Sour Cream-Chocolate Bundt Cake

So, Sour Cream-Chocolate Bundt Cake is the cake for today. In addition to this cake, it's also time to do a review from CSN. A couple weeks ago, I mentioned in my Baklava post that I was approached my CSN to do a review and/or giveaway. Well, here it is! One of the items I was able to obtain to review from CSN was a 10 inch Bundt Pan made by Faberware. I got this pan specifically for this cake and I'm glad I chose it. This pan is heavy duty, non-stick and is super easy to clean! What a great pan! In addition, I love how there's an "extension" of the edges to create a sort of "handle" for easy placing and removal from the oven. It makes life so much easier. Overall, CSN is a great place to buy products. You get your items within a week or so, so the wait isn't bad.

Now, back to food! So Sour Cream-Chocolate Bundt Cake. Let's see. There are a TON of recipes for a Chocolate Bundt Cake out there so how did I decide which one to use? Well, the recipe looked really good. It had a ton of chocolate in it. The amount of cocoa powder was half the amount of flour!! Plus it had required more melted chocolate! Say whaaaa?! Heck yeah! haha. In addition to looking at the recipe for the cake itself, a majority of them used a ganache to top it off. I personally didn't want that. The reason behind this was, many years ago, my mom brought home a slice of a Chocolate Bundt Cake that her co-worker made and it was seriously the best chocolate cake I've ever eaten that didn't have a frosting. It was a simple chocolate cake and nothing more but it was SOOOO GOOD!!. This cake, didn't have a ganache on it. Instead, there was this sort of outer coating of sugar? You know when you make an icing with powdered sugar and milk, it hardens? Well, the coating had the sort of same texture of that but the whiteness from a powdered sugar icing wasn't there. So what was it?! I don't know! haha. This recipe from Williams-Sonoma was the only recipe I was able to find that had a cake recipe that looked good and had a brushing of simple syrup instead of ganache. It seemed like a winner to me.

What was the result? I don't know quite yet. It will be served later tonight. However, I did make mini cupcakes out of the batter to have a taste test and I was disappointed with the flavor. It didn't have a rich chocolate flavor even though it had a ton in it. In addition, it's extremely dry!! I don't know what cake the reviewers of this recipe were eating but this cake wasn't very good unless you like dry, unchocolate-y cake. I'm kind of embarrassed to serve this. I mean, the cake is alright but I was expecting a deeply rich tasting chocolate cake. It was missing that "umphhhh" to really take it to the next level. Maybe the bundt cake will taste better than the mini cupcakes testers.....Here's the recipe and my tips!!

**Update, I sliced a tiny piece to taste and this cake is still dry. I will not be serving this. Thanks Williams-Sonoma for wasting 2 sticks of my butter, a ton of chocolate and 1 lb of sour cream. Ya'll are great.....

**Tips
-Mix the batter well but don't over beat. The ingredients need to be incorporated completely.

-Instead of using flour when buttering and flouring a pan, use cocoa powder for chocolate cakes. It prevents white marks.

-Most Important Of All: Don't use guests as guinea pigs....Make a recipe beforehand!

Sour Cream-Chocolate Bundt Cake (Serves 16)
Ingredients:
For the cake:
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
16 Tbs. (2 sticks) unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
4 eggs, lightly beaten
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups sour cream
6 oz. bittersweet chocolate, melted and cooled slightly

For the glaze:
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup water
1 Tbs. chocolate liqueur

Confectioners' sugar for dusting
Whipped cream for serving

Directions
Have all the ingredients at room temperature.

Position a rack in the center of an oven and preheat to 325°F. Grease and flour a decorative 10-cup Bundt® pan.

To make the cake, over a sheet of waxed paper, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt; repeat until well blended. Set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the flat beater, beat the butter on medium speed until smooth and creamy, 30 to 45 seconds. Reduce the speed to low and gradually add the granulated sugar, beating until blended. Increase the speed to medium-high and continue beating, occasionally scraping down the sides of the bowl, until the mixture is light and fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the eggs a little at a time, beating each addition until incorporated before adding more, until the mixture is thick and creamy, 1 to 2 minutes; stop mixer occasionally and scrape down the sides of the bowl. Beat in the vanilla.

Reduce the speed to low and fold in the flour mixture in three additions, alternating with the sour cream and beginning and ending with the flour, until just blended and no lumps of flour remain. Then gently fold in the chocolate.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan, spreading the batter so the sides are about 1 inch higher than the center. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, about 1 hour. Transfer to a wire rack and cool the cake upright in the pan for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the glaze: In a small saucepan over low heat, combine the granulated sugar and water and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Remove from the heat and stir in the chocolate liqueur.

Set the rack over a sheet of waxed paper, invert the pan onto the rack and lift off the pan. Generously brush the warm cake with the glaze. Let the cake cool to room temperature, then dust with confectioners' sugar just before serving. Top slices with a dollop of whipped cream.


-Aaron John
My Food Outings: AJ's Food Adventure
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