How does one celebrate the one-year birthday of the Bundt-a-Month challenge? Well, by baking more Bundts, of course. My daughter and I were discussing this month’s “fancy” theme for this first anniversary, and she suggested that I didn’t need a fancy Bundt at all, just stick a flowering plant in it!
After all, that was good enough for an engagement celebration on
My Big Fat Greek Wedding.
 |
| Anybody else LOVE that movie? I could watch it over and over. Just as funny each time. |
While I acknowledged the truth in that, I wanted to make something pretty, something special. So it had to be chocolate. Dark chocolate. And white chocolate. And with silver balls. Because those have always said PARTY to me, even if they do want to break your teeth. They are like sprinkles for grownups.
When it came time for decorating, I couldn’t decide on a pattern so I just went a little crazy, drizzling on both chocolates and having a wild time. I don't know when to stop, but more is more, right? No two little Bundts are alike, but they sure looked pretty all together. Like I imagine a dessert table set out with all the BundtaMonth Bundts would look, if we could ever get them all in one place. Maybe for the second anniversary? Make sure you scroll all the way to the bottom to see what my fellow bloggers have baked for you, along with our hosts, Anuradha from
Baker Street and Lora from
Cake Duchess.
The batter for these little cakes is slightly adapted from Molly Wizenburg’s recipe for Chocolate Cupcakes in her fabulous book,
A Homemade Life.
Ingredients
For the cakes:
2 oz or 55g dark chocolate
1/2 cup or 120ml hot brewed coffee
1 cup or 225g sugar
3/4 cup flour plus 1 tablespoon for preparing pan
1/2 cup or about 40g unsweetened cocoa powder, plus 1 tablespoon for preparing pan
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 large egg
1/4 cup or 60ml canola oil
1/2 cup or 125g well stirred plain yogurt
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
For decoration:
8 oz or 230g semi-sweet chocolate
4 oz or 115g white chocolate
1 tablespoon (or more!) dragees or little silver balls
Method
Preheat oven to 325°F or °C. Prepare your mini Bundt pan by spraying it liberally with non-stick spray or generously buttering it. Put one tablespoon each of flour and cocoa powder in a sieve or sifter and sprinkle all over the pan, tipping it this way and that to make sure that all the insides of the little cups are covered. Bang the pan gently on the cabinet and dump the excess out into your sink. Set aside.
Chop the chocolate for the cake into small pieces and put it into the measuring cup with hot coffee. Stir occasionally until the chocolate is completely melted.
Into a medium bowl, sift the cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Whisk in the sugar and flour. Set aside.
For the best batter, electric beaters or a stand mixer with the K-beater in place is essential here. In a large bowl, beat your egg on medium for a minute or two or until it becomes pale yellow. Add in the oil, yogurt and vanilla, once again, beating well.
Gradually pour in the melted chocolate/coffee mixture and beat to thoroughly combine.
Add the dry ingredients all at once. Beat on low speed until the batter is just combined.
Scrape down the sides and bottom to make sure all the flour is incorporated.
Divide your batter between the cups of your prepared mini Bundt pan, but don’t fill them more than two-thirds full. If you have a little batter left over, it’s better to make a couple of extra cupcakes instead. Your tasters will be happy.
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Meanwhile, let your helper clean out the yogurt pot before recycling.
Cool your mini Bundts in the pan for about 10 minutes, then place a wire rack on top of the pan and carefully invert the pan and rack so that the little cakes can fall out. If any don’t fall out, loosen them gently with a knife or toothpick and remove them one by one.
Allow the little cakes to cool completely before topping with melted chocolate.
For the decoration, break up your dark and white chocolate into smaller blocks (or chop if you need to) and put each kind in a separate microwave-proof bowl. Zap them one at a time on high for 10-15 seconds, then stir and repeat until both of the chocolates are pourable.
You can drizzle these over the mini Bundts with a small spoon but I prefer to put the melted chocolate into cake decorating bags with small tips (Wilton no. 3, 4 or 5) for better control.
Have fun drizzling on the dark chocolate, followed by swirls of the white chocolate. Sprinkle a few silver dragees in the middle to complete the festive party look.
Enjoy!
Check out everyone else’s Bundt cakes if you are looking for fancy inspiration:
Since these are fancy little triple chocolate Bundt cakes, I am also submitting them to this month's We Should Cocoa anniversary challenge to create a show stopper, hosted by Choclette of
Chocolate Log Blog.
