Looking for the perfect everyday cake? This Chocolate Fudge Bundt Cake is it! A rich chocolate cake, covered in chocolate ganache, with a soft, fudgy center. Easy enough to make any day, but delicious enough for a celebration.
This is it. We’ve reached the end of the 2017 yearlong Bundt Cake of the Month series. Talk about bittersweet (and not the chocolate variety… ba-dum ching!).
In all seriousness, though, it really is bittersweet. I thought maybe I’d be bored of bundt cakes by the end of the year, but instead, I’m even more convinced that they are literally the most perfect form of cake.
A bundt cake is an anytime cake; it’s perfectly in place at your brunch table, a potluck, or for dessert after dinner with friends. It’s just so much more approachable and relaxed than a traditional layer cake, but a step up from a plain sheet cake.
Don’t get me wrong — I love a good layer cake, with multiple layers of cake stacked tall, sandwiched between cinnamony cream cheese frosting, filled with blueberry cardamom curd, covered with candy, or fluffy peanut butter frosting.
But bringing out a whole layer cake at the end of a dinner for four on any old Saturday just seems… pretentious. Excessive. Over-the-top.
Instead: the bundt cake. The same great cake flavor you love, but somehow, so much more appropriate for a small gathering. It’s less fanfare and celebration — no need for birthday candles or a baby shower — and yet just as tasty.
You can cover it with frosting if you like, but I think a little bit of my love of the bundt cake is because you don’t have to use frosting. A delicious lemon glaze! A dollop of whipped cream! A scoop of ice cream! Or, of course, for you chocolate lovers out there — a nice smothering of ganache.
I’m sharing a tried and true old favorite for my December Bundt Cake of the Month. This chocolate fudge bundt cake is truly an every-occasion cake. It may actually be the first bundt cake I ever made, come to think of it, and I’ve made it well over a dozen times.
If I’m making the same cake so many times, you know it has to be good. And friends, this chocolate fudge bundt cake is g-o-o-d.
Why is it a fudge cake? Because if you bake it correctly (don’t overbake!), the middle of the cake stays nice and soft, like a decadent hidden center of fudge.
You’ll notice the directions state it’s done when the edges begin to pull away from the center. This is your best method to determine doneness, rather than a tester.
The center stays so soft and fudgy, a tester will still come out with a wet batter-like coating, even when the cake is fully baked. Resist the urge to poke the cake!
Remember what I said about not needing to frost a bundt cake? For this, we’re using chocolate ganache instead of frosting.
It’s basically a creamy layer of melted chocolate, and it’s amazing. It’s like eating pure, soft chocolate.
Ganache gets its soft consistency — almost chewy when chilled — because it’s an emulsion, made from combining chocolate and heavy cream.
Chocolate ganache is a permanent emulsion, meaning it will remain unified as a thick mixture for an extended period of time.
What’s an emulsion and how does it work? It’s time for my favorite subject… kitchen chemistry!
Kitchen Chemistry
An emulsion is a mixture of liquids that normally would not mix. Ganache is a fat-in-water emulsion, combining melted chocolate and heavy cream. Little droplets of the cocoa butter (from the melted chocolate) and droplets of the butterfat (from the heavy cream) separate and are suspended in the remaining water (from the cream) and sugar (from the chocolate). Casein, proteins found in milk, act as the emulsifier, helping to keep the fat and water from separating.
To make the best chocolate ganache, add chopped chocolate to warm cream (rather than adding hot chocolate to cold cream).
Heat the cream until steaming, then pour over the chopped chocolate and allow this mixture to sit for 5 minutes to melt the chocolate, releasing the cocoa butter into the solution. Stir with a rubber spatula until smooth and creamy.
We’re also adding a little corn syrup to our ganache; it helps make the ganache even softer and shinier. It’s not necessary, however, and can be left out if desired.
This is truly a cake for chocolate lovers — rich, decadent, and delicious. So delicious, my toddler opted to double-fist his slice of cake. Adults are usually able to restrain themselves to one fork at a time, but I won’t blame you if you also dig in with two hands!
A rich, fudgy chocolate cake, covered in chocolate ganache, easy enough for everyday.
Recipe adapted from Cook's Country
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