Easy Dark Chocolate Bundt Cake - It Can't Get Easier Than This!

Lack of peace and quiet, the pandemonium our house constantly is  - you have read about these and is all coming out your ears now. The kids now have holidays and are with their grand parents in our home town since the past few days. After all the excitement of packing and getting ready to leave with Granny, the son had cold feet at the last moment, but my 4-year-old daughter surprised us by waving away enthusiastically and gleefully (a little too much for my comfort!) from the train. The one who came home teary-eyed was me! 

"You got to teach them to fly'' was the amused hubby's philosophical remark on the silent drive back home. By the next morning I was excited about all that I could do in these few days without having to worry about the kids. Bake, blog, read up, catch a movie, a quiet dinner out with hubby.. oh yes!! In came the maid who does the dishes and washes clothes for me. She remarked how silent the house was without them.. Errr. yes its silent...am trying to sip and enjoy my coffee and reading my baking book as early as at 8 a.m. My other house help, the neighbor, the vegetable vendor - all of them had something along similar lines to say.. sighing and 'tching' too much and too often for comfort. Well!!

Though I have hardly been home, I find the house all too silent when we come back, not much to clean up after. For all the grand plans I had to bake and blog about, there is nobody to hover over my shoulders as I take the pictures and then give me a thumbs up after eating. Feels weird and disconcerting, is this a small glimpse of the empty-nest syndrome during the later years? Funny, am now not seriously looking forward to see the kids growing up fast now!

Watch my video! 

Did I just say I have nobody to bake for? Well, this is the time to bake a couple of batches of brownies for the brother's colleagues, my colleagues, my cousins, freeze some of it for the kids, make some cookie dough, make home-made cake and bread mixes. These can really help get things in the oven real fast. And the frozen stuff would be great to feed the kids when they come back, my son is surely going to have questions for me when he 'checks' my blog for what I have been baking while he was away! 

What freezes well, awaits and this one comes from my drafts which means something they have already eaten, sparing me the sad and incredulous ''You baked this while we were away?''  The joys of being a blogger Mom!

Here is a cake which is really easy, tasty, can be put together with minimum fuss, slices beautifully and can feed a good number of people too. The beginner's perfect entertaining cake? Not just for the baking part, but also decorating it - by just slathering on some cooled ganache, garnish with some bright cherries or strawberries and you can confidently let that party crowd in!

 Recipe from Citrus And Candy. Please weigh ingredients for best results

Unsalted butter - 150 grams, cut up
Brown sugar - 220 grams 
Good quality dark chocolate, chopped - 100 grams
Cocoa powder - 50 grams

Instant coffee - 1 teaspoon (optional)
Milk - 160 ml
Large eggs, 3 / 150 grams (without shell) at room temperature
Plain flour -170 grams
Baking powder - 1.5 tsp
Baking soda - 1/2 tsp

 Salt - tiny pinch

Ganache : Recipe here. 

Method : Pre heat oven to 170 degrees C / 340 degree F.  Grease your bundt pan thoroughly.( I have used a  7.5 cup pan from Alda. Check out more of my baking product recommendations on my Amazon store  here) You could use baking spray or grease with ghee and dust with flour. Tap to remove excess flour. 

You could also use an 8'' or 9'' square tin lined with baking parchment, grease and flour the sides. 

Mise en place .

Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt , set aside.

Take the butter, milk, cocoa, sugar, coffee and chocolate in a heavy saucepan.. Heat on low till the chocolate, butter and sugar melt completely and you have a smooth mixture.. You could do also do this in a large glass bowl in the microwave. Allow the mixture to cool. 

Add the eggs to the chocolate mixture  one by one and whisk to combine. Sift over the flour mixture and then gently fold it in. Scrape batter into tin and bake for 25 -30 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean. 

Do not over bake. Cool in tin for 10 minutes then turn out and cool completely on a wire rack.
Invert the cake tin on the cake, then re-invert on the serving platter and pour the ganache. (Watch video above to get a better idea) 

If you end up with an overbaked slightly dryish cake, brush the cake with some simple syrup.

Heat 1/4 cup sugar and 1/2 cup water, bring to a boil and cool.

Watch my video How to make ganache 

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