candy cane bundt cake

as served at richard & erica's Christmas party last night:
idea from hostess with the mostess, white cake recipe from the joy of cooking

CANDY CANE CAKE:
preheat oven to 375
have all ingredients at room temperature
grease & flour 12C bundt pan

sift together twice:

• 3 1/2 C flour
• 1 Tb + 1tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt

combine:

• 1 C milk
• 1 tsp vanilla

in a large bowl (kitchenaid mixer bowl), beat until creamy:

• 2 sticks (1lb) butter

gradually add & beat on high speed until lightened in color & texture, 3-5mins:

• 1 2/3 C sugar

add the flour mixture in 3 parts, alternating with the milk mixture in 2 parts, beating on low speed or stirring with a rubber spatula until smooth & scraping the sides of the bowl as necessary. (this will be really really thick.) in another large bowl, beat on medium until soft peaks form:

• 8 egg whites (YES EIGHT)
• 3/8 tsp cream of tartar

gradually add, beating on high speed until stiff (but not dry) peaks form:

• 1/3 C sugar

use a rubber scraper to fold in 1/4 of egg whites into the butter mixture (have fun, this is not fun), then fold in the remaining whites.

take 3/4C batter out of the bowl. add to it:

• 1/2 tsp peppermint extract
• 1/2 tsp red food coloring

pour 1/2 of the regular batter into prepared pan. carefully pour red/peppermint batter over white batter in pan. top with remaining white batter. bake until a toothpick comes out clean - about 40-60minutes. let cool for 10mins in pan & then remove from pan onto cooling rack & let cool completely (about an hour).

FROSTING:
1 C powdered sugar
1 Tb milk
1/2 tsp vanilla
whisk together until smooth & runny-ish. drizzle over cooled cake & top with (2) crushed candy canes.

p.s. for a much faster/easier version of this cake, you can cheat like hostess with the mostess & use a white cake mix instead!