Chocolate Bundt Cake with Chocolate Ganache

A couple weeks ago, the nice people at Laura Secord, Canada’s largest Chocolatier, sent me a gift basket (read about it here). In the basket were premium-quality semi-sweet chocolate chips that I decided to use to bake a cake worthy of Laura Secord’s 100^th anniversary.

Cake Ingredients:

• 2 ½ sticks butter, softened, divided
• 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour, divided
• 1/3 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder
• 1 cup water
• 1 tsp. kosher salt
• 1 ¾ cups granulated sugar
• 1 ½ tsp. baking soda
• 2 large eggs
• ½ cup sour cream
• 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
• 4 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips

Ganache Ingredients:

• 8 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips, divided
• 2 Tbsp. butter, softened
• ½ cup whipping cream

Cake Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Using ½ stick of butter, completely coat the inside of a 10-12 cup Bundt cake pan. Using ¼ cup of flour, completely cover the butter in flour.
3. Add the 2 sticks of butter, cocoa powder, water and salt to a small saucepan over medium heat. Stirring constantly, cook the mixture until melted and combined. Set aside.
4. Whisk together the 2 cups of flour, the sugar and the baking soda in a large bowl. Add the butter/cocoa mixture to the flour mixture and whisk to incorporate. Add the eggs, one at a time, whisking after each one, until fully incorporated. Add the sour cream and the vanilla and whisk until smooth.
5. Pour the cake batter into the Bundt pan. Sprinkle the chips in the batter around the cake and push them down towards the center, not allowing them to touch the pan walls. Bake for 40-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out with just a few moist crumbs.
6. Remove the cake from the oven and cool in the pan for 20 minutes. Gently remove the cake from the pan and place on a wire rack to cool completely.

Ganache Directions:

1. Add 6 ounces of chocolate chips and the butter to a heat-proof bowl. Heat the cream in a heat-proof bowl in the microwave for 2 minutes. Add the cream to the chocolate and butter and whisk until fully melted and smooth. Allow to cool for 2 minutes until the mixture has thickened slightly.
2.  Pour the ganache over the top of the cake, allowing it to drip down the sides of the cake.
3. Sprinkle the remaining chips over the ganache.

Serves 10.