Butternut Amaretto Bundtlettes

These little Butternut Squash Bundt Cakes are moist and tender beyond words! Butternut squash puree gives them a soft crumb while amaretto-butter syrup saturates them with flavor. A drape of marigold-hued glaze makes them beautiful for fall.

Hello, friends! It’s been a while since I last posted here. I’ve been making lots of winter holiday goodies that I can’t wait to show you! Cute things are in store, and I’m excited for all the sweet things to come.

I’ve also been developing fall recipes and enjoying all the warm spices that create wonderful fragrance in my kitchen. These little butternut bundts have been a recent favorite. They’re a new take on my favorite pumpkin bundt cake, but they’re made with butternut squash puree instead of pumpkin puree. 

I’ve had a whopping SIX butternut squash on hand, thanks to my generous produce subscription box, so I’ve been saving them for all kinds of fall dishes. Now is the moment!

You can make this recipe in one large bundt pan, but I prefer making it as mini bundts. Smaller bundt cakes don’t have to bake as long, and as a result the exterior isn’t as tough and caramelized as the crust that develops on a large bundt cake. 

My Nordicware Bundtlette pan is a favorite, and it gets a workout during fall and winter. The cakes are the perfect individual size to gift and serve – just see last year’s Bundt Bar, and the cakes in this Trio of Treats! If you’d like a pan of your own, here’s a link (affiliate). And if you have an avid baker in your life, it makes a nice Christmas gift! 

Choosing to glaze these cakes was very nearly gilding the lily. You could certainly omit this step, but I couldn’t resist giving them a glaze the color of the poplar leaves currently falling from our tree.

These cakes are so flavorful with fall spices and the butter-amaretto soaking syrup gives them a bright, boozy note. They keep well  -which isn’t a surprise due to the preserving qualities of liqueur. The syrup is not so strong that it will make your tongue tingle, but there’s just enough warmth to let you know it is there.

Butternut-Amaretto Bundtlettes

Heather Baird

These little Butternut Squash Bundt Cakes are moist and tender beyond words! Butternut squash puree gives them a soft crumb while amaretto-butter syrup saturates them with flavor. A drape of marigold-hued glaze makes them beautiful for fall.

5 from 2 votes

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Prep Time 35 minutes mins

Cook Time 27 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr 2 minutes mins

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Servings 18

Equipment

• Mini bundt cake pans

Ingredients

  

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Bundt cakes

• 2 1/2 cups 500g granulated sugar
• 1 cup 240ml canola oil
• 3 large eggs at room temperature
• 3 cups 360g all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 2 cups 15 oz. butternut squash puree (instructions follow)

Butter amaretto syrup

• 1/2 cup 120ml water
• 1/2 cup 100g granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup 113g unsalted butter, melted
• 1 cup 120ml amaretto liqueur
• Pinch of salt

Glaze

• 2 cups 230g confectioners’ sugar
• 1 tablespoon amaretto
• 2-3 tablespoons milk or cream to thin
• 1 drop each yellow and orange food color

Instructions

 

• For the cakes, preheat oven to 350° F. Spray a multi cavity mini-bundt cake pan (such as Nordicware Bundtlette pan) with flour-based baking spray.
• In a large bowl, combine sugar and oil until blended. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and cloves; add to egg mixture alternately with squash puree, beating well after each addition.
• Scoop the batter into the bundt pan cavities within 1/2 inch of the tops. Cover unused batter in the bowl with a damp tea towel. Bake for 24-27 minutes, or until the bundt cakes are well puffed, and a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes and turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely. Wash the pan, coat with flour-based baking spray and bake remaining batter; repeat until all the batter has been used.
• For the syrup, combine the water and sugar in a microwave-safe bowl; heat at 100% power for 1 minute, and stir. Heat for an additional 30 seconds and stir until the sugar is melted. Stir the melted butter into the hot liquid; add the amaretto and pinch of salt. Stir to combine. Quickly dunk each cake in the liquid and transfer to wire racks. Let stand until the syrup is well-absorbed, about 10 minutes.
• For the glaze, combine the confectioners’ sugar, amaretto, and 2 tablespoons of cream in a medium bowl. Blend with a whisk to combine. Add more milk or cream as needed to form a thick glaze that holds in the balloon of the whisk for a moment before falling in a ribbon back into the bowl. Add the food color and mix again. Spoon the glaze over the cakes. Let stand until the glaze crusts, about 10 minutes. Serve immediately. Store the cakes in an air-tight container.

Notes

**To make this recipe as one large bundt cake, pour the batter into a 10-inch tube pan and bake for 60-65 minutes, or until a toothpick tester comes out clean.

How to make butternut squash puree:

Wash and carefully cut off the stem and base ends of a medium whole butternut squash; half lengthwise. Dig the seeds and membranes out with a large sturdy spoon. Butternut squash are firm and can be hard to cut! Microwave halves for about three minutes to soften and loosen the skin for easy and safer peeling! Remove skin from halves with a sharp knife. Place halves face down in a baking dish or roasting pan; pour water into dish around squash about 1/2 inch deep. Cover with foil and roast for an hour or until fork tender. Let cool and chop into small cubes. Puree in a blender or in a food processor until smooth.

Keyword butternut squash puree, mini bundt cakes, Thanksgiving dessert

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