Pisco, the national drink of Peru, dates back more than 250 years and was created distilling the grapes grown in the area, reducing the need for imported alcohol from Spain. While purists says good Pisco is best savored neat, it is also the main ingredient of the national cocktail of Peru, the Pisco Sour, as well as other mixed drinks, like this hot chocolate recipe from Serious Eats, the inspiration for today’s Bundt.
If you’ve been reading along here for a while you know that I spent some time as a child in Peru. I shared some of my fondest memories in
my ceviche post, speaking of closing my eyes while eating ceviche and being transported back to the beaches and the desert were I roamed pretty free.
But almost more effective for bring back evocative memories than taste is smell. When I close my eyes and sniff an open bottle of Pisco, I remember the parties where we children ran around under foot, dancing on our own or in groups, sneaking sips of their drinks when the parents weren’t looking, way too young to be drinking at all. Pisco makes powerful cocktails, with the potential to bring back whole sandy summers of music filled memories for me. Without even a sip.
After finding that hot chocolate recipe online, I couldn’t resist using Pisco in my hot chocolate inspired Bundt cake although I changed it up to use white chocolate. I am not a huge fan of white chocolate but I am pleased to report that persistence has paid off. I have finally created a recipe with white chocolate that I love! Perhaps it’s the Pisco and Cointreau that make the difference.
Ingredients
For the cake batter:
2 1/2 cups or 315g flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups or 250g sugar
1 orange
6 oz or 170g good quality white chocolate chips. (I use Ghirardelli. See note below.)
2 tablespoons Cointreau
2 tablespoons
Pisco
1 cup or 227g butter, softened
3 eggs
1 cup or 240ml buttermilk
For the glaze:
3 oz or 85g good quality white chocolate chips (A generous 1/2 cup - See note below.)
2 tablespoons Cointreau
2 tablespoons Pisco
Pinch salt
For decoration:
candied orange peel from this recipe or use store-bought
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| See what I mean? |
Note: Six oz or 170g is just shy of 1 1/4 cup of chips but keep in mind that the Ghirardelli white chocolate chips are almost flat so more fit in a cup than would the typical triangular chips. As with most baking ingredients, using a scale is most accurate.)
Method
Preheat oven to 350°F or 180°C and prepare your 10-cup Bundt pan by greasing and flouring it or spraying it with non-stick baking spray.
Sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
In a large bowl, grate the zest of your orange into the sugar. Mix well. Juice the orange.
In small saucepan, melt 6 ounces white chocolate with 1/4 cup or 60ml orange juice, Cointreau and Pisco over low heat. Stir until smooth, and allow to cool to room temperature while you get on with making the batter.
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| Slowly, slowly! |
Add in the butter to the sugar. Cream until light and fluffy.
Add the eggs one at a time, beating well with each addition.
Beat in the half the flour mixture, then half the buttermilk. And repeat.
Pour in the cooled, melted white chocolate mixture and beat until just combined.
Spoon the batter into your prepared Bundt pan, making sure to get batter into all the little nooks and crannies. Smooth out the top.
Bake for 50-55 minutes in the preheated oven, until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Or if you are an instant thermometer using type, until the internal temperature reaches 210°F or 99°C. If the top is darkening too fast, before the cake is cooked through, cover it with foil.
Leave the Bundt in the pan for abut 10 minutes before removing it to a wire rack to cool completely.
To make the glaze
When your cake is completely cooled, put all the glaze ingredients into a small pan and heat over a very low flame until the chocolate is melted. Use a small whisk to get the lumps out, if you have one.
Remove from the heat and drizzle over the cooled Bundt. If the glaze gets too thick to drizzle as it cools, add a few drops of water and warm again, very gently, stirring constantly.
Chop your candied orange peel up into small pieces and dot them around the cake for decoration.
Enjoy!
Many thanks to Tara from
Noshing with the Nolands for hosting this very creative Hot Chocolate inspired Bundt Baker theme! What a great bunch of Bundts we have for you this month!
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#BundtBakers is a group of Bundt loving bakers who get together once a month to bake Bundts with a common ingredient or theme. Follow our Pinterest board
right here. Links are also updated each month on this
home page.
We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient.
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