dry:

VANILLA WAFER CAKE Mildred Dewveall

2 sticks oleo
2 cups sugar
6 eggs
12 or 16 oz pkg vanilla wafers, finely crushed
or 1 box prepared vanilla wafer crumbs
7 oz angel flake coconut
1/2 cup milk
1 cup chopped pecans

Cream oleo & sugar. Add eggs one-at-a-time, beating well after each. Add remaining
ingredients. Mix well. Bake in WELL GREASED & FLOURED bundt pan at 325� for one and
one-half hours. Use a metal bundt pan;
I tried one of those new silicon pans and
had to eat the center with a spoon!~

Suzanne | January 2, 2007 4:30 PM | Reply

On the subject of Bundt cakes....my mother used to make them, too; and they were good! But the entire time I was reading these comments all I could think about was the meeting of the bride's family and the groom's family in "My Big Fat Greek Wedding". The groom's (WASP)mother brings a bundt cake to the Greek family's party, part of the festivities of which entailed roasting a whole goat on the front lawn. The ensuing discussions over the pronunciation and content of 'Bundt'cakes was truly Greek to the Greek family.