Decadent Double-Chocolate Bundt Cake That Won’t Break the Bank
Sometimes you just want chocolate cake. Chocolate chocolate cake. Dense, dark, fudgy, rich, decadent chocolate cake. Are you with me? The March issue of Cooking Light magazine has a recipe for Decadent Double Chocolate Bundt Cake that just called to me. “Called” is perhaps too mild a term. It was more of a deep loud holler. At any rate, I felt a need to Make This Cake. I am so glad I did, and you will be too.
Because most of its chocolate comes from cocoa powder, and chocolate mini chips, there’s a strong chocolate flavor without a huge amount of fat. I used Hershey’s Special Dark cocoa powder, making it intensely chocolatey and rich, which means you can get a big chocolate hit in a very small piece. In fact, although the recipe says it makes 16 servings, I’ve found that I can get more like 20 servings out of it because it’s so very satisfying. The original recipe calls for regular cocoa, and in fact the comment from the reader who developed the recipe is that she likes the delicate flavor of the cake. I liked the dark chocolate version because it allowed me to feel I’d eaten a lot of chocolate, when in fact I’d had only a very small slice.
The glaze that’s poured over the cake as it comes out of the oven ensures that the finished cake is very moist. I was a little worried about dumping a cup of liquid over a just-baked cake, thinking the result might be somewhat soggy, but my fears were misplaced. The glaze slides down the sides of the pan and around the bottom (or, when removed from the pan, the top) of the cake. I would recommend spooning the glaze toward the outside and inside edges of the pan, rather than over the cake itself. Drizzle some on the cake, of course, but target the majority of it to the sides where it will ease in and have the most impact. The result was outstanding, and received rave reviews from my tasters.
Plus making this is an excuse to say Bundt a lot. Bundt bundt bundt.
And so, without further ado:
adapted from Cooking Light, March 2008
makes 16 servings
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup chocolate-flavored liqueur
2 tablespoons butter
Cake:
1 1/2 teaspoons canola oil
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
Cooking spray
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
6 tablespoons butter, softened
2 large eggs
2 large egg whites
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour (about 13 1/2 ounces)
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa (Hershey’s Special Dark for a deeper chocolate flavor, regular for a more delicate chocolate flavor)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups 1% low-fat milk
2/3 cup semisweet chocolate minichips
2 tablespoons powdered sugar
For the cake:
Preheat oven to 350°.
Drizzle oil into a 12-cup Bundt pan; coat pan thoroughly with a pastry brush. Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons flour, shaking out excess. Coat prepared pan with cooking spray.
Place 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar and 6 tablespoons butter in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended (about 5 minutes). Add eggs and egg whites, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla.
Lightly spoon 3 cups flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine 3 cups flour and next 4 ingredients (through salt), stirring with a whisk. Add flour mixture and milk alternately to sugar mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture; mix after each addition. Beat 2 minutes. Fold in chips. Spoon batter into prepared pan. Swirl batter using a knife.
Bake at 350° for 45 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Immediately pour glaze over cake. Cool cake in pan on a wire rack 30 minutes. Invert cake onto a serving plate; cool completely. Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons powdered sugar.
NUTRITION INFORMATION:
CALORIES 326(28% from fat); FAT 10.3g (sat 5.8g,mono 2.7g,poly 0.5g); PROTEIN 5.5g; CHOLESTEROL 43mg; CALCIUM 59mg; SODIUM 211mg; FIBER 2g; IRON 1.9mg; CARBOHYDRATE 54.8g
I always add extra unsweetened cacao. I like my cake “strong”