I have to tell you a little guilty pleasure of mine…. I just love a bundt tin ! They can be expensive to buy, they are notorious for being hard work to get cakes out of, but they are just so pretty and can make the most simple of cakes look absolutely stunning and this Chocolate Bundt Cake was the perfect excuse to use mine.
You can take the most simplest sponge, add a drizzle of icing laced with a syrup of your choice, add a few fresh or crystallised flowers and you truly have a thing of beauty. Throw in a gorgeous cake plate or a cake stand and you have a centrepiece worthy of any afternoon tea or celebration.
My Husband’s first question when there is a new cake on the side is, “is there any of the garden in there”? This translated means that he is fed up with every cake I make either being laced with some flowery syrup or covered in flowers. I can not resist cakes with rose, geranium, elderflower or lavender in, I even love to decorate my cakes with these flowers, I am just obsessed with flowers !!! So I decided it was time to treat Hubby and bake him a chocolate cake covered in a rich chocolate glaze, he has been rather stressed at work and worried sick about our dog Jenson as he has recently had a cancerous tumour removed and the road to recovery has been extremely expensive, exhausting and trips to the vets every three days have been very stressful for the pair of them. He deserves a little treat.
This was a very simple cake to bake, no fancy ingredients, or piles of expensive chocolate to buy, the glaze has to be one of the easiest chocolate ganache’s that I have ever made, so it is a great cake to bake for a mid week treat. However, and you knew that there would be a however, if you wanted to dress it up a little you could add cherries, raspberries, a little liqueur maybe or decorate it with roses, either fresh or sugared, I think fresh cherries when they are in season, left on the stalk, dipped into melted chocolate and set on the top would be just stunning, but as I always say, make it your own, use whatever takes your fancy, but most of all, enjoy it with those you love.
Buon appetito
Links to more bundt recipes : Elderflower, lemon and strawberry cake with a yoghurt dressing. Mince pie cake. Ginger Cake. Cherry Cake.
226g unsalted butter
40g cocoa powder
1 cup strong back coffee or water
2 cups plain flour
1 3/4 cups golden caster sugar
1 1/2tsp bicarbonate of soda
2 large eggs
1/2 cup sour cream
For the glaze:
75g dark chocolate (roughly chopped)
80ml double cream
Heat the oven to 175 C.
Butter and flour a 8 to 10 cup bundt pan and set aside. I highly recommend Wilton 6 oz Bake Easy Non-Stick Spray as bundt tins are notoriously tricky to get cakes out of !
Combine the butter, cocoa powder and freshly brewed coffee in a saucepan and place over a medium het.Cook until melted and smooth. Remove from the heat and set aside.
Mix the flour, sugar and bicarbonate of soda in a large mixing bowl. Add the butter mixture and whisk until combined.
Add the eggs one at a time, whisking until combined.
Add the sour cream and whisk until smooth. You will have a fairly runny batter.
Pour the batter into the prepared bundt tin and bake until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. About 50 to 60 minutes, depending on your oven, You do not want to over bake your cake as this will give you a rather dry sponge.
Remove from the oven when cooked and allow to cool in the tin 20 minutes before inverting onto a cake rack to cool.
Allow to cool completely before adding the glaze.
How to make the glaze:
Place the chopped chocolate in a bowl and set aside. Put the cream into a small saucepan or milk pan and put over a medium heat. Stir constantly until the cream is very hot but not boiling.
Pour the hot cream over the chocolate and allow to stand for about 30 seconds or so, then whisk until melted and smooth.
If the glaze is a little to runny, allow it to cool and thicken a bit.
Top of with a few fresh figs or your chosen topping.
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