I think lychees are one of those things you either love or hate. A bit like marmite (which I love – eat it on scrambled eggs, trust me!). You are either in camp “give-me-all-the-lychees-I-don’t-care-how-long-they-take-to-peel” or camp “seriously-they-look-like-eyeballs”. Well I love them in all their sweet eyebally-ness.
Also, I cannot even begin to explain how long I have wanted to get one of these bundt tins. I looked in EVERY single shop in Basel which sells any kind of baking apparel and there was nothing of the bundt variety. So I found one in the UK which my parents had to somehow fit into their hand luggage on their latest visit, only to find a huge baking shop in Basel that I never knew existed, the night before they arrived. Facepalm. Oh well. But now I am so excited to go and buy ALL THE THINGS from this shop. I really should never be allowed to go to shops like that alone. Like ever. Anyway, bottom line is I got the tin, I love the tin, so expect a few more bundt cake recipes in the coming months!
So back to lychee’s. These little sweet fruits are so under-used. I love them. And with the kick of lime they are just divine. Their flavour is delicate so lends itself well to a bundt cake, which is by nature heavier than a regular sponge. The kind of cake that can feed a lot of people!
We definitely don’t want to waste any lime flavour, so we go full on with the zest of the lime as well as the juice. The zest holds so much flavour and the smell when you are releasing all the beautiful oils is amazing. The cup of yoghurt in the cake really helps to keep the entire cake beautifully moist, and just the right texture.
Bundt cakes are so beautiful and can really be decorated any way you like depending on what kind of look you are going for. In this case I have decided to keep the decoration to the flavours in the cake. The addition of the fresh lychees on the top adds another dimension, and lychees really are at their best when fresh. We are cheating a little by using lychees from a can, but there is also a good reason for this! In order to add another lychee flavour, we use the liquid from the can to make the icing. This sweet drizzle then slightly soaks into the cake and the lime and lychee meet in a a wonderful way!
This would be the perfect cake to make for any occasion if you fancy a change from more common flavours. You will be pleasantly surprised at how well these under-used ingredients work together, so give it a go and let me know what you think!
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Lime and Lychee Bundt Cake
Ingredients
For the Cake
220g Butter at room temperature
600g Caster Sugar
450g All Purpose Flour
260g Natural Yoghurt
Zest and Juice of 2 Limes
Pinch of Salt
6 Eggs
2 Tsp Baking Soda
For the Glaze
170g Powdered Sugar
2 Tbsp Lychee juice from the can
For the Decoration
5-6 Tinned Lychees
Lime Zest
Steps
1. Line a standard 12 cup (10 inch) Bundt tin with butter and flour so the cake does not stick when baking. Preheat the oven to 170 degrees Celsius.
2. Cream together the butter and sugar in a freestand mixture until fully combined and fluffy. Add the eggs one by one and scrape down the sides of the bowl between each addition. Beat for 1-2 minutes until the mixture is smooth.
3. In another bowl combine the flour, salt, lime zest and bicarbonate of soda, mix until evenly distributed.
4. Add the flour to the egg mixture in 3 separate parts, alternating with the yoghurt. Once fully combined add the lime juice and mix on a low speed to combine. Transfer the mixture into the bundt tin and use a spatula to even it out on top.
5. Bake for 50-60 minutes until a skewer comes out clean. Once done allow to cool in the tin for at least 45 mins to an hour, then turn out the cake onto a cooling rack and allow to cool completely.
6. To make the drizzle icing, mix the powdered sugar with the 2 Tbsp of liquid from the can of lychees and stir thoroughly. You can add more sugar or liquid to achieve the texture you want. Chop up some fresh lychees and zest some extra lime to put on top. Once the cake is completely cool, pour the icing over the top and add the lychees and lime zest.
