Double-Chocolate Bundt Cake with Ganache Glaze
February 27, 2012 at 7:29 pm | Posted in bundt cakes, cakes & tortes, simple cakes, sweet things | 17 CommentsTags: baking, bundt, cake, chocolate, dessert
I had wanted this post to be a recipe for a citrus loaf cake, but something went amiss in the preparation…namely, my brain when I tried to do some “cake math” to downsize the recipe. I was a math major in college, too. Seriously, Wellesley should revoke my degree for not being able to handle basic fractions. Anyway, that greasy disaster used up all my blood oranges and a copious amount of olive oil, so that was that for that– time to get over it and move on with chocolate!
I’ve made this Double Chocolate Bundt Cake from Food & Wine twice, and R and I like it a lot. It’s a homey, old-fashioned, easy peasy, hand-whisked thing. It’s kind of cake I imagine making for my imaginary children. Also, I have a particular fondess for chocolate cakes made with oil (I use grapeseed). They have a dense/moist crumb that I’m really into and they keep for days. The first time I baked this cake, used Dutch-processed cocoa, but the second time I decided to give natural a go, seeing as how baking soda is used as the leavener. While I didn’t notice any difference in rise between the two, I think the one made with natural cocoa tasted better…a little more chocolatey, maybe, although that could just be a difference between the two particular brands.
The ganache glaze and sprinkles may be mandatory for me, but if you can do without, a simple sift of powdered sugar on top of the cake would look really great. Don’t forget a little scoop of vanilla ice cream.
There’s a little Bundt cake trick I’ve learned at the shop where I work. Sometimes even a well-greased and floured a Bundt can have trouble releasing from the pan and can get a bit torn up. Right after you take the Bundt out of the oven, using potholders, give the bottom of the pan a good, swift rap on your counter (only if it’s heatsafe, though!). This helps the cake to settle a bit and come away from the sides of the pan, especially around the tube area, where it can sometimes get caught. I would not do this with most types of layer or loaf cakes, but a sturdy Bundt can take it– as long as it’s baked all the way, of course.
Double-Chocolate Bundt Cake with Ganache Glaze– makes 10-12 servings
adapted from Food & Wine (November 2006)
Steph’s Notes: I made half a recipe in my 6-cup Bundt pan, but still used the full egg (I just chose the smallest egg in my carton). Also, my smaller cake baked in about 35-40 minutes.
vegetable oil spray or softened butter for the Bundt pan
5 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
3/4 cup canola or grapeseed oil
1 cup sugar
1 large egg
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 tablespoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup strong-brewed coffee
1 cup buttermilk
1/3 cup heavy cream
1/2 tablespoon corn syrup or golden syrup
1/2 tablespoon unsalted butter
-Preheat the oven to 350°F. Thouroughly grease a a 12-cup Bundt pan with vegetable oil spray or softened butter. (I did not, but if you’d like added insurance, you can flour the pan as well.)
-In a small saucepan, melt 2 ounces of the chopped chocolate over low heat, stirring constantly. Scrape the chocolate into a medium bowl and let cool slightly. Whisk in the oil and sugar until smooth, then whisk in the egg.
-In a small bowl, whisk the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt. Add half of the dry ingredients to the chocolate mixture along with 1/2 cup of the coffee and 1/2 cup of the buttermilk; whisk until smooth. Add the remaining dry ingredients, coffee and buttermilk and whisk until smooth.
-Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake in the lower third of the oven for about 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out with a few moist crumbs attached. Swiftly rap the pan on the counter once or twice right after pulling it from the oven…this will help the cake settle and release. Let the cake cool on a rack for 10-15 minutes, then turn it out and let cool completely.
-In a small saucepan, bring the cream to a boil. In a heatproof bowl, combine the remaining 3 ounces of chopped chocolate with the corn syrup (or golden syrup) and butter. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate and let stand until melted, about 5 minutes. Whisk until smooth. Let the ganache glaze cool until thick but still pourable, about 5 minutes.
-Pour the ganache over the cooled cake. Let the cake stand until the glaze is set, at least 30 minutes, before serving.
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a whisk and a spoon 
This looks gorgeous and has me craving some chocolate!
Comment by Liz @ Blog is the New Black— February 27, 2012 #
Craving cake after seeing this! Love the sprinkles on top too – nice touch!
Comment by The Sundress Chef— February 27, 2012 #
Gorgeous cake! thanks for the tip on releasing bundts. I’ll have to try it next time.
Comment by Wendy— February 27, 2012 #
Really beautiful cake! Love the rivulets of chocolate pouring down!
Comment by m&m— February 27, 2012 #
This looks amazing!
Comment by 2girls10potatoes— February 27, 2012 #
This looks dangerously delicious
Comment by cookiemomma— February 27, 2012 #
I’ve been looking for a chocolate cake made with oil instead of butter for almost a year. I have to give this a try! It looks really rich and very chocolate-y.
Comment by Suelle— February 28, 2012 #
This looks completely sinful! Love it! I think this should be next on my list of sweets to bake. 🙂
Comment by Karista— February 29, 2012 #
That’s a lovely cake and a lovely photo – the rich chocolate on the cool blue looks great.
Thanks for the tip about banging the bundt tin, I’ll pass that onto my daughter who baked in a bundt tin for the first time and I’d told her about the greasing and flour but a couple of bits stuck to the pan so we’ll see next time.
Comment by Lesley— February 29, 2012 #
sinfully delicious! love chocolate
Comment by Jaime— February 29, 2012 #
Oh, man. I’ve been craving chocolate cake (it’s that time of the month!) and those pictures have me salivating…
Comment by Lindsey Johnson— March 1, 2012 #
this looks SOOOOO good
Comment by betty— March 1, 2012 #
Yummmm!!!!
Comment by cathleen— March 1, 2012 #
I made this in individual bundt pans, the kind that are gold coated and everything. They stuck even though I had heavily applied vegetable coating. I will try flouring it also next time. But the cake is delicious so I will make it again! You have a really beautiful blog with great pictures.
Comment by Paula @ Vintage Kitchen Notes— March 2, 2012 #
This looks so delicious! Excellent photos. My mouth goes watery just looking at them.
Comment by Jeff @ Cheese-Burger.net— March 2, 2012 #
Looks amazing. Now I want chocolate!!!
Comment by pastryprince— March 3, 2012 #
Mmmmmmm. Can’t wait to try this. Thanks!
Comment by cup o' dough— April 19, 2012 #