Peachy Keen Spice Cake, #BundtaMonth

Do you ever miss someone so badly your whole body hurts? My heart aches a bit right now as I remember my grandmother, Nona. She’s resided in Heaven for decades. But this bout of Nona nostalgia came about with November’s Bundt-a-Month assignment from the talented baker/leaders of the group, Anuradha of Baker Street and Lora, the Cake Duchess.

For November's  #BundtaMonth Jam Theme: 
A moist spice bundt with peach jam in the cake and whipped cream topping. 

Jam is the star ingredient of our cakes this month. And when I think of jam, my mind tumbles back in time to childhood summers in Colorado. However, slight and short in stature, Nona’s spirit and spunk were gigantic.  Precariously perched over rushing rapids, she’d hook a chokecherry tree branch with my grandfather’s cane. “Get as many as you can!” Eager to smother my toast with Nona’s homemade chokecherry jam, which would ensue, I dutifully complied.

Nona was a maestro in the kitchen. Family and friends drove miles through the Big Thompson Canyon to fetch her chokecherry jam (and other goodies).. Nona was also one smart lady. She almost graduated with a Master’s degree from New York’s Columbia University in the 1920s. (A rare feat for females in the '20s.) Wifely duty called her to follow Granddad’s work out West…Nona’s fire and fearlessness were remarkable.

The Ninja Baker's Peachy Keen Spice Cake is delicious plain.
The bundt is also yummy when topped with peach jam whipped cream & caramel sauce.
 

To honor my grandmother, the lady whose tight hugs would chase away the blues, a chokecherry jam bundt would be perfect. However, as the item is a rare commodity in Santa Monica, CA, I chose peach jam. Why? Nona’s care made my world peachy keen. Her love righted every wrong. So, with a few tweaks and substitutions to a Vintage Cakes recipe, I baked a peachy keen spice cake; grateful for Nona's love which still resides in my heart. I believe the bundt will bring you a taste of heaven, too