14 April 2013 Chocolate Bundt Cake with Chocolate Ganache

Chocolate Bundt Cake with Chocolate Ganache

April 14, 2013 By

Chocolate Bundt Cake SliceA 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 100th 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

Chocolate Bundt CakeCake 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.

Filed Under: American, Chocolate, Desserts Tagged With: , , ,
2 March 2013 Easy Flourless Chocolate Cake

Easy Flourless Chocolate Cake

March 2, 2013 By

Flourless Chocolate CakeI love a richly-chocolaty cake. This cake doesn’t have fancy frosting or 3 cake layers, it’s simply dense, moist chocolate decadence. Yeah, I know I’m calling it “flourless” when it has a tablespoon of flour in it – what can I say?

Ingredients:

  • 1 Tbsp. butter, softened
  • 1 Tbsp. cocoa powder
  • 3 large eggs, separated
  • 1 tsp. granulated sugar
  • 4 Tbsp. butter, cut in a few pieces
  • 3 ½ ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
  • ½ cup plus 1 Tbsp. powdered sugar
  • ½ cup almond flour*
  • 1 Tbsp. all-purpose flour

Flourless Chocolate Cake SliceDirections:

  1. Preheat oven to 350 F degrees.
  2. Butter an 8-inch fluted tart pan with a removable bottom and dust with cocoa powder.
  3. In the clean bowl of an electric mixer, beat the egg whites with the teaspoon of sugar until medium-stiff peaks form, about 3 minutes.
  4. In a medium bowl, microwave the butter and the chocolate for 60 seconds, stirring after 30 seconds. If the chocolate isn’t fully melted after 60 seconds, heat for up to an additional 30 seconds, stirring after 15 seconds.
  5. Using a hand whisk, add the egg yolks, one at a time, to the chocolate mixture. Add the ½ cup powdered sugar, the almond flour and the all-purpose flour to the chocolate mixture and whisk to fully combine.
  6. Gently whisk 2 tablespoons of the egg whites into chocolate mixture to lighten it. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold the remaining egg whites into the chocolate – do not over mix as the batter will deflate.
  7. Pour the batter into the tart pan and bake for 16 – 18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out mostly clean with a few moist crumbs. Let the cake cool for 15 minutes then loosen it out of the tart pan. Dust with powdered sugar.

Serves 8.

Notes: Almond flour should be relatively easy to find at your local grocery store, but if not, don’t fret! Here’s an easy way to get ½ cup of almond flour for this recipe: Add 1 cup of whole, unsalted almonds to a small food processor and pulse until the almonds are very finely ground. Push the ground almonds through a fine sieve.

Filed Under: American, Chocolate, Desserts, French Tagged With: , ,