I just think it’s a good idea not to antagonize local law enforcement. 

–Who me? I’m Mr. Congeniality. 

You never know, we might need his help one of these days. 

–I’ll send him a Bundt cake.

For this episode, we’re making Mini Samoa Bundt Cakes.  Bundts, because of a flippant Bundt cake joke Mulder makes.  And Samoa flavored because of the story of the 1967 Girl Scout camping trip abduction at Lake Okoboji. The base for these Bundts is a slightly coconut-flavored cake donut batter.  The mini-bundts are then dipped in dark chocolate, caramel and coconut to replicate the classic look and flavor of a Girl Scout Samoa cookie.  

Jump to recipe

This episode has some cool ideas and striking imagery, like the binary picture of Ruby’s face, but a lot of it just doesn’t make sense.  And while it’s great to be back to aliens, the UFO content gets a little overshadowed by side plots about teenage drama and rough bikers who hang out at the Pennsylvania Pub.  We’re left with a lot of unanswered questions, even by X-Files standards.  What does it mean for Kevin to be a conduit? Is it related to the giant satellite dish the Morrises have in their front yard? Where are the transmissions he’s picking up coming from? Why is someone transmitting Ruby’s face? And why does the NSA just stop investigating this security breach?  

We also really start to see Mulder’s single-minded focus, and how he prioritizes the Truth over trivial things like Bureau policy, congenial working relationships, and the mental well-being of an eight year old child.  At one point, Scully mildly reprimands Mulder for his behavior, and he jokes about sending the local law enforcement an apology Bundt cake.   However, we’ve decided to make a batch of mini-bundt cakes, because, by our count, Mulder will need at least six Bundts for his cake-based apology tour: FBI Division Chief Scott Blevins (for his expense requests), the local law enforcement (general surliness), the NSA (obstruction of justice), Darlene and Kevin Morris (UFO zealotry), and Tessa (intense interrogation techniques).  And honestly maybe Scully.  Mulder should probably consider arranging for Scully to receive a weekly apology Bundt. 

Speaking of Scully, this episode also has some really great moments showing Mulder and Scully building their trust in each other.  Scully is still fulfilling her role of reporting to her FBI superiors, but chooses to go with Mulder to check on Kevin, even though she believes the case has been wrapped up.  We also get some empathy and understanding from her concerning Mulder’s sister’s abduction.    

Last thoughts: one teenager was straight up murdered in this episode, right? Why don’t we seem to care about that? 

Opening the Recipe File|

To make the mini Bundt cakes

This cake recipe is based on a recipe for baked cake donuts, which we thought would best emulate the shortcake biscuit of a Samoa cookie. We call for 1/2C coconut milk to give the cake a hint of coconut. If you’d prefer to not have a coconut flavor to the cake, you can swap it for regular milk. Conversely, if you’d like your cake to have more of a coconut flavor, sub in coconut extract for the vanilla extract.

Preheat the oven to 425°F. Grease the the mini Bundt pan. Note: we found our mini Bundt pan at a thrift store. It is yellow, cute and maybe vintage, but it definitely isn’t non-stick, so we used a pastry brush to coat the pan with a mixture of 1 tbsp butter & 2 tbsp flour. A non-stick or silicone Bundt pan probably wouldn’t require such drastic measures.

To make the cake, beat together the butter, vegetable oil, sugar and brown sugar, until smooth. Beat in the eggs. Stir in the baking powder, baking soda, salt and vanilla extract.

Add 1C flour and mix until just combined. Slowly add in the coconut milk then 1C flour. Once combined, stir in the milk followed by the remainder of the flour.

Spoon the mixture into the mini Bundt pans, until each is about 2/3 full. Bake for about 12 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center of a mini Bundt comes out clean. Allow the mini Bundts to cool for at least 10 minutes before you try turning them out onto a cooling rack. While they cool, prepare the toppings.

Add the Samoa Toppings

Put the toasted coconut in a shallow bowl or on a plate and set aside.

Make a chocolate ganache: finely chop the bittersweet chocolate and put in a medium sized bowl. Heat the whipping cream in a small saucepan until it just starts to boil. Pour the whipping cream over the chocolate and stir until the the chocolate melts and the mixture becomes smooth.

Dip the bottom of each mini Bundt into the chocolate ganache, then place upside down on a cooling rack to allow the ganache on the bottom to set.

The remainder of the ganache will be used later for drizzling. Transfer to a piping bag, if using, or leave in the bowl. Set the drizzling ganache in a warm place (we put ours on top of the still-cooling oven) so that it doesn’t set while you do the next steps.

Once the ganache on the bottom of the Bundts has set, flip them right-side up. Drizzle the caramel around the top of each Bundt. Use a pastry brush to help spread the caramel. Immediately dip the caramel side of the Bund in the toasted coconut.

Drizzle or pipe the remaining ganache on the top of the Bundts.

Allow the ganache drizzle time to set, then serve. Covered, these will keep for several days.

Mini Samoa Bundt Cakes Recipe