Fudgy Flourless Chocolate Bundt #BundtBakers

This fudgy flourless chocolate Bundt is so tender and moist, it’s almost like a very rich, firm baked pudding. Fudgy in flavor, light in texture. Made with only five ingredients, it couldn’t be easier!

After all the baking and cooking that goes on during the holidays, our Bundt Bakers host, Patricia from Patty’s Cake chose to uncomplicate our lives by asking for Bundt recipes that need only five ingredients. Sounds simple, right? Piece of cake. This was a much harder challenge than I thought it would be!

I searched my archives and recipe files first to no avail when suddenly I remembered a Sunday Supper group event I had participated in almost six years ago. The theme was five ingredient (or less) recipes and I shared a beef bourguignon made with succulent short ribs, smoked bacon and dried mushrooms. OMG, it was so rich and delicious. (For that five ingredient or less challenge, salt and pepper didn’t count.)

Surely someone had made a cake I could bake in a Bundt pan! Turns out there was just one. Jane from Jane’s Adventures in Dinner shared a flourless chocolate cake. Score! Mine is adapted from hers. If you love little bakers in the kitchen, you'll appreciate Jane's helpers on that post. Adorable!

Fudgy Flourless Chocolate Bundt

If you’ve ever needed an easy dessert for gluten free friends and family who cannot do nuts, I can highly recommend this recipe. In Jane’s photos she added orange zest by accident and had to scoop it out as it was in violation of the five-ingredient rule. I couldn’t add it either for the same reason, but I think orange in this dark chocolate cake would be wonderful. As is, it is fabulous served alone or with vanilla or mint chocolate chip ice cream.

Ingredients
1 cup or 227g butter (plus more to liberally grease the Bundt pan)
1/4 cup or 22g cocoa powder (plus extra for dusting for the pan)
8 oz or 227g dark (semi-sweet) chocolate
5 eggs
1 cup or 200g sugar

Optional to serve: a sprinkling of icing sugar and/or ice cream

Method
Preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C and prepare your 10-cup Bundt pan by liberally buttering it and then dusting it well with cocoa. Set aside.

Heat the dark chocolate and butter slowly in a double boiler or with short zaps in the microwave in a microwaveable bowl. Either way, stir frequently, until the chocolate is just melted.

Sift the cocoa into the sugar in a large bowl. Add the eggs and beat well.

Add the melted chocolate and butter to the egg mixture. Again beat well, until thoroughly combined.

Pour the batter into your prepared Bundt pan and bake for 30-35 minutes, or until it is just set.

It will fall a little as it cools, but don’t let that worry you. It just means a more dense, fudgy cake. All good!

Leave it to cool for about 10-15 minutes and then loosen the edges with a toothpick. Cover the top of the Bundt pan with the wire rack and invert the cake. If you've been trying to live your life right, it comes out intact. (Just kidding. :) It's actually dependent on how well you buttered and cocoa-ed the pan. But being a good human being can't hurt, right?)

Optional for serving, a light dusting of icing sugar. Or ice cream.

Enjoy!

Many thanks to Patricia of Patty’s Cake for hosting this month! Check out all the lovely five-ingredient Bundts we are sharing today.

• Chocolate Mayonnaise Bundt Cake by Patty’s Cake
• Easy Vanilla Bundt Cake by Making Miracles
• Five-Ingredient Blueberry Bundt Cake by Palatable Pastime
• 5 Ingredient Almond Butter Mini Bundts by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Fudgy Flourless Chocolate Bundt by Food Lust People Love
• Impossible 5 Ingredients Bundt by Sneha’s Recipe
• Melted Ice Cream Bundt Cake by All That’s Left Are The Crumbs
• Roasted Squash Brown Butter Bundt Cake by Patyco Candybar
• Strawberry Banana Bundt by Sweet Sensations

#BundtBakers is a group of Bundt loving bakers who get together once a month to bake Bundts with a common ingredient or theme. You can see all of our lovely Bundts by following our Pinterest board. We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient. Updated links for all of our past events and more information about BundtBakers, can be found on our home page.

Pin this Fudgy Flourless Chocolate Bundt! 

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Artisan Sprouted Spelt Boule #BreadBakers

Hearty and flavorful, this artisan sprouted spelt boule bakes up with a crunchy crust and an airy yet chewy crumb. It is very forgiving if you like making dough ahead (which adds so much character and taste!) and baking another day.

One of my favorite things about belonging to food blogger groups is learning about new ingredients or techniques. This month Bread Bakers’ host is Sue of Palatable Pastime and she chose sprouted flour as our theme.

I had never heard of sprouted flour but Sue provided a couple of links to clarify. Apparently sprouted flour is made by allowing grains to germinate aka sprout. The results are then dried and ground into flour. The thought is that sprouted flours are more nutritious, because, according to the Penn State Extension website: “Carbohydrates are converted into simple sugars, proteins are broken down into amino acids, and fats are broken into the component fatty acids. These conversions make the food easier for the plant and humans to digest.”

That said, more study is needed to determine if it’s healthier or actually more digestible than regular flour. What I can tell you is that the sprouted spelt makes a lovely nutty tasting loaf and I am looking forward to using it again in other baked goods. Not only that but the folks at The Kitchn agree with me! You can learn more about sprouted flours there as well.

Artisan Sprouted Spelt Boule

My recipe is adapted from one of the One Degree Organics website, which was also the brand of sprouted spelt flour I used. My first attempt was completely flat and clearly had too much liquid. Rather than dialing back on the water for the second go, I decided to add more sprouted flour. Take two resulted in a wet sticky dough that could hold its shape a bit better when kneaded for a bit after the first rise. The original recipe could work better for a focaccia rather than a boule.

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups or 355ml warm water
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon instant yeast
3 cups or 360g sprouted spelt flour
1 cup or 125g bread flour
1 1/4 teaspoons salt

Essential equipment:
5.5 qt or 5.3L Dutch oven with ovenproof lid
Dough scraper

Method
Stir the sugar into the water to dissolve it, then sprinkle the yeast in as well. It’ll just float on the top but that’s fine. Set aside for five or so minutes. The yeast should start getting foamy, which means it has been activated and is alive.

Meanwhile in a large bowl, combine the flours and salt. When the yeast has proved, pour the mixture into the flour bowl and mix well.

It’s going to be quite a soft dough. Just make sure everything is completely blended. Use a rubber spatula to scrape the sides of the bowl, making sure all the flour has been incorporated.

Cover the bowl with cling film or a damp teacloth. Let sit at room temperature for 8-12 hours. The longer the better, in my opinion. You can also pop the covered bowl in the refrigerator overnight, after the room temperature rise.

After the first rising time has elapsed, gently fold the dough over on itself in the bowl with a spatula and tip it out onto a well-floured work surface. Knead for several minutes, until the dough isn’t quite as sticky and you can form it, with the help of a dough scraper, into a ball.

Prepare a greased square of baking parchment on plate and transfer the ball onto it. The parchment isn’t strictly necessary but it will make transferring the risen dough to the Dutch oven easier later.

Cover with a loose towel or oiled cling film and let rise for 1-2 hours. If it’s cold at your house, like it is at mine right now, follow these instructions for proofing in the microwave. Because the rising environment is humid, you don’t have to cover the dough. Works a treat!

When your dough has almost doubled in size, preheat oven to 500°F or 260°C WITH THE COVERED DUTCH OVEN INSIDE.

It's such a soft dough that it spreads out as much as it does up!

Once the Dutch oven is fully heated and the dough is done rising, hold the edges of the parchment paper and carefully place the loaf inside. Cut a few slashes in the dough to allow it to rise further as it bakes and to give it a decorative finish. (I really need a sharper knife. My bread lame has gone missing in the move.)

Depending on your oven, let the bread bake with the lid of the Dutch oven ON for about 20-25 minutes. Remove the lid and bake for another 10-15 minutes or until golden brown. If you are a thermometer-using baker, fully baked, the boule should have an internal temperature of about 190°F or 88°C.

Remove the boule from the oven and let it cool completely on a wire rack before slicing.

Enjoy!

Check all of the other sprouted flour recipes my Bread Baker friends are sharing today! Many thanks to Sue of Palatable Pastime for hosting!

• Artisan Sprouted Spelt Boule from Food Lust People Love
• Seeded Sprouted Wheat Loaf from A Messy Kitchen
• Sprouted Wheat Flour No Knead Bread from Cook with Renu
• Sprouted Wheat Green Chile Pretzel Braid from Amandie Bakes
• Sprouted Wheat Pain de Mie Sandwich Bread from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Sprouted Wheat Waffles from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Sprouted Whole Wheat Flour Mini Rolls from Sneha's Recipe

#BreadBakers is a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme. You can see all of our lovely bread by following our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated after each event on the BreadBakers home page. We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient.

Pin this artisan sprouted spelt boule!

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Rum Glazed Piña Colada Muffins #MuffinMonday

Made with sweet cream of coconut and canned pineapple chunks, then topped with boozy glaze, these rum glazed piña colada muffins are perfect for a nippy days when you need a tropical holiday from inclement weather.

Our climate in Houston is weird. Cold one day, warm the next. You are just as likely to spend Christmas in shorts as bundled up in an overcoat. And then the reverse on Boxing Day. And don’t even get me started about the rain.

Sometimes we need to add a little sunshine and a vacation vibe to our wet winter days. May I suggest you bake some muffins?

For the last several years, I have been baking muffins regularly, at first every week, then once a month, with a marvelous group of bakers. They live in various places so it’s always fun to see the creative recipes they share, often including special local ingredients. One thing we all have in common is a love of the ease of muffin baking.

No creaming of sugar, no whisking of eggs, the muffin method requires dirtying only two bowls and produces wonderful baked beauties in under 30 minutes. Best of all, they are so portable, unlike big cakes.

Rum Glazed Piña Colada Muffins

About six years ago, I shared piña colada muffins made with coconut oil. They were tender and delicious with a subtle coconut flavor. This time I decided to go bigger on the coconut element, using the sweetened cream of coconut generally called for in piña colada cocktail recipes and finishing the muffins off with a rum glaze. Because, what was I thinking? Piña coladas need rum!

Ingredients
For the muffin batter:
3/4 cup or 140g (drained weight) pineapple, canned in juice
2 cups or 250g all purpose flour
1/2 cup or 100g dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup or 180ml cream of coconut
1/4 cup or 63g canola or other light oil
1/4 cup or 60ml pineapple juice (from canned pineapple)
2 eggs

For the rum glaze:
1/2 cup or 63g powdered sugar
3-4 teaspoons dark rum

Method
Preheat oven to 350°F or 180°C and prepare a 12-cup muffin pan by greasing it or lining with paper muffin cups.

Drain your small can of pineapple and reserve the juice.  Chop the pineapple up with a sharp knife. Set aside a small pile of pineapple for adding to the muffin tops before baking.

Mix flour, sugar, baking powder and salt together.  Add the larger pile of pineapple bits to the flour and stir to coat.

In another bowl, whisk together cream of coconut, canola, pineapple juice and eggs. Add the wet mixture to the flour mixture.

Gently fold just until dry ingredients are moistened. Divide your batter relatively evenly between the 12 muffin cups. Top each cup of batter with a piece or two of the reserved pineapple.

Bake 20-25 minutes in your preheated oven or until muffins are golden.

Remove the muffins from oven and let cool for a few minutes before removing them from the pan.

To make the glaze, sift the powdered sugar into a small bowl. Add the rum by teaspoonful and stir well with each addition, until the glaze is a good drizzling consistency. You may not need it all.

Cool the muffins completely, then drizzle on the rum glaze. I like to use a piping bag or a Ziplock baggies with a corner cut off because that’s less messy but you do you.

Enjoy!

Happy New Year to you all! Check out all the other lovely muffins my Muffin Monday friends are sharing today! 

• Blueberry Banana Oat Breakfast Muffins from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Lemon Crumb Muffins from Making Miracles
• Mandarin Orange Muffins from Palatable Pastime
• Rosemary Muffins from Passion Kneaded
• Rum Glazed Colada Muffins from Food Lust People Love
• Sweet Potato Muffins from A Day in the Life on the Farm

#MuffinMonday is a group of muffin loving bakers who get together once a month to bake muffins. You can see all of our lovely muffins by following our Pinterest board. Updated links for all of our past events and more information about Muffin Monday can be found on our home page.

Pin these Rum Glazed Piña Colada Muffins! 

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