It was my birthday at the beginning of November and I wasn’t planning to make my own cake this year. I’ve been very tired, to say the least. Raising a toddler during a pandemic without any help from family or an immediate support system since we’re living away from our home country and families, has been brutal.
Aris, my sweetest two year old boy, demands my constant attention and energy, and even though I love being a stay at home mom and giving him my all, it leaves little to nothing for anything else, let alone birthday cake making. I desperately needed someone to make me a cake yet, in the end, I couldn’t resist and I made this.
A simple affair, admittedly, but still utterly satisfying and fit for a birthday. It’s a chocolate ganache bundt cake that’s moist and very fluffy yet holds itself well, with barely any crumbs left behind on your plate when you have a slice, something I do appreciate in a cake as I hate dry cakes. Full of dark chocolate, thus intensely chocolatey, yet not too sweet, and addictive to the core.
Of course, since the holidays are here, I would definitely say this rich ganache cake would be ideal for one of your festive meals. It’s even better the next day which makes it perfect for those days during the holidays when you want to prep as much food as possible for a festive meal or gathering.
Happy Christmas and happy holidays to all who celebrate!
Rich chocolate
bundt cake with dark chocolate ganache
Barely
adapted from Zoe Bakes Cakes by Zoe Francois
Use the best possible chocolate you can find and/or afford but also a chocolate whose flavor you love. It will make all the difference in the end result.
Yield: 12 slices
Ingredients
for the cake
40 g Dutch-processed cocoa powder, plus extra for dusting the pan
120 g heavy cream (30-35% fat)
100 g good quality dark chocolate, 70% cocoa solids, finely chopped
60 ml buttermilk
180 g all-purpose flour
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp sea salt
165 g unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus extra for greasing the pan
300 g granulated white sugar
1 Tbsp pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs, at room temperature
3 large egg yolks, at room temperature
for the ganache
180 g heavy cream, 30-35% fat
170 g good quality dark chocolate, 55% cocoa solids, finely chopped
Pinch of sea salt
Special equipment: bundt pan (at least 2.4 liters capacity), fine sieve, stand mixer or electric hand-held mixer
Preparation
for the cake
Preheat your oven to 165°C.
Butter your bundt pan well, making sure you don’t leave any small pieces of butter in the pan, and then dust with cocoa powder. Tap the excess off.
In a small saucepan, add the cream and place over a medium-low heat. Once it starts to bubble a little around the edges, add the chocolate and immediately remove from the heat. Swirl the pan so that the chocolate is submerged in the cream and let stand for about 2-3 minutes. Then, using a wire whisk, whisk until you have a smooth mixture. Pour into a medium-sized bowl and add the buttermilk. Whisk to combine and leave to cool.
In another medium-sized bowl, sieve the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt.
In the bowl of a stand mixer (or in a large bowl), add the butter and beat with the paddle attachment (or with a hand-held mixer) on medium-high speed until creamy and smooth, for a couple of minutes. Turn the speed down to low and add the sugar and the vanilla. Mix until incorporated and then turn speed up to medium-high and beat until light and fluffy, for about 7 minutes. Scrape the bowl of the mixer often so that the ingredients are incorporated evenly.
Turn down the speed to medium-low and add the eggs and egg yolks, one at a time, beating just until combined and scraping down the bowl after each addition.
Then add 1/3 of the flour mixture and mix on low speed, just until combined. Add ½ of the cooled chocolate mixture and mix until just incorporated. Repeat with another 1/3 of flour, then the rest of the chocolate mixture and finally the last 1/3 of the flour, scraping the bowl and the paddle attachment after each addition.
Pour the cake batter into your prepared bundt pan, gently tap the pan on the counter a few times to make sure that the batter has settled fully and smooth the top with an offset spatula.
Place the pan on a thin baking sheet and place in the oven. Bake for about 50 minutes, or until a wooden skewer comes out clean.
Remove from
the oven and place on a wire rack to cool for about 20 minutes, before inverting
the cake onto the wire rack to cool completely. The cake needs to be completely cool before you glaze it with the ganache.
for the ganache
In a medium-sized saucepan, add the cream and place over a medium-low heat. Once it starts to bubble a little around the edges, add the chocolate and salt, and immediately remove from the heat. Swirl the pan so that the chocolate is submerged in the cream and let stand for about 2-3 minutes. Then, using a rubber spatula, stir and mix until you have a smooth mixture.
Transfer the ganache to a bowl to cool a little bit.
Place a plate underneath the wire rack that the cake stands on. Pour the warm ganache over the cake. The extra ganache will slide off the cake and into the plate without creating a pool around it. Scoop up the ganache from the plate and place it in the fridge, covered with cling film. Use it to make scrumptious truffles or just eat it as is.
Allow the ganache to set and then transfer the cake to a serving plate. Serve and enjoy!
Keep it covered, in a cool place in your kitchen, but not in the fridge. It keeps perfectly for 3-4 days.
