Monday, September 14, 2015

Chocolate Bundt Cake

If you're like me, you follow different chefs for different kinds of foods.

When I want down home southern cooking, I go to Paula Deen. If I'm looking for Texas ranch-style dishes... of course! The Pioneer Woman.

But when I want melt-in-your-mouth elegance, it's Martha Stewart.

I found this recipe on her website, and it was everything she (or her website writer) promised!

Chocolate Bundt Cake

ingredients:

2 1/2 cups flour (Now the website said "all-purpose" flour, but if you've seen me make cakes before, you know I always use cake flour. Swans Down, Soft as Silk, Wondra...it doesn't matter, as long as it's cake flour!)
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup whole milk (Since I don't buy whole milk, I add about a Tablespoon of cream to the 1% milk and call it whole milk. No one can tell the difference!)
1/2 cup sour cream
1 cup (2 sticks) butter
4 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the glaze:
1/2 cup bittersweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 Tablespoons butter

Preheat the oven to 325°. Grease a 14-cup Bundt pan.

I haven't tried it, but I'm sure you can bake this in a 9 x 13 inch dish. You would have to adjust the baking time, though.


Whisk the flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt together in a medium bowl.


Mix the milk and sour cream together in a small bowl. Do you see how I cheat and use measuring cups to mix the ingredients? Fewer dirty dishes for the win!


In your mixer, cream the butter and sugar together until they are light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, then the vanilla.


Reduce the mixer speed to low, and add the flour mixture alternately with the milk mixture, ending with the flour mixture. Be sure to scrape the sides of your mixing bowl once or twice.

Spoon the batter into your prepared bundt pan.


Bake at 325° about 55 to 60 minutes, or until a tester comes out clean.

Let the cake cool in the pan on a wire rack, and then invert it onto your serving plate.


And don't worry about that little divot on the far side. The chocolate glaze will cover it up!

Once the cake is cool, make the glaze by melting the ingredients together in a microwave (carefully!) or in a double boiler. Cool the glaze until it has thickened to a pourable consistency, and pour carefully over the cake, letting the glaze drip down the sides part way.

Of course, I forgot to take a picture of the cake at this point - but it was beautiful. And my guests that night thought it was delicious.

But you really can't fail with chocolate cake, can you?

What is your favorite dessert to serve to guests?

12 comments:

  1. Yum! My cakes never turn out so pretty so I never serve them for company. And I've never successfully managed to get a cake out of a bundt pan unscathed! Not even one that doesn't have the uber cool scalloped lines. Sigh. My cakes taste good -- just not pretty.

    So -- for company -- I tend towards something no fail like apple crumble with vanilla ice cream on the side. Just plain and simple at my house!

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    1. Plain and simple is the best! Apple crumble sounds delicious :)

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    2. There's nothing wrong with dessert for breakfast! Go for it!

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  2. *sigh* between your post, Jan, and Kav's comment, I'm sitting here at 6 in the morning craving dessert.

    I love cakes with sour cream in the recipe. It just adds a special tang to the cake. Love the pan!

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    1. Sorry. I'm trying to use my phone to comment, but it's posting my comments wherever it wants. So if you read a comment that applies to you, then it's yours. :)

      On another note, Michigan is beautiful this morning!

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  3. This is simple elegance. Do you remember those Tunnel of Fudge cake mixes? My kids loved the Boston Cream one, with the chemical tasting pudding in the middle. They didn't care. They loved that thing! So I make Boston Cream Pie regularly with moist yellow cake, homemade custard and homemade fudge chocolate frosting, but I bet you dollars to donuts they'd grab the chemical one FIRST.

    Every time I see a Bundt cake, I think of that. And I picture "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" when they plunked the flower pot into the middle of the "b-u-u-u-u-n-t" cake. :)

    Now I want cake.

    Thanks, Jan!!!!!

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    1. I do remember those tunnel cakes! They were so good!

      And that movie is so funny. Thanks for the reminder!

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  4. This look so good!! What a beautiful batter (yeah, you'd only see that comment on a food blog LOL). :)

    Thanks for sharing, Jan! I wish I could have seen the finished product. But I totally understand how that happens. I have many posts without the final shot! LOL

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    1. That is definitely a food blog comment LOL!

      This cake was so delicious. My husband said I didn't make enough of it, but I think we just shared it with too many people!

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  5. Yum, this starts my day out perfectly. I'm hungry this morning. Must be the crisp fall like air.

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    1. Here in Michigan the leaves are starting to turn. Beautiful!

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